Researcher Bio
Gi Yeon Koo, an HK+ esearch Professor, is a cultural anthropologist specializing in the social and cultural aspects of West Asia, primarily focusing on the dynamics and generational changes within Iranian society, the study of Muslim women, and the Korean Wave (Hallyu) in the MENA region. Additionally, her research delves into the religious diversity of Korean society and issues surrounding Islamophobia. Through her studies, she aims to cover the research on West Asia within the broader context of Asia, examining the international political dynamics within the region. Particularly, her research on Muslim immigrants in Korea seeks to contribute to one of the goals of the HK+ Mega-Asia Research Project, which is to establish a framework that connects Asia within Korea and Korea within Asia.
Since joining the HK Mega-Asia Research Project in September 2020, I have engaged in agenda research, focusing on comparative studies among Asian regions that form ‘Mega-Asia’ and tracing the dynamic relevance of West Asia in connecting Mega-Asia. This effort aims to expand the framework of comparative Asian studies. I also oversaw the launch and planning of the webzine 【Diversity+Asia】, conducting comparative Asian studies that intersect various themes and regional research.
Key Publications
2023, “Riding the Korean wave in Iran: Cyberfeminism and pop culture among young Iranian women.” Lee, SooJin, Kate Korroch, and Liew Kai Khiun, eds. Women We Love: Femininities and the Korean Wave. Hong Kong University Press, 2023.
2023, “The Choice for the “Zendegie Normal (Normal Life)”: Changes Among Iranian Young Immigrants.” Social Change in the Gulf Region: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2023. 249-267.
2023, Asian Women Persist: Anthropologists Answer Feminist Questions, Main Editor, Seoul National University Press.
2023, The Geography of Asia: Nations and Cities-West Asia & Central Asia, Zininzin
2023, Restructuring Asia and Asian Identity in the Post-Cold War Era, Main Editor, Zininzin
2022, The Arab Spring and Ten Years Thereafter, Main Editor, Seoul National University Press.
2022, Introduction to Mega-Asia Studies: History, Perspective, and Method, Zininzin
2022, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Asia, Zininzin
2021, “Asian Youth Generation”, Gi Yeon Koo ed., CIR Press.
2020, “The Exchange Between the Republic of Korea and Middle East: Focusing on the Advancement of Korean Construction Companies in the Middle East” in IRCICA(Organization of Islamic Cooperation Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture) ed., Korean and the Muslim World: Historical and Cultural Encounters, Sources and Studies on the History of Islamic Civilization Series, 41.
2018, “Making their own public: emotion and self among the urban Iranian youth”, Seoul National University Press. (Monograph)
2018, “Urban Iranian youths as the pivotal subjects of social movements in Iran” in Lenze, Nele, and Charlotte Schriwer, eds. Participation Culture in the Gulf: Networks, Politics and Identity. Routledge.
2017, “Constructing an Alternative Public Sphere: The Cultural Significance of Social Media in Iran” in Nele Lenze et al. eds. Media in the Middle East: Activism, Politics, and Culture, Springer
Articles
2023, “Impact of Middle Eastern Government Policy Changes on the Acceptance of Korean Wave: Focusing on the cases of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey. Asia Review, 13(3), 111-156 (in Korean, Co-authored).
2023, “Muslim refugees in South Korean society through the hospitality: A Comparative Study of Yemen refugees and Afghanistan Special Contributors”, Space and Environment (in Korean, Co-authored).
2022, “Iran’s Satellite Media as a Heterotopic Space of Resistance and Competing Identities”, Journal of Middle Eastern Affairs, 21(20), The Institute of Middle East. (in Korean)
2022, “The International Norms of Women’s Human Rights and Feministic Trends in the Islamic Region: Focusing on Cases of Afghanistan and Iran”, Asia Review, 12(1), pp.67-98. (in Korean)
2021, Gi Yeon Koo, Yuihyun Hwang, The Journey to the Formation of Regional Identity in West Asia beyond Otherness, Asia Review 11(2). (in Korean, Co-authored).
2020, “Riding the Korean Wave in Iran: Cyber-Feminism and Pop Culture among Young Iranian Women” Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies 16(2).
Yilsoon Paek, Gi Yeon Koo, 2021, “The Changes in Refugee Issues in Korea through Domestic Newspapers”, Journal of the Korean Geographical Society56(2). (in Korean)
2020, “An Analysis of the Changes in the Historical Meanings and Performativity in Iranian Hijab Practice”, Journal of Middle Eastern Affairs 19(3) (in Korean)
2020, Unfinished Revolutions and Precarious Lives:Ten Years after the Iranian Green Movement and the Tunisian Revolution, Asia Review 9(2). (in Korean, Co-authored)
2019, #GirlsofRevolutionStreet: Iranian Womens Social Movement through Hashtag Politics. Cross-Cultural Studies 25(1). (in Korean)