Dr Taeyoung Kim

Taeyoung is a Seoul-born Lecturer in Communication and Media. Drawing on the traditions of political economy of communication, he studies the creative industries, cultural policies, and global media, with an emphasis on how platform technologies have transformed global-local dynamics in cultural production and on how stakeholders respond to these changes.  

His recent monograph, Cultural Policies in the Era of the Korean Wave: The South Korean Government's Instrumentalisation of Popular Culture (Routledge, 2025), examines how the South Korean government continues to utilise cultural industries, despite much of their production and distribution being shaped by the global market. Through interviews with policymakers and industry practitioners, Taeyoung challenges common ideas in the study of national cultural industries and policies, which suggest that the state's role has diminished in the era of neoliberal globalisation. He argues that the state does not cease to intervene in cultural production due to its political and economic utility and only adopts neoliberal doctrines when they serve its political-economic interests.  

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 2025-26, Taeyoung convenes a postgraduate module on Media Industries and Profession (CXP302). He is also a module tutor for Digital Economies (CXP318), Influencer Culture (CXC500), and Media and Social Change (CXB303). 

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.