Hei-won Byun

Bio

Hei-won Byun is a Ph.D. student in Linguistic Anthropology. Her current research interests focus on young female fans of popular culture in Japan, contextualization and re-contextualization of the popular culture contents including video games, manga, and anime. These female fans are not only influential consumers in the huge market of Japanese popular culture but also active creators who produce secondary creations based on their re-contextualized interpretation of the original contents. Through exploring their exploitation of semiotic components of popular culture contents, Hei-won Byun attempts to see the young female fans’ subjectivities, sexualities, gender performances, and positionalities in modern Japan.

Education

BA, Anthropology / Korean language and literature, Seoul National University, 2009 MA, Anthropology, Seoul National University, 2012

Graduation Year

2023

Subfield

Dissertation Title

Be A Shining Star With Your Voice!: An Ethnographic Study of Japanese Voice Actors and Their Education

Graduate Status