Call for Papers – The 2nd SNU Graduate Workshop on Hallyu Studies
Date: August 20, 2026
Location: Seoul National University, South Korea.
The Center for Hallyu Studies @ Seoul National University
The SNU Contemporary Korean Studies, in collaboration with Center for Hallyu Studies at Seoul National University (SNU), is pleased to announce The 2nd SNU Graduate Student Workshop on Hallyu Studies, scheduled for August 20, 2026, at Seoul National University (venue details to be announced). This graduate student workshop, as a pre-conference for SNU’s 3rd International Conference for Contemporary Korean Studies (SNU ICCK) on 21 and 22 August, invites submissions from PhD students/candidates in diverse humanities and social sciences disciplines with a scholarly focus on Hallyu studies, encompassing K-pop, television dramas, cinema, webtoons, games, fashion, tourism, beauty, and culinary culture. Participating students will have the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on their ongoing research, including work intended for a PhD thesis, from distinguished scholars who have conducted research on Hallyu across a wide range of academic disciplines through open discussion sessions. We intend to establish this event as a venue for connecting young academics from diverse institutions and disciplines to foster novel collaboration.
Participants will additionally have the opportunity to engage with attendees of a parallel pre-conference workshop on political economy. They also will have the opportunity to attend 2026 SNU ICCK which will be held on 21 and 22 August, where key questions and research on contemporary Korean society will be addressed.
We welcome submissions that engage with, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- General Korean Popular Culture
- K-Culture Phenomena (beauty, fashion, mukbang, tourism, etc.)
- Cultural Industries (K-pop, TV drama, cinema, webtoon, game, etc.)
- Global reception of Hallyu
- Fandom
- Gender and Sexuality in Hallyu
- Soft Power
- National Image
- Public Diplomacy
- Anti-Hallyu
- Other topics related to Korean popular culture and the Hallyu phenomenon
Submission Guidelines and Schedule
To apply, please complete the Google Form (link), which will require your contact information, affiliation, an abstract (500 words max. in English, 1000 characters max. in Korean), a short biography (150 words max. in English, 300 characters max. in Korean), and a full CV. Submissions will be evaluated on the basis of scholarly rigor, originality of argument, and relevance to Hallyu Studies.
Eligibility and Support:
We welcome PhD students and candidates in the humanities and social sciences, both from South Korea and abroad. Accepted participants from outside South Korea will receive a transport grant of around KRW 400,000 (within Asia) and KRW 1,000,000 (outside Asia). Due to budgetary constraints, we are unable to provide accommodation for all participants and financial support (including transport grants and presentation honoraria) for domestic participants. Participants are encouraged to seek supplementary financial support from their home institutions.
Presentations and Papers:
- Full papers must be submitted in English (6,000 words) or Korean (120 sheets of 200-character manuscript paper) by August 10, 2026
- Each presenter will be allocated a 50-minute session:
– Presentation: 20 minutes
– Discussion: 30 minutes
- Oral presentations may be delivered in either English or Korean
Submission Deadline:
The deadline for applications is May 18th, 2026. We will contact all applicants by June 1st, 2026 regarding the acceptance of their application.
This conference is supported by SNU Contemporary Korean Studies, in collaboration with Center for Hallyu Studies at Seoul National University (SNU).
If you have any questions, please contact tlsdudcoekk@gmail.com