Introduction to K-Pop and Why It Matters

Professor Grace Kao will provide a short overview of modern K-Pop since the early 1990s. She will also review other elements of the Korean Wave (Hallyu). Finally, she explores how these matter for Asian Americans, race and ethnic relations, soft power for Korea, and also social movements. Professor Kao will share photos from my visits to K-Pop entertainment companies over the past few years and my meetings with producers and idols this summer. Finally, Professor Kao will provide a YouTube playlist of K-Pop music videos.

Grace Kao is the IBM Professor of Sociology and Professor of Ethnicity, Race, & Migration (by Courtesy) at Yale University.

Her work focuses on: (1) Racial, Ethnic, and Immigrant Differences in Educational Outcomes and Transition to Adulthood; (2) Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships; (3) Sociology of Music, especially K-Pop and the Hallyu; and (4) Dating and Marriage in S. Korea and has published many books and articles on these topics. She regularly teaches classes on K-Pop, the Hallyu (Korean Wave, and race, ethnicity and Immigration. According to Google Scholar, her work has been cited more than 17,000 times.

She is the previous Vice President of the American Sociological Association. She is a regular contributing columnist for The Korea Herald, Korea’s largest English-language newspaper, where she will write about K-Pop, the Korean Wave, and sociological topics.