Taeyoung is a Lecturer in Communication and Media. He studies the nexus of global and local players in cultural production in the platform era.
Taeyoung studied for his PhD at Simon Fraser University in Canada. His thesis, “The State’s Roles in the Development of Cultural Industries: Korean Cultural Industry Policies from 1993 to 2021,” explores how the Korean state responds to the growing presence of global market forces in its cultural production based on interviews with policymakers and creators in the country’s cultural production, as well as discourse analysis.
Before joining Loughborough in 2022, Taeyoung was a Term Lecturer in Qualitative Research in Communication at Simon Fraser University, teaching qualitative and applied research methods.
Inspired by the traditions of critical media studies and the political economy of communications, Taeyoung examines the relationship between global and local players in cultural industries, as well as the underlying discourses and power dynamics. His research focuses on two main areas: 1) how global platform giants disrupt various mechanisms of local cultural production and 2) how the state continues to instrumentalise culture, particularly as much of its production is driven by the global market players. His research has appeared in several journals, including Media, Culture & Society, the International Journal of Communication, and Television & New Media.
In 2024 and 2025, Taeyoung’s research will focus on studying how US-based streaming platforms like Disney+ and Netflix disrupt existing production mechanisms in South Korean television and how producers and staff at television networks and domestic streaming platforms respond to these changes. This research is funded by the Academy of Korean Studies.
In the academic year 2024-25, Taeyoung will convene two postgraduate modules: Media Industries and Profession and Digital Economies. He is also a module tutor for Influencer Culture, which is a final-year undergraduate module.
Taeyoung welcomes PhD applications related to his research interests in the following areas:
- Cultural and Creative Industries (both global and national)
- Media and Cultural Policies
- Streaming Platforms
Please feel free to contact Taeyoung if your research relates to any of them and discuss your thoughts on studying at Loughborough.