서울대학교 미주동창회 Seoul National University Alumni Association in the USA
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This past summer, in July 2022, I was invited to speak at the Pony Chung Korea-American Academic Essay Conference, held in South Korea, after receiving the first-place award for my thesis: “Bridging Sino-U.S. Tensions with South Korean Media Culture.”
This eighty-page thesis began as a passion project while I was studying abroad at the University of Cambridge during the fall semester of my senior year. I was informed by the Inequality Studies Center at Cornell University about this opportunity from the Pony Chung Foundation, which sought essays from undergraduate students with Korean or American citizenship. The foundation asked that we submit a thirty- to fifty-single-spaced essay on one of three categories: Korea-U.S. Diplomacy, Korea-U.S.-security, or Korea-U.S. economy. The purpose of this contest was to enhance the understanding of Korea-U.S. relations, enabling students to research and produce works that would promote a future-oriented partnership between the two countries.
I was both intrigued and fascinated by this opportunity to embark on a research journey that began with a mini-dissertation at the University of Cambridge, which I would eventually bring home and complete during my winter break back in the United States. My interest in and passion for South Korean history and culture go back as long as I can remember. I grew up absorbing and observing many cultural facets of South Korea, having gone back several times as an adolescent. Growing up as a Korean-American in New York City, with two South Korean immigrant parents, has granted me the privilege of staying in touch with my roots, being able to safely represent and simultaneously be proud of my Korean heritage.
In brief, my thesis focused on the rise of global attention to South Korean media culture and examining its soft power effects in the midst of rising Sino-U.S. tensions. I delved further into the economic consequences of attempting to balance precarious diplomatic relations with both China and the United States. To this extent, I analyzed how Korean cultural media can be a source of soft power used to counter rising diplomatic pressures. In order to develop this narrative, I conducted research reaching back to the Korean War when U.S. military forces employed soft power through cultural media by spreading democratic ideologies through television programs and radio stations. Studies have demonstrated that cultural media has had and continues to have positive social and economic effects on South Korea. In the final defense, the thesis emphasizes the need to incorporate universal human themes in cultural productions to maximize the reach of cultural media, and, ultimately, the potential of soft power.
I was able to have an incredibly rich and fulfilling summer by taking the week off to visit South Korea and deliver a 5-10 minute speech about the essay that I had spent four months reading, researching, writing, and editing. I am honored to be able to share this story with generous donors of the Seoul National University Alumni Association, and hope that you continue to support students like me.