Pil Ho Kim, associate professor of Korean studies at The Ohio State University, will give a lecture open to the public titled Place Maketh Man: Gangnam, the Hallyu Entertainment Industry Capital and the Locus of Social Evil, which will dive into how Gangnam, the epicenter of Hallyu, the Korean Wave, is an exclusive zone of wealth and privilege that has lured pop culture industries to take root and flourish since the 1980s. But at the same time, Gangnam is widely regarded as a breeding ground for ‘social evil’ (sahoeak) in South Korea as it has firmly established itself as the shrine of the unholy trinity of Korean capitalism: real estate speculation, adult entertainment/sex industry, and college-prep private education business.

Pil Ho Kim is an associate professor of Korean studies at The Ohio State University. A sociologist by training, he has covered a wide range of topics related to modern Korea in his research and teaching, including popular music, cinema, urban culture, and social polarization. He is the author of Polarizing Dreams: Gangnam and Popular Culture in Globalizing Korea (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2024). His next book project investigates the trans-Pacific cultural impact of Black freedom movements on modern Korean history.

The Korean Studies Research Network aims to bring together scholars whose research focuses on Korea-related topics and to provide mentoring to the younger generation of scholars. It serves as a platform to facilitate collaborative and interdisciplinary research among scholars and graduate students at the University of Iowa and institutions of higher education in the Midwest through seminars, speaker series, and workshops.

This event is made possible through generous support from the Stanley University of Iowa Foundation Support Organization and International Programs.