About
Like the tagline says, The Grand Narrative is about discussing Korean sociology through gender, advertising, and popular culture, and has become one of the leading internet sources on those topics, getting mentions in such sources as TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, and Jezebel.
Ironically, this focus was not my original intention, but with Korea having such dubious honors as: the lowest birthrate in the world; the largest wage gap between men and women in the OECD; the lowest percentage of working women in the OECD; and actresses being sued by companies they endorse for coming public about being beaten by their husbands, then what soon emerges as the virtual gender apartheid that exists here renders those topics essential to understanding Korean society.
As for me, I am in process of making a transition from an ESL teacher and editor for 11 years to becoming a public speaker, consultant, and writer, centered around the topics I cover on this blog. Please feel free to contact me via email, Linkedin, or Twitter if you’d like me to speak at your school or institution, and/or for more information about my experience, skills, and the services that I can provide.
On a more personal note, I arrived in Jinju in Korea back in May 2000, and moved with my Korean girlfriend to Busan in September 2003, and have been there ever since. We got married in May 2004, and had Alice in June 2006 and then Elizabeth in August 2008. Before that, I was born in England in 1976, and spent most of my adolescence being repeatedly dragged between England, Australia and New Zealand by my parents, and I just so happened to be in the latter when they got divorced so I graduated high school and went to (Auckland) university there. Technically, I’m still British, but I’ve spent most of my adult life in Korea.
Recent and Forthcoming Guest Lectures, Conference Presentations, Articles, and Media Appearances:
November 2010
– Wellesley College, Boston “An Introduction to Korean Gender Issues”
March 2011
– Royal Asiatic Society, Seoul “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”
April 2011
– Pusan National University, Busan “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”
May 2011
– University of California, Irvine “Girls’ Generation? Gender, (Dis)Empowerment and K-Pop” (for chapter in forthcoming Korean Popular Culture Reader by Duke University Press)
June 2011
- Pusan National University, Busan “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”
– Sejong University, Seoul “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”
July 2011
– Korea Herald “Should the Sexualization of Teens in K-Pop be Banned?”
- 4th Korea-America Student Conference, Pukyong National University, Busan “Gender Advertisements in the Korean Context”
- Deutschland Radio interview – Wirtschaftsfaktor Girlband
September 2011
- Bust Magazine, “South Korean Starlets Stuck with Offensive Bagel Girl Label”
November 2011
- Gwangju Foreign Language Network, Interview
December 2011
- Keimyung University, Daegu “Reflexivities and Embodiment” Seminar and Workshop
January 2012
- Sociological Images, “Thinking through Korean Appropriation of American Indians”
February 2012
- Busan Haps, “Korea’s Hidden Smokers”
March 2012
- Eurêka! Productions, “Le sexe autour du monde” documentary interview
(Last updated: January 2012)
