Becky Pham

How did you become interested in the EASC Graduate Fellowship?

I became interested in the EASC Graduate Fellowship after being invited to join the academic panel for the event K-pop Festa in September 2022 with four other smart, sharp, and funny graduate students at USC but from a discipline different from mine (communication and media studies). I realized if I wanted to deepen my understanding of East Asian cultures and seek more research opportunities, EASC would be an amazing source of support and connections.

What is your research focus?

My first stream of research focuses on youth, digital media, and East Asian popular culture. My current Ph.D. dissertation investigates the influence of Hallyu (The Korean Wave) on Vietnamese American youth’s digital culture. My second stream of research centers on family communication, mobile media, and Asian contexts.

In what ways did the EASC Graduate Fellowship impact or help your research?

The EASC Fellowship has allowed me to conduct a project I had wanted to do for so long in my home country–the influence of Hallyu on youth’s digital culture in Vietnam. It has been such a privilege for me to talk to and learn from so many young, smart, and enthusiastic Vietnamese youth after being away for so long (more than 4 years), and contribute more to the scant academic literature on Southeast Asian youth.

Can you share any anecdotes about your fellowship experience?

The EASC Fellowship has really allowed me to be both the manager and researcher of my research project, all by myself. It was both a frightening and fun experience! I was very concerned about not being able to gather all my data before the deadline, but I was very lucky and managed to wrap up the data collection in time.