Political sociology · South Korea
How does a word like “youth” become a political force?
I study how shared hardships turn into political claims, categories, and laws, through the story of cheongnyeon (청년, “youth”) in South Korea.
PhD Candidate in Sociology, UC San Diego · PhD expected Spring 2027
5
summers of fieldwork in Korea
54
in-depth interviews
1.6M
news records analyzed
₩28.2T
youth-policy budget, 2025
The big idea
Categories organize problems, not only people.
Insecure jobs, high rents, and debt have different causes. Under the name youth, Korean activists tied them together so they could be claimed as one cause. I call this a bundling axis.
What’s new
Three contributions
01
Youth is what needs explaining.
Not a natural generation, but a choice activists made over worker, tenant, or student.
02
Built by movements and government together.
From street organizing to a 2015 Seoul ordinance and a 2020 national law.
03
Winning starts new fights.
Once written into law, a category can be claimed by others for very different goals.
Selected work
Papers
One Name, Changing Problems: Youth as a Public Problem Category in South Korean News, 1990–2024
Making ‘Youth’ Political: Youth Identity Work and Political Category Formation in South Korea
Whose Youth Housing? Recognition, Authority, and the Struggle over a Public Problem in South Korea
Teaching & tools
In the classroom
4.84 /5
learning
4.87 /5
course structure
Political Sociology, UC San Diego, Summer 2026 · Teaching →
Questions, collaboration, or a talk? I’d love to hear from you.