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Sumi Kim

Hanyang University · Social Sciences

About the Lab

Professor Sumi Kim’s research lab specializes in cultural policy, cultural diplomacy, and the institutionalisation of cultural heritage, with a particular focus on the globalisation of Korean culture through museums, exhibitions, and digital governance. The lab investigates how cultural branding, K-pop, and transnational museum collaborations—such as the Korea Foundation Gallery at the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Arts of Korea exhibition—serve as strategic tools in South Korea’s soft power projection. It also explores the role of digital transformation in redefining museum accessibility, public engagement, and cultural equity, especially through AI-driven curation and open data initiatives. The lab’s interdisciplinary approach bridges cultural studies, political science, and museum studies to examine the intersection of policy, technology, and identity in contemporary cultural institutions.

cultural diplomacycultural policymuseum studiesK-pop heritagedigital governance

Research Overview

Papers
10
Total Citations
7
Papers (5y)
10
Primary Field
Social Sciences

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
10total
2022
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
7total
202220252026

Selected Papers

10
1
Article|3 citations·2025
Unravelling the key topics of Hallyu: a cultural branding perspective from South Korea
Taewoo Roh, Sumi Kim, Taehyung Kim, Sang-Hyeak Yoon
SJR Q2Asia Pacific Business Review

This study explores Hallyu and the global spread of Korean culture through the lens of cultural branding using a strategic and multi-layered approach. We conducted a systematic literature review to extract topics at the intersection of cultural branding and Hallyu and employed Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modelling to identify contemporary trends and thematic structures to suggest theoretical positions. We identified six topics that bridge the theoretical and practical aspects of Hallyu in

Cultural StudiesSocial Sciences
2
Article|2 citations·2022
The British Museum’s Korean gallery: a space embodying South Korean cultural diplomacy in the 1990s
Sumi Kim
SJR Q1Cultural Trends

In 2000, the permanent Korean gallery space, named the Korea Foundation Gallery, officially opened in the British Museum. The establishment of the Korean gallery helped advance the universality of the British Museum and fulfilled an institutional goal of South Korean cultural diplomatic institutions. This article aims to draw out the ways in which this Korean gallery demonstrates and characterises South Korean cultural diplomacy in the 1990s. It articulates the cultural diplomatic policy and the

Cultural StudiesSocial Sciences
3
Article|1 citations·2025
미국 문화기관의 디지털 거버넌스: 메트로폴리탄미술관의 ‘유니버설’ 뮤지엄 전략과 실천 사례를 중심으로
김수미

본 연구는 미국 메트로폴리탄미술관 사례를 중심으로, 디지털 거버넌스가 문화정책 영역에서 문화 접근성 확대, 공공성 강화, 다문화 포용을 실천하는 방식을 분석하는 것을 목표로 한다. 연구는 세 가지 방법을 통해 수행되었다. 첫째, 디지털 거버넌스 개념에 대한 관련 문헌 검토, 둘째, 미국 연방정부 및 문화기관의 정책 자료 분석을 통한 제도적 맥락 파악, 셋째, 미술관 디지털 운영 담당자 2인과의 심층 인터뷰를 통한 실무 현장 분석이다. 연구 결과, 메트로폴리탄미술관은 웹사이트 개편(2016), 디지털 부서 설립(2019), 오픈 데이터 및 인공지능(AI) 기반 콘텐츠 큐레이션(2017–) 등 구체적인 디지털 전략을 통해 ‘유니버설’ 뮤지엄의 기관 정체성을 실현하고 있으며, 연방정부의 정책 기조와 지역적 장소성의 상호보완적 작용을 통해 디지털 거버넌스를 실천하고 있음을 확인했다. 디지털 거버넌스는 이 과정에서 단순한 기술적 도구가 아니라, 문화의 해석과 참여 방식을 재구성하는 구조적 메

4
Article|1 citations·2025
제도와 대중문화로서의 영국 축구: 4개 구성국의 국가 정체성 표현 방식
김수미

본 논문은 “연합왕국” 영국을 구성하는 4개국(잉글랜드, 스코틀랜드, 웨일스, 북아일랜드)이 축구를 통해 정체성을 표현하는 방식을 탐구한다. 축구는 단순한 스포츠를 넘어 민족적․문화적․역사적 정체성을 표현하는 매개체로, 각 지역은 이를 통해 독립적 정체성을 드러낸다. 잉글랜드는 축구의 발상지로 제국주의와 산업화를 거치며 국제적 축구 문화를 형성했고, 스코틀랜드는 잉글랜드와의 경쟁을 통해 민족적 독립성을 강조한다. 웨일스는 언어와 전통을 보존하려는 의지를, 북아일랜드는 영국과의 연합주의적 정체성을 축구를 통해 표현한다. 축구의 제도화와 대중문화적 특징을 역사적 관점에서 접근한 본 연구는 영국 축구가 지역적 차이를 넘어 국가 정체성을 형성하는 방식과 함께 사회적 통합과 분열을 반영하는 복합적 구조를 지니고 있음을 논의한다.

5
Book Chapter|0 citations·2026
South Korean Cultural Diplomacy in the Cold War
Sumi Kim
Sociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
6
book|0 citations·2026
The Cultural Diplomacy of South Korea
Sumi Kim

This book explores the role played by museums and museum exhibitions in South Korea’s cultural diplomacy and international projection of itself to the world. Based on extensive archival research and fieldwork in cultural diplomatic institutions across South Korea, Britain, and the United States, this book charts the important role played by this form of cultural diplomacy. It considers specific travelling exhibitions including Masterpieces of Korean Art, which was on tour from 1957 to 1962, and

Cultural StudiesSocial Sciences
7
Article|0 citations·2025
Conceptualising K-pop as cultural heritage and content: institutionalisation within South Korea’s cultural policy framework
Sumi Kim
SJR Q1International Journal of Cultural Policy

Investigating how K-pop has been heritagised and institutionalised within South Korea’s cultural policy framework, the study traces legislative shifts since the 1960s. This analysis demonstrates how cultural policies have classified and legitimised popular music as both cultural heritage and cultural content. Two key contributions emerge: First, the article bridges cultural policy and popular music heritage research in Korea, offering insights into how institutional frameworks transform popular

Cultural StudiesSocial Sciences
8
Book Chapter|0 citations·2026
South Korean Cultural Diplomacy 2000s Onwards
Sumi Kim
Cultural StudiesSocial Sciences
9
Book Chapter|0 citations·2026
South Korean Cultural Diplomacy in the 1990s
Sumi Kim
Cultural StudiesSocial Sciences
10
Book Chapter|0 citations·2026
From Korean Identity to K-Identity
Sumi Kim

The global Hallyu and K-culture exhibitions represent a newly shaped identity of contemporary Korea by adding the prefix ‘K-’ to Korean culture. Since the first official international exhibition of Korean arts and culture opened at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in 1957, Korean traditional arts and culture have been a good medium for creating Korea’s unique cultural identity during the second half of the 20th century. As the Hallyu attracted global attention after the 2000s, museums an

Cultural StudiesSocial Sciences

Research Areas

Cultural StudiesSociology and Political Science

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