Research I: Comparative Education
First Author · submitted as a Creative Convergence Research report
- Examined the modern Korean education landscape.
- Conducted research on how education was influenced by Korean Confucian culture and contemporary history, including the Japanese colonial period, the Korean War and its aftermath, and rapid democratization and market liberalization.
Abstract
This paper will examine the volatility of the modern Korean education system based on Korean Confucianist culture and contemporary history. It examines the cultural emphasis on education, which originated from a perpetual history of civil service examination and Confucian culture, bureaucratic shifts during the Japanese colonial period, the Korean War and its aftermath, rapid industrialization and modernization under dictatorship, student protests, democratization and market liberalization, the IMF crisis, and finally, the contemporary social climate. It assesses the impact of state-led policies on social inequality and the spread of private education. Through this, it illuminates the structural problems of Korean education and its historical legacy that persists to the present day. In particular, it critically examines government policies, examining the gap between policy intentions and actual outcomes.
Research II: Labor and Undocumented Work
Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), with Prof. Jinhwan Oh at Ewha Womans University
- Learned applied quantitative migration analysis, including gravity models, institutional economics, and labor migration theory, and statistical analysis in STATA, including data cleaning, regression analysis, and interpretation of empirical results.
- Assisted the research on Timorese labor migration to South Korea by conducting and analyzing field survey data from migrant workers, empirically evaluating South Korea's Employment Permit System (EPS).
"Where and Why Do the Timorese Migrate? A Gravity Approach and Reference to South Korea"
Gr. 10–11
- Published in Nakhara: Journal of Environmental Design and Planning (NJEDP); acknowledged as a main contributor.
- Empirically examined field survey data of migrant workers from East Timor in South Korea.
- Found that Korea's EPS, not physical distance, plays the key role in determining migrant flows, confirming Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson's Institution Hypothesis.
- Invited to present at the 8th Asian Conference on Business and Economic Studies, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Research III: Politics and Theory
First Author (with Daeho Lee & Chehwan Kim) · published in the International Journal of High School Research (peer-reviewed)
- Part of the Think-Tank Ultimatum (TTU) school curriculum; won the Grand Prize out of 100+ school-wide participants.
- Co-authored and published independent research on how social media algorithms amplify populism and political polarization.
- Designed and conducted experiments on algorithmic echo chambers, misinformation susceptibility, and populist rhetoric in digital media.
- Developed policy recommendations on algorithmic transparency, platform regulation, and media literacy.
Abstract
This study aims to understand how social media exacerbates populist ideas and explain the implications of social media in the spread of populism, as opposed to traditional media forms. To comprehensively apprehend populist rhetoric and the role of the social media platform, this study conducts three experiments. An Echo Chamber Simulation experiment found that algorithmically reinforced discussion networks significantly increased exposure to ideologically homogeneous content and intensified agreement with populist framing. A Misinformation Susceptibility Survey revealed that simplified anti-elite narratives and misinformation led to an increase in the shareability of such headlines. In addition, a Populist Rhetoric Content Coding Project compared social media and traditional media and found that social media had more indicators of populist content. This study also includes a global policy case study of past policies to tackle populism, such as the French Avia Law and the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), comparing regulatory approaches aimed at limiting harmful online content while preserving democratic norms.
The findings suggest that algorithmic amplification and network homogeneity play a central role in facilitating the spread of populist rhetoric online. The study concludes with policy recommendations emphasizing platform transparency, algorithmic accountability, and targeted moderation mechanisms designed to mitigate the spread of manipulative populist content without undermining freedom of expression.