Our research
We conduct interdisciplinary research on a wide range of Korea-related topics. Our previous projects have explored the globalisation of Korean popular culture, consumer behaviour in Korea, acculturation and identity among Korean New Zealanders, ethnic Korean music in China and Japan, and the language challenges faced by foreign migrants in South Korea.
Journal publications (2019-2026)
- Cruz, A. G. B., Seo, Y., and Scaraboto, D. (2026). Confronting Cultural Appropriation: Toward the Ethical Marketing of Cultural Difference. Journal of Marketing.
- Song, C. (2026). Challenges to the Ethnic Hierarchy and the Return Migration of Ethnic Koreans from China and the Former Soviet Union in South Korea's Multicultural Transition. International Journal of Korean Studies, no. 20. ISSN 1347-7307. Pp. 265-278. (in Korean).
- Lynne Soon-Chean Park, Joohyun Justine Park and Changzoo Song (2026). From otherness to belongingness: the role of co-ethnic relationships in Korean New Zealanders’ ethnic identity formation, Identities, 33:1, 59-79.
- Park, L. S.-C., Jaung, R., Park, J. J., and Song, C. (2025). Examining access to and trust in sources of COVID-19 information among CALD Asian communities in New Zealand. PloS One, 20(3), Article e0319326.
- Lee, H. I. (2026). Transnational panorama on Netflix: from a Korean Indie documentary to the Netflix original series My Love: Six Stories of True Love. International Journal of Asian Studies, 23(2), 486–502.
- Park, L. S., Park. J. J., & Song, C. (2024). From otherness to belongingness: the role of co-ethnic relationships in Korean New Zealanders. Identities - Global Studies in Culture and Power.
- Park, L. S., Jaung, R., & Park, J.J. (2024). Casting a Long Shadow: The Effects of Vicarious and Direct Racism on Generalized Trust among Asian Communities in New Zealand during COVID-19. International Journal of Intercultural Relations.
- Cruz, A., Seo, Y., & Scaraboto, D. (2024). Between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation: Self-authorizing the consumption of cultural difference. Journal of Consumer Research, 50(5), 962–984.
- Park, J. J., Lee, A., Park, L. S., Jaung, R., & Song, C. (2024). Korean residents' experiences of racism in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic: Association with life satisfaction and sense of belonging. Journal of International Migration and Integration.
- Song, C. (2023). Joseonjok and Goryeo Saram ethnic return migrants in South Korea: Challenges of co-ethnic hierarchization and ethnonationalism. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.
- Park, L. S., Jaung, R., Park, J. J., & Song, C. (2023). Asian communities’ well-being in Aotearoa during Covid-19: The mitigating role of sense of belonging in the relationship between racism and life satisfaction. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 35(1), 95–112.
- Jaung, R., Park, L. S., Song, C., & Park, J. J. (2023). The mitigating role of sense of belonging on the impact of racism on life satisfaction for Asian communities in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Population Medicine, 5(Supplement), A1336.
- Park, J. J., Park, L. S., & Song, C. (2023). A person-centred approach to ethnic and national identity and its relation to subjective well-being among Korean New Zealanders. Kotuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 1–23.
- Seo, Y., Septianto, F., & Ko, E. (2022). The role of cultural congruence in the art infusion effect. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 32(4), 634-651. To learn more about this research, please see the Research Snapshot below.
- Jaung, R., Park, L. S., Park, J. J., Mayeda, D., & Song, C. (2022). Asian New Zealanders’ experiences of racism during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with life satisfaction. New Zealand Medical Journal, 135(1565), 60–73.
- Park, L. S., & Peter, S. (2022). Application of critical realism in social work research: Methodological considerations. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 34(2), 55-66.
- Lim, T., & Song, C. (2021). Challenging the ‘hierarchy of nationhood’: Diasporic entitlement and the case of Korean Chinese (Chosŏnjok) in South Korea. European Journal of Korean Studies, 20(2), 1-45.
- Song, C., & Li, H. (2021). The advantage of transnational co-ethnic networks: Korean Chinese entrepreneurship in innovating and globalizing Xinjiang style barbecue lamb skewers business. Journal of Chinese Overseas, 17(2), 318-339.
- Cruz, A. G. B., Seo, Y., & Binay, I. (2021). Cultural globalization from the periphery: Translation practices of English-speaking K-pop fans. Journal of Consumer Culture, 21(3), 638-659.
- Fifita, I., Seo, Y., Ko, E., Conroy, D., & Hong, D. (2020). Fashioning organics: Wellbeing, sustainability, and status consumption practices. Journal of Business Research, 117, 664-671. To learn more about this research, please see the Research Snapshot below.
- Seo, Y., Cruz, A., & Fifita, I. (2020). Cultural globalization and young Korean women's acculturative labor: K-beauty as hegemonic hybridity. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(4), 600-618. To learn more about this research, please see the Research Snapshot below.
- Choi, Y., Seo, Y., Wagner, U., & Yoon, S. (2020). Matching luxury brand appeals with attitude functions on social media across cultures. Journal of Business Research, 117, 520-528.
- Errmann, A., Seo, Y., Choi, Y., & Yoon, S. (2019). Divergent effects of friend recommendations on disclosed social media advertising in the U.S. and Korea. Journal of Advertising, 48(5), 495-511. To learn more about this research, please see the Research Snapshot below.
Books and book chapters (2019-2026)
- Song, Changzoo, and Patsy Iwasaki (2026). “From Alienation to Belonging: Indigenous, Pacific, and Asian Journeys in Multicultural Aotearoa.” In Global Perspectives in Multicultural Literature, edited by Patsy Iwasaki, 179–198. Convergences: Global Perspectives in Multicultural Literature. Common Ground.
- Song, C. (2025). Acculturation of Korean New Zealander Youth: Re-ethnicization of the Newer Generation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-95-0590-6
- Song, C. (2024). Adding diversity to ethnic homeland: Korean Chinese (Joseonjok) and Soviet Korean (Goryeo Saram) ethnic return migrants in South Korea. In T. G. Tsuda (Ed.), Handbook of migration, ethnicity and diversity (pp. 64-76). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Song, C. (2020). "Uh...well, we're Russians": Identity and resistance to ethnic hierarchy among Koryo Saram diasporic returnees in South Korea. In Y. Ahn (Ed.), Transnational mobility and identity in and out of Korea (pp. 131-145). Lanham, USA: Lexington Books.
- Song, C., and Tsuda, G. T. (2019). The causes of diasporic return: A comparative perspective. In T. Tsuda & C. Song (Eds.), Diasporic return to the ethnic homeland: The Korean diaspora in comparative perspective (pp. 17-34). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Conference presentations (2019-2026)
- Park, L. S. (2026). Co-Ethnic Bonds as Protective Environments: Identity, Belonging, and Wellbeing among Korean Youth in Aotearoa New Zealand. 2026 CAHRE Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
- Park, L. S. and Jaung, R. (2025). Developing Culturally Relevant Workshops: Connecting Korean Immigrants to New Zealand's History Through Understanding the Treaty of Waitangi. International Conference on Multiculture and Education, Online, Korea.
- Cruz, A., Seo, Y., and Scaraboto, D. (2024). Navigating cultural appropriation: A strategic brand perspective. Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research, Bali, Indonesia.
- Park, L. S. (2024). Asians’ well-being in Aotearoa during Covid-19: The mitigating role of belonging in the relationship between racism and life satisfaction. Association of Australia Conference, Perth, Australia.
- Park, L. S. (2023). Otherness, acculturation, and social identity: A qualitative inquiry of the emergence of ethnic identity among 1.5- and 2nd-generation Korean New Zealanders. Social Sciences Korean Studies European Network (SoKEN) Conference, Frankfurt, Germany.
- Park, L. S., and Jaung, R. (2023). Asian New Zealanders’ experiences of racism during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with life satisfaction. ISA World Congress of Sociology, Melbourne, Australia.
- Seo, Y. (2023). How K-pop is different from Hollywood in Asia: The roles of global identity pursuit and construal levels. Korean Scholars of Marketing Science International Conference, Seoul, Korea.
- Fifita, I. (2023). Transcending national identity: The dynamics of cultural mixing among Pasifika communities in New Zealand. Korean Scholars of Marketing Science International Conference, Seoul, Korea.
- Fifita, I. (2022). Beyond national culture: Pasifika and cultural mixing in Aotearoa. Korean Scholars of Marketing Science International Conference, Seoul, Korea.
- Park, L. S. (2021). Living in a high-trust society with a low-trust co-ethnic community: What causes trust amongst Koreans living in Auckland, New Zealand? International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS12), Kyoto, Japan (Online).
- Park, L. S. (2020). I can trust most New Zealanders, but not the co-ethnics: Why Korean youths in New Zealand cannot trust other Koreans? World Congress of Korean Studies, Seongnam, Korea (Online).
- Park, L. S., and Song, C. (2019). From ethnic nationalism to multiculturalism?: Changes of the trend and discourse on international marriages in Korea of the mid-2000s. AAS-in-Asia, Bangkok, Thailand.
- Seo, Y., Septianto, F., and Cruz, A. (2019). Country-of-origin celebrity endorsement effects in emerging markets. Australia and New Zealand Marketing Conference, Wellington, New Zealand.