Felicia Istad

Korea University | KU · Department of Public Administration

Over the past few decades, South Korea has increasingly sought to attract international talent. Every year, hundreds of students are invited to study in the country on a competitive scholarship provided by the government. Upon graduation, students are equipped with a tertiary degree, as well as knowledge of the Korean language and culture. This stu...

This article examines the role of production techniques in shaping representations of cultural diversity in South Korean reality television. We first discuss the South Korean government’s evolving guidelines concerning the representation of minorities on television and identify in the guidelines exhortations against discriminatory framing of migran...

With K-pop’s tremendous growth transnationally, scholars have pointed to the industry’s inclusion of singers from different national and ethnic backgrounds, highlighting them as examples of successful glocalization. But there has been little attention paid to how these “foreign” singers, now integrated into the Korean pop music industry, are receiv...

Countries have long considered immigrant entrepreneurship and high-skilled immigration as crucial sources of economic growth and innovation. Still, little is known about what governments do to attract, support, and retain tech entrepreneurs with foreign backgrounds. This article examines startup programs in South Korea. It demonstrates how the dema...

Most migrants in South Korea reside in the country as foreign citizens. Access to citizenship and social rights are tied to residence status, resulting in differential treatment of foreign-born residents. This article contributes to research on non-citizen hierarchies by demonstrating the formation of fluid hierarchies through a case study of non-c...

This chapter examines how South Korea engages with the global society to expand domestic opportunities for economic growth and innovation through the launch of public programs designed to support high-growth entrepreneurial activities among immigrants. Situated within a region of emerging economies, South Korea is facing increased competition in tr...

This article analyses how three South Korean multicultural-themed reality television programmes discursively produce Koreanness. We ground our study in scholarship on ‘othering’ and the notion of banal nationalism (Billig, 1995) and conduct a thematic analysis of the shows. Our findings show that the programmes adopt a Korea-foreign dichotomy that...

In the past couple of decades, South Korea (hereinafter Korea) has experienced a steady increase in the number of foreign students at home and an explosive interest in Korean studies abroad. The growing demand for introductory books on contemporary Korean society has resulted in multiple edited volumes that each feature emerging and established sch...

As industrialized countries transition into knowledge economies, there is a rising demand for talent and innovation. Support for start-ups through incubation, acceleration, and venture capital has turned into a key area of investment, with public and private actors searching for the next unicorn. This article examines start-up visas as an emerging...

Proponents of new public diplomacy emphasize the importance of two-way engagement with foreign publics. Despite theoretical support for mutual dialogue, there is a lack of studies that examine the means by which governments and other actors of public diplomacy engage with civic stakeholders. Responding to this gap in the research literature, the pr...

Presidential pardons have caused much controversy in South Korea over the past decade. In particular, many have criticized the abusive practice of special pardons, which allows the president to grant clemency without having to go through any formal legal or political process. Many scholars have argued that legal reforms are necessary to prevent pow...

Governments across the globe are increasingly recognizing the importance of public diplomacy. In particular, cultural diplomacy is considered important in fostering a mutual understanding between nations. South Korea officially embraced the notion of public diplomacy in 2010 and has since been making extensive efforts to promote its soft power asse...