Rate My Professor Seung-Ho Kwon

Dr. Seung-Ho Kwon is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Business at UNSW Canberra, University of New South Wales. He earned a BBA from Keimyung University, an MCom from UNSW, and a PhD in Industrial Relations from UNSW. His academic career at UNSW, documented since the late 1990s, includes early administrative roles in Korean studies programs and current leadership as Executive Director of the Korea Research Initiatives (KRI) at UNSW Canberra, overseeing research networks and publications focused on Korean studies.

Kwon's research specializations encompass the political economy of South Korea, chaebol and labor management strategies, globalization of Korean firms in automobiles and electronics, cultural industries including the Korean Wave (Hallyu), K-pop production systems, state developmental policies, electricity privatization, e-government innovation, and Hallyu's impact on women's empowerment in Southeast Asia. He has authored or co-authored seven books, including The Chaebol and Labour in Korea (Routledge, 2001, with Michael O'Donnell), The Chaebol and Labour in Korea: The Development of Management Strategy in Hyundai (2003, with Michael O'Donnell), The Global Korean Motor Industry: The Hyundai Motor Company’s Global Strategy (Routledge, 2006, with Chung-Sok Suh and Russell Lansbury), and reports on Northeast and Southeast Asian cultural communities (2004-2005). Notable journal articles include Samsung in Vietnam: FDI, Business-Government Relations, Industrial Parks, and Skills Shortages (Economic and Labour Relations Review, 2023, with Peter Sheldon), K-Pop’s Global Success and Its Innovative Production System (Sustainability, 2022, with Joseph Kim), The Political Economy of E-Government Innovation and Success in Korea (Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 2022, with Mark Turner and Joseph Kim), Making Integrity Institutions Work in South Korea (Asian Survey, 2018, with Mark Turner and Michael O’Donnell), and The Cultural Industry Policies of the Korean Government and the Korean Wave (International Journal of Cultural Policy, 2014, with Joseph Kim). Kwon serves as Editor-in-Chief of The International Review of Korean Studies (IROKS) and contributes to the Korean Studies Association of Southeast Asia (KoSASA), advancing understanding of East Asian economic and cultural dynamics.