Korea and the UK: Connections Across Culture, Policy and Beyond In brief Date - 14 January 2026Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeakers - Dr Ji-hyeon Kim (Hanyang University), Dr Hye-kyung Lee (Kings College London) and Dr Seunghye Sun (Korean Cultural Centre UK)Organiser - Sarah Vickery (2nd Year PhD student, Korean Studies) About the eventThis workshop will explore the various connections between the UK and Korea in terms of their approaches to culture and cultural policy. A significant sector which both countries have focused on and developed for decades, culture is one of the main linchpins between these two nations with starkly different histories and regional relationships.Led by second year PhD Korean Studies student Sarah Vickery, this workshop features three scholars - Dr Ji-Hyeon Kim, Dr Hye-Kyung Lee and Dr Seunghye Sun - who have studied and worked in one or both countries, sharing their insights into the common themes of British and Korean cultural policy. Some of the key themes for discussion will include platformisation, AI, precarity in the cultural sector, soft power, emotion and aesthetics.About the speakersDr Jihyeon Kim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at Hanyang University. She earned a PhD in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London, and has since been teaching media theory.Professor Hye-Kyung Lee is interested in exploring the culture-state-market nexus and has worked on cultural policy, the politics of creative industries, copyright and fan culture and cultural labour. She co-edits Cultural Trends and her books include Cultural Policies in East Asia (2014), Cultural Policy in South Korea: Making a New Patron State (2019), Routledge Handbook of Cultural and Creative Industries in Asia (2019) and Asian Cultural Flows (2019).Dr Seunghye Sun is a scholar of Korean art history, aesthetics, and digital culture, and currently serves as Director of the Korean Cultural Centre UK and Minister-Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in London. She received her PhD in Art History from the University of Tokyo and completed a Yenching Fellowship at Harvard University, where she focused on East Asian cultural exchanges and the aesthetics of utopia. She has lectured widely on East Asian aesthetics, digital culture, and cultural diplomacy, contributing to academic and public discourse across institutions in Korea, Japan, the UK, and the United States.Sarah Vickery is a second year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, undertaking a comparative analysis of the UK and South Korea’s nation branding practices in the context of ‘middle power status’. She undertook a four-month Hanmun Fellowship at the Academy of Korean Studies in South Korea in 2025, and has previously studied an MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy at the University of Goldsmiths.How to attendThis event is open to all, and free to attend. No registration is necessary - just come along!Are you interested in studying with us?Study Korean Studies with us and explore one of the most dynamic countries in East Asia, gaining a unique vantage point on crucial topics of relevance across the Northeast Asian region and the globe. We offer a taught MSc in East Asian Studies with a Korean pathway as well as an MSc by Research and a PhD in Korean Studies. Find out more about studying with us Tags Asian Studies Jan 14 2026 09.00 - 13.30 Korea and the UK: Connections Across Culture, Policy and Beyond A workshop featuring three scholars who have studied and worked in the UK and/or Korea, discussing the connections between the two countries through the lens of culture and cultural policies. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Korea and the UK: Connections Across Culture, Policy and Beyond In brief Date - 14 January 2026Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeakers - Dr Ji-hyeon Kim (Hanyang University), Dr Hye-kyung Lee (Kings College London) and Dr Seunghye Sun (Korean Cultural Centre UK)Organiser - Sarah Vickery (2nd Year PhD student, Korean Studies) About the eventThis workshop will explore the various connections between the UK and Korea in terms of their approaches to culture and cultural policy. A significant sector which both countries have focused on and developed for decades, culture is one of the main linchpins between these two nations with starkly different histories and regional relationships.Led by second year PhD Korean Studies student Sarah Vickery, this workshop features three scholars - Dr Ji-Hyeon Kim, Dr Hye-Kyung Lee and Dr Seunghye Sun - who have studied and worked in one or both countries, sharing their insights into the common themes of British and Korean cultural policy. Some of the key themes for discussion will include platformisation, AI, precarity in the cultural sector, soft power, emotion and aesthetics.About the speakersDr Jihyeon Kim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at Hanyang University. She earned a PhD in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London, and has since been teaching media theory.Professor Hye-Kyung Lee is interested in exploring the culture-state-market nexus and has worked on cultural policy, the politics of creative industries, copyright and fan culture and cultural labour. She co-edits Cultural Trends and her books include Cultural Policies in East Asia (2014), Cultural Policy in South Korea: Making a New Patron State (2019), Routledge Handbook of Cultural and Creative Industries in Asia (2019) and Asian Cultural Flows (2019).Dr Seunghye Sun is a scholar of Korean art history, aesthetics, and digital culture, and currently serves as Director of the Korean Cultural Centre UK and Minister-Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in London. She received her PhD in Art History from the University of Tokyo and completed a Yenching Fellowship at Harvard University, where she focused on East Asian cultural exchanges and the aesthetics of utopia. She has lectured widely on East Asian aesthetics, digital culture, and cultural diplomacy, contributing to academic and public discourse across institutions in Korea, Japan, the UK, and the United States.Sarah Vickery is a second year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, undertaking a comparative analysis of the UK and South Korea’s nation branding practices in the context of ‘middle power status’. She undertook a four-month Hanmun Fellowship at the Academy of Korean Studies in South Korea in 2025, and has previously studied an MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy at the University of Goldsmiths.How to attendThis event is open to all, and free to attend. No registration is necessary - just come along!Are you interested in studying with us?Study Korean Studies with us and explore one of the most dynamic countries in East Asia, gaining a unique vantage point on crucial topics of relevance across the Northeast Asian region and the globe. We offer a taught MSc in East Asian Studies with a Korean pathway as well as an MSc by Research and a PhD in Korean Studies. Find out more about studying with us Tags Asian Studies Jan 14 2026 09.00 - 13.30 Korea and the UK: Connections Across Culture, Policy and Beyond A workshop featuring three scholars who have studied and worked in the UK and/or Korea, discussing the connections between the two countries through the lens of culture and cultural policies. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Jan 14 2026 09.00 - 13.30 Korea and the UK: Connections Across Culture, Policy and Beyond A workshop featuring three scholars who have studied and worked in the UK and/or Korea, discussing the connections between the two countries through the lens of culture and cultural policies.
