Data-driven studies of public opinion, policy preferences, and social narratives in Korean society. Plus applied microeconomics analysis.
I explore how Korea’s demographic, fiscal, and energy transitions shape public preferences and policy responses—combining empirical research and direct policy advising to understand social cleavages, middle-class identity, and the institutional conditions for sustainable reform.
📄 Academic Research
Representative Works:
- 🛠️ ”Leaving Someone Behind: Coal Phase-Out in South Korea,” [link] 👥 Sehoon Kim, Yeong Jae Kim, Jinseong Park, Sunjoo Park
- Ideology and Policy Preferences in Synthetic Data: The Potential of LLMs for Public Opinion Analysis, Media and Communication, 2025 👥 Keyeun Lee, Suh-hee Choim and Jaehyuk Park
- Job reallocation in Korean manufacturing: 1984–2014, Journal of Asian Economics, 74: 101295, 2021. 🔗 [link] 👥 Cheongyeon Won
📊 Policy Research
Representative Works:
- 🇰🇷 Koreans’ Policy Preference, 2024-2025, 2025. 🔗 [link] 👥 Young Jae Kim, Jinseong Park, Sehoon Kim, Haeun Kim, Soomin LIm
- 🇰🇷 Who is the Middle Class in Korea?, KDI, 2024. 🔗 [link] [▶️ Youtube] [▶️ Youtube] 👥 Sookyeong Hwang
- 🇰🇷 Opinion Polarization in Korea, KDI, 2019. 🔗 [link] 👥 Woonhyuk Lim, Seeun Jung, Dongook Choi
→ This report highlights the mismatch between Korea’s objective and subjective middle class, and emphasizes the importance of understanding the layered nature and policy implications of this divergence.
→ Using survey data, I examine trends in opinion polarization in Korea and find increasing issue-based divergence since the 2010s, while overall ideological distribution remains stable.
🗣️ Selected Outreach Activities
🎙️ Talks & Lectures
🖼️ Programs & Curation
Projects where I organized or collaborated on Korea’s public policy and public opinion.