Biography

I study and research Korean popular culture and the history of Chinese borderlands with a particular focus on ethnic formation in China's Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. As someone simultaneously enrolled in the EdM program offered by the College of Ed, I'm also passionate about youth and community engagement as well as interdisciplinary dialogues between educational research and my own research in cultural studies. When not reading, teaching, and doing research, I enjoy spending time with my family. My hobbies include weightlifting, auto repair, and watching K-dramas.

Research Interests

Politics of identity and representation in South Korean media and popular culture; ethnic formation in Chinese borderlands

Education

Ph.D. (Expected), East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Ed.M. (Expected), Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

M.A., East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

B.A. English, Wuhan University

 

Grants

2023-24 Illinois Global Institute Korean Language Fellowship 

2021, 2022 & 2023, EALC Summer Research Fellowship

Awards and Honors

2021 Tyler Best Gen-Ed Teaching Award

 

 

Courses Taught

CHIN306 Advanced Chinese II (Spring 2020)

CHIN305 Advanced Chinese I (Fall 2020)

CHIN409 Intensive Superior Level Chinese (Summer 2020)

EALC230 Popular Cultures of Contemporary East Asia (Fall 2021 & Fall 2023)

CWL275 Masterpieces of East Asian Literature (Spring 2021 & Spring 2022)

EALC250 Introduction to Japanese Culture (Fall 2022 & Spring 2023)

EALC230 Pop Culture Contemp East Asia (Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024 & Spring 2025)

LAS291/292 (Fall 2025 & Spring 2026)

 

Highlighted Publications

Zhang, Shuo (2025), ‘Pandas as new icons of Koreanness: Childbirth, growth,
and family-making at a South Korean zoo’, International Journal of Media &
Cultural Politics, online first (in print).