Jenna Gibson
@jennargibson.bsky.social
Assistant Director, Notre Dame International Security Center. PhD in Political Science focused on diplomatic rhetoric, public and cultural diplomacy, and U.S.-Korea relations. 2x Fulbright Korea alum. K-pop researcher and fan. Pfp from Taybee on Picrew.
Deadline is now July 25th! @textvulture.bsky.social @jennargibson.bsky.social @edwardgoldring.bsky.social
Eun A Jo@eunajo.bsky.social · last yr.Deadline is today! If you’ve got a paper on Korea, consider applying to the fourth cohort of the Korean Political Studies Colloquium (KPSC): textvulture.github.io/presentation...
"Into the New World", a tribute to the people of South Korea who took to the streets a few months ago (and before). Directed by Nakwon with many other artists. >> www.catsuka.com/breves/2025-...
Excited to announce that my paper with Felicia Istad is now online! We use an analysis of audience responses to former President Moon & BTS' trip to the UN in 2021 to discuss the potential - and limitations - of trying to equate popularity with soft power. online.ucpress.edu/as/article/d...
Toward a Political Model of Soft PowerAn Empirical Evaluation of South Korean Foreign Policy
Soft power, the idea that states can achieve their goals through attraction rather than coercion, has been applied to various contexts, leading to significant concept creep. Still, it remains appealin...
online.ucpress.edu
An NBR essay by @jennargibson.bsky.social outlines four considerations for thinking about when and how to implement a strategy to cultivate #softpower and argues that policymakers should address concerns over soft power at the outset alongside hard-power conversations. nbr.org/publication/...
We at the @propublicaguild.bsky.social prepared this open letter to management. They have refused to allow stewards in performance-related meetings that could lead to discipline. This is in stark contrast from our other fellow unionized newsrooms. www.propublicaguild.org/updates/prop...
ProPublica Guild to management: Stop blocking stewards and resisting proposals for accountability — ProPublica Guild
ProPublica Guild members signed this letter to ProPublica's President Robin Sparkman and Editor in Chief Steve Engelberg on May 1st 2025. Dear Steve and Robin, Since we unionized in 2023, we have w...
propublicaguild.org
Was very excited to participate in NBR's newly published Roundtable for Congressional Affairs! I wrote about the role of soft power in U.S.-Korea relations, trying to take a practical approach acknowledging potential benefits & opportunities but also major limitations. www.nbr.org/publication/...
Soft-Power Strategies: Building Bridges between South Korea and the United States | The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR)
nbr.org
Scientific breakthroughs we might not have had without NSF funding: The Internet Smartphones DNA analysis MRIs Doppler radar Bar codes And this is just the tiniest tip of the iceburg.
Those who stood ground throughout the night are being called “chocolate kisses” after wrapping themselves in silver thermal blankets to weather the cold as sweet protectors of democracy, looking similar to a Hersey’s Kiss. The holdout has been dubbed the “Protest of Kisses”
Joseph Kim@terpsicoreans.bsky.social · 2y agoAll night, pro-democracy protesters held their line against Yoon Suk Yeol near his residence, despite the snow and bitter cold
According to the Ganzhi system, 2025 is the Year of the Blue Snake, symbolizing new beginnings, thoughtful transformation, and growth and progress. May the new year bring greater wisdom, perseverance, and liberation to all who strive and fight for love and freedom.
Happy New Year everyone! Here in Korea we've been through a decade's worth of trouble in a month: martial law, impeachment, and then a tragic plane crash. Below is an overview of what is to come politically in Korea in the first half of 2025. www.koreaherald.com/article/1038...
Political uncertainty to persist after Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law gamble
South Korea faces uncharted waters: Yoon‘s Fate, potential Cabinet Collapse, snap presidential election and challenges to 1987 Constitutional Order Political uncertainty looms over the new year, drive...
koreaherald.com
In the woman’s restroom near the protests many women have left snacks, masks, and sanitary pads to help others. Protests in Korea since the authoritarian era have been very communal events. Some who cannot make it to the protest have been paying for coffee and hot packs for hands
JE Lee@0101je.bsky.social · 2y ago여자는 여자를 돕는다. 이런 집회 나오면 절실히 느낌. 지하철역 화장실에 가득한 나눔 물품. 생리대며 간식이며 마스크등등. 젊은 나이대들이 이런 물품 나누기 적극적. 좋은 소식있기를.
PASSED impeachment motion against President Yoon Voting results - 204 yes - 85 no - 3 abstained - 8 invalid Graphic below: 🟡Voting Turnout & What's Next? Resources: 🟢 Timeline of events: shorturl.at/ReGnA 🟣 Koreanists 🇰🇷 to follow: go.bsky.app/U3Nm5FX #MartialLaw #SouthKorea #Impeachment Repost🫡
How do impeachments work in South Korea? Ahead of tomorrow's 2nd impeachment vote at 4:00 PM, here are two useful graphics, one by BBC and another by @afpnews.bsky.social
A very large number of South Korean broadcasters are wearing black in protest of Yoon's martial law decree, which attempted to place all media under control of the military. v.daum.net/v/2024121312...
EDAM entertainment confirms #IU has pay in advance for meals and hot packs for protesters at Saturday's Yoon impeachment rallies in Seoul outside the National Assembly. Source: www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR2024...
So, as promised, some background on the 2024 Korean trend of Funeral Wreaths As Protest, which first rose to prominence in K-pop and now target Yoon's admin following the martial law attempt and coming amid the protests calling for Yoon's impeachment...
Benjamin A. Engel@benjaminaengel.bsky.social · 2y agoThe idea of sending funeral wreaths as a form of protest began earlier this year related to some issues within K-pop. Perhaps @tamarherman.com will give us a background thread? (wink wink)
Opposition DP members are no longer calling Yoon "president (대통령)" and only addressing him as "Yoon Suk Yeol-ssi (윤석열씨)" -- an honorific used for someone on equal status.
This grim, but impactful, messaging began earlier this year en masse with a variety of K-Pop issues earlier this year, now we get it in politics.
Benjamin A. Engel@benjaminaengel.bsky.social · 2y agoPeople are sending "condolence flowers" (like you would send to a funeral) to the offices of ruling PPP lawmakers. The messages on the flowers call on them to support impeachment (to put it nicely). www.ichannela.com/news/main/ne...
One thing that stood out to me at the impeachment protests this week in Seoul is how many young women came out. They are one of the main driving forces behind the movement against Yoon. (Filmed on Sunday evening by me)
Han Kang's Nobel lecture is now online. Please note that this was filmed *before* the events of 12/3 and only *released* now.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 was awarded to Han Kang "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life"
nobelprize.org
"Most meetings of fans take place online, where it’s hard to truly get a sense of the connection between one fan and another...But at concerts, there’s a sense of togetherness, and these beautifully-designed lightsticks...become a show of the feelings in the hearts and minds of fans."
Tamar Herman@tamarherman.com · 2y agoWatching the lightsticks at the Pro-impeachment protests and thinking a lot about the communality of K-pop lightsticks, which I wrote about way back in 2022 notesonkpop.com/the-communal...
A few thoughts on queer participation in the current pro-democracy rallies in South Korea: Queer visibility isn’t new in Korean social justice movements. LGBTQ communities have long been key players, challenging norms while demanding justice, equality, and accountability: 🧵
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke publicly for the first time since the martial law debacle. His statement was short and defiant. He said he won’t evade repercussions, signaled he won’t leave the party or resign (things party members asked him to do so he won’t be impeached). Full text:
This article I wrote has 50 free eprints, in case you're interested in #Kpop #fandom, especially #FanBusinesses (the image is the front of the journal, it must relate to someone else's article) www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3NZW5...
Making icons: the rise of the K-pop adjacent industries
Much scholarship on the labor of Korean popular music (K-pop) fans has focused on the work they do to produce popularity of their favorite groups, such as campaigns to chart a new release. The focu...
tandfonline.com
Interesting backstory: it was Park Chung-hee who created this "national stretch" in 1977 and mandated it through schools. It was based on a stretching regimen of the 1950s Japanese self-defense forces.
William Yang@williamyang120.bsky.social · 2y agoSuddenly, they began to do a popular workout together.
Footage of a fearless woman grabbing a soldier's gun during martial law has gone viral. BBC Korea has interviewed her: Ahn Gwi-ryeong, 35, a spokesperson for the opposition Democratic Party. “I didn’t think … I just knew we had to stop this.” www.bbc.com/news/article...
South Korea martial law: Fearless woman grabs soldier's gun
Ahn Gwi-ryeong faced off with armed soldiers who were sent to stop lawmakers from entering parliament in Seoul.
bbc.com
