Gender and Politics in East Asia

The “Gender and Politics in East Asia” Conference is organized by Christian Dyogi Phillips (University of Southern California) and Jeong Hyun Kim (Yonsei University).

This conference brings together scholars conducting innovative research on comparative gender politics in East Asia. Papers will use a range of methodologies to examine the complex relationships between the politics of gender, migration, labor and demographic change in this region, and how they shape our understanding of democratic politics more broadly. We hope you will join us, along with presenters from institutions in the United States, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, for a day and a half of rigorous scholarship and generative discussions.

This conference is supported by the USC Center for International Studies, the USC Korean Studies Institute, and the Academy of Korean Studies.

This conference is open to USC graduate students, faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and students in POSC/SWMS 381. Scholars from other institutions are welcome to attend by invitation. Please note that this conference is in-person, without a hybrid option.

Conference Program

Monday, September 15, 2025
9:00 am–5:00 pm
USC University Club Scriptorium

9:00-9:15 am | Opening Remarks and Welcome from Christian Dyogi Phillips, University of Southern California, Saori Katada, director of the Center for International Studies, and Sunyoung Park, director of the Korean Studies Institute

9:15 – 11:15 am | Panel 1: The Politics of Shifting Gender and Population Dynamics
Chair: Minnie Go, Ewha Womans University

“Demographic Change and Immigration Attitudes in East Asia”
(co-authored by Yesola Kweon of Sunkyunkwan University and Amy Liu of University of Texas at Austin)
Presenter: Jeong Hyun Kim, Yonsei University

“Demographic Anxieties and Gendered Blame: Experimental Evidence from South Korea”
Presenter: Yesola Kweon, Sungkyunkwan University

“Womanhood without Motherhood: New Gender and Family Norms in Contemporary Korea”
Presenter: Eunsil Oh, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Discussant: Tiffany Barnes, University of Texas at Austin

12:15 – 2:30 pm | Panel 2: Gendering Representation, Voice and Democratic Legitimacy
Chair: Christian Dyogi Phillips, University of Southern California

“Legislating with Women: How Gender Composition Affects Issue Advocacy”
(co-authored by Leonardo R. Arriola of University of California Merced, Donghyun Danny Choi of Brown University, Junwoo Suh of University of California Berkeley, and Soosun You of University of Pennsylvania)
Presenter: Donghyun Danny Choi, Brown University

“The Impact of Women’s Protest Participation on Political Agency and Perceptions of Legitimacy and Democracy”
Presenter: Soosun You, University of Pennsylvania

Discussant: Varun Karekurve-Ramachandra, University of Southern California
Discussant: Jean Hong, University of Michigan

3:00 – 5:00 pm | Panel 3: Gendering the Politics of Migration in East Asia
Chair: Jeong Hyun Kim, Yonsei University

“Migrant Workers or Future Citizens? Taiwan’s Foreign Mid-Skilled Workers Program”
Presenter: Yi-Chun Chien, National Chengchi University

“Who Welcomes Immigrants? Unveiling Gendered Attitudes in East Asian Democracies”
Presenter: Minnie Go, Ewha Womans University

“The Shifting Gender Politics of Work, Marriage and Migration in Korea”
Presenter: Christian Dyogi Phillips, University of Southern California

Discussant: Margarita Estévez-Abe, Syracuse University

Tuesday, September 16, 2025
9:00 am–11:30 am
USC University Club Scriptorium

9:00 – 11:30 am | Panel 4: Junior Scholars of Korean Gender Politics
Chair: Soosun You, University of Pennsylvania

“A Quiet Revolution: The Effect of Gender Inequality on Birth Rate Decline in South Korea”
Presenter: Daphne Yang, University of Southern California (graduate student)

“Does Khaki Shadow Pink? Military Service and Attitudes toward Gendered Issues”
Presenter: Yeonsoo Park, University of Texas at Dallas

“Gender Matters in the Judiciary: Adjudicating Sexual Assault in Korea”
Presenter: Holly Seonyeong Jo, Moravian University

“Gendered Emotional Costs of Political Ideological Differences in Couples: Evidence from South Korea in the Era of Polarization”
Presenter: Hyojin Lee, Yonsei University (graduate student)

Discussant: Young-Im Lee, California State University, Sacramento
Discussant: Jennifer Chun, University of California, Los Angeles