- University of Southern California will study G-Dragon to understand how K-pop works behind the scenes.
- The course looks at why Western audiences sometimes resist K-pop despite its global boom.
- Students will learn how K-pop artists influence people worldwide, particularly those who are not a part of their fandom.
G-Dragon will be studied as a part of an unorthodox communications class at the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, this spring. The new four-credit course is titled, Crooked Studies of K-pop: Reimagining K-pop's Dominant Discourses Through G-Dragon. It intends to use the BIGBANG frontman as an academic mirror to examine the K-pop’s global narratives and structural challenges.
From Stardom to Structural Analysis: G-Dragon as a Case Study
Lee Hye-jin, a clinical assistant professor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, picked G-Dragon for what his professional life discloses about the potential and limitations of K-pop's global push, while also studying critically about global pop creation, reception, and resistance. "I did not create this class because I'm a huge G-Dragon fan," Lee told Korea JoongAng Daily in an interview. "This course is challenging dominant discourses through the body of work of an artist."
The curriculum portrays G-Dragon as a pioneer whose solo career in music, fashion, and branding provides a window into the industrial, cultural, and technological factors creating K-pop. The course will include weekly lectures focusing on screenings and discussions that trace his evolution, explore promotional mechanisms, and assess his style from Big Bang's debut to his solo Übermensch era, which also includes the androgynous aesthetics that have been compared to David Bowie and Prince.
Lee stated that the curriculum purposely separates itself from corporate influence. Neither YG Entertainment nor Galaxy Corporation was involved in the syllabus creation. As per her interview statements, industry interference could have undermined critical inquiry.
Studying K-pop’s Global Expansion Along With Its Critical Limits
A primary focus of the course is the disparity between K-pop's global visibility and its inconsistent reception in Western contexts. According to Professor Lee, many Western observers continue to regard K-pop as "manufactured commodities" devoid of creativity, and non-fans' resistance is frequently motivated by cultural and language unfamiliarity.
She also emphasized that these critical assumptions are shaped by broader racialized and gendered perspectives, which explains why the genre's global success has not always translated into mainstream critical recognition in the West. However, she also highlighted that groups like HYBE’s KATSEYE are breaking such barriers where people from different cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds are becoming a part of the K-pop system.
Lee's work goes beyond fandom to examine how K-pop is perceived, talked about, and viewed in different contexts. She wants students to grasp the genre not just as a successful global business model, but also as a cultural form influenced by industrial institutions and external perspectives. By presenting G-Dragon as a subject of critical research rather than fan appreciation, the USC course reflects a growing academic interest in K-pop, focusing on how the genre is framed and perceived, particularly outside of its core fanbase.
