Rate My Professor Jo Elfving Hwang

Professor Jo Elfving-Hwang is Professor of Korean Society and Culture in the Faculty of Humanities at Curtin University. She holds the positions of Deputy Head of School (Social Sciences) in the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, Dean Global, Northeast Asia in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Global, and Director of the Korea Research and Engagement Centre, which is funded by a $1.06 million external grant. With over 25 years of experience in Korean Studies, she earned her PhD in Korean Literature and Critical Theory from the University of Sheffield in 2006 and a First-Class BA Honours in Korean Studies from the same institution in 2000. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA, 2019). Her career includes academic appointments at the University of Sheffield, University of Leeds, Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Western Australia, and now Curtin University. She has held leadership roles such as President, Vice-President, and Treasurer of the Korean Studies Association of Australasia (KSAA), Vice-President of the Korean Cultural Committee of Western Australia, and member of the Australia-Korea Business Council’s Education Subcommittee.

Professor Elfving-Hwang's research specializations encompass contemporary South Korean society, particularly the sociology of the body, cosmetic surgery, Korean popular culture including K-pop and Hallyu, and Australia-Korea relations. She is currently working on a monograph titled Cosmetic Matters: The Body, Cosmetic Surgery and Beauty in Korea. Key publications include ‘Imagined authenticity: The Somatic Semiotics of Global "Koreanness"’ in Mechademia (2024), ‘Man Made Beautiful: The Social Role of Grooming and Body Work in Performing Middle-aged Corporate Masculinity in South Korea’ in Men and Masculinities (2021), ‘Media, Cosmetic Surgery and Aspirational Beauty Aesthetics of the Ageing Body in South Korea’ in Asian Studies Review (2020), and ‘Why aid diplomacy eventually pays off: Lessons from Australia’s Demonstration Sheep Farm Project in 1970s South Korea’ in Melbourne Asia Review (2022). Her work has garnered recognition, including selection as one of 60 Australians honored by the Australia-Korea Foundation in 2021 for contributions to Australia-Korea relations and a Global Recognition Award for Global Impact from Curtin University in 2024. She contributes through peer reviewing, conference organizing, media engagement in global outlets, policy reports, and events fostering business and education ties between Australia and Korea.