Jenna Gibson
jennargibson.bsky.social
Jenna Gibson
@jennargibson.bsky.social
Assistant Director, Notre Dame International Security Center. PhD in Political Science focused on diplomatic rhetoric, public and cultural diplomacy, and U.S.-Korea relations. 2x Fulbright Korea alum. K-pop researcher and fan. Pfp from Taybee on Picrew.
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Hello! I'm Jenna, and I'm a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago studying International Relations.
I'm on the postdoc market this year - check out my site for what I've been up to!
jennargibson.com
Jenna Gibson
PhD Candidate, University of Chicago Department of Political Science
jennargibson.com
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
Deadline is today! If you’ve got a paper on Korea, consider applying to the fourth cohort of the Korean Political Studies Colloquium (KPSC): textvulture.github.io/presentation...
July 17, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
"Into the New World", a tribute to the people of South Korea who took to the streets a few months ago (and before).
Directed by Nakwon with many other artists.
>> www.catsuka.com/breves/2025-...
May 29, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Excited to announce that my paper with Felicia Istad is now online!
We use an analysis of audience responses to former President Moon & BTS' trip to the UN in 2021 to discuss the potential - and limitations - of trying to equate popularity with soft power.
online.ucpress.edu/as/article/d...
Toward a Political Model of Soft PowerAn Empirical Evaluation of South Korean Foreign Policy
Soft power, the idea that states can achieve their goals through attraction rather than coercion, has been applied to various contexts, leading to significant concept creep. Still, it remains appealin...
online.ucpress.edu
May 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
An NBR essay by @jennargibson.bsky.social outlines four considerations for thinking about when and how to implement a strategy to cultivate #softpower and argues that policymakers should address concerns over soft power at the outset alongside hard-power conversations. nbr.org/publication/...
May 8, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
We at the @propublicaguild.bsky.social prepared this open letter to management. They have refused to allow stewards in performance-related meetings that could lead to discipline. This is in stark contrast from our other fellow unionized newsrooms. www.propublicaguild.org/updates/prop...
ProPublica Guild to management: Stop blocking stewards and resisting proposals for accountability — ProPublica Guild
ProPublica Guild members signed this letter to ProPublica's President Robin Sparkman and Editor in Chief Steve Engelberg on May 1st 2025. Dear Steve and Robin, Since we unionized in 2023, we have w...
www.propublicaguild.org
May 1, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Was very excited to participate in NBR's newly published
Roundtable for Congressional Affairs!

I wrote about the role of soft power in U.S.-Korea relations, trying to take a practical approach acknowledging potential benefits & opportunities but also major limitations.
www.nbr.org/publication/...
Soft-Power Strategies: Building Bridges between South Korea and the United States | The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR)
www.nbr.org
February 24, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
Scientific breakthroughs we might not have had without NSF funding:

The Internet
Smartphones
DNA analysis
MRIs
Doppler radar
Bar codes

And this is just the tiniest tip of the iceburg.
January 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
I love this, and need the sequel about photo cards
January 28, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
Those who stood ground throughout the night are being called “chocolate kisses” after wrapping themselves in silver thermal blankets to weather the cold as sweet protectors of democracy, looking similar to a Hersey’s Kiss. The holdout has been dubbed the “Protest of Kisses”
All night, pro-democracy protesters held their line against Yoon Suk Yeol near his residence, despite the snow and bitter cold
January 5, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
According to the Ganzhi system, 2025 is the Year of the Blue Snake, symbolizing new beginnings, thoughtful transformation, and growth and progress. May the new year bring greater wisdom, perseverance, and liberation to all who strive and fight for love and freedom.
January 1, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
Happy New Year everyone! Here in Korea we've been through a decade's worth of trouble in a month: martial law, impeachment, and then a tragic plane crash. Below is an overview of what is to come politically in Korea in the first half of 2025.

www.koreaherald.com/article/1038...
Political uncertainty to persist after Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law gamble
South Korea faces uncharted waters: Yoon‘s Fate, potential Cabinet Collapse, snap presidential election and challenges to 1987 Constitutional Order Political uncertainty looms over the new year, drive...
www.koreaherald.com
January 1, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
In the woman’s restroom near the protests many women have left snacks, masks, and sanitary pads to help others. Protests in Korea since the authoritarian era have been very communal events. Some who cannot make it to the protest have been paying for coffee and hot packs for hands
여자는 여자를 돕는다. 이런 집회 나오면 절실히 느낌. 지하철역 화장실에 가득한 나눔 물품. 생리대며 간식이며 마스크등등. 젊은 나이대들이 이런 물품 나누기 적극적. 좋은 소식있기를.
December 14, 2024 at 5:29 AM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
PASSED impeachment motion against President Yoon

Voting results
- 204 yes
- 85 no
- 3 abstained
- 8 invalid

Graphic below:
🟡Voting Turnout & What's Next?

Resources:
🟢 Timeline of events: shorturl.at/ReGnA
🟣 Koreanists 🇰🇷 to follow: go.bsky.app/U3Nm5FX

#MartialLaw #SouthKorea #Impeachment Repost🫡
December 14, 2024 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
How do impeachments work in South Korea?

Ahead of tomorrow's 2nd impeachment vote at 4:00 PM, here are two useful graphics, one by BBC and another by @afpnews.bsky.social
December 13, 2024 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
A very large number of South Korean broadcasters are wearing black in protest of Yoon's martial law decree, which attempted to place all media under control of the military.
v.daum.net/v/2024121312...
December 13, 2024 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
EDAM entertainment confirms #IU has pay in advance for meals and hot packs for protesters at Saturday's Yoon impeachment rallies in Seoul outside the National Assembly.

Source: www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR2024...
December 13, 2024 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
So, as promised, some background on the 2024 Korean trend of Funeral Wreaths As Protest, which first rose to prominence in K-pop and now target Yoon's admin following the martial law attempt and coming amid the protests calling for Yoon's impeachment...
The idea of sending funeral wreaths as a form of protest began earlier this year related to some issues within K-pop. Perhaps @tamarherman.com will give us a background thread? (wink wink)
Yea, a few instances this year really rose to prominence. www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2024...
December 11, 2024 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
Opposition DP members are no longer calling Yoon "president (대통령)" and only addressing him as "Yoon Suk Yeol-ssi (윤석열씨)" -- an honorific used for someone on equal status.
December 10, 2024 at 12:19 AM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
This grim, but impactful, messaging began earlier this year en masse with a variety of K-Pop issues earlier this year, now we get it in politics.
December 10, 2024 at 4:41 AM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
One thing that stood out to me at the impeachment protests this week in Seoul is how many young women came out. They are one of the main driving forces behind the movement against Yoon.

(Filmed on Sunday evening by me)
December 8, 2024 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
Han Kang's Nobel lecture is now online.

Please note that this was filmed *before* the events of 12/3 and only *released* now.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 was awarded to Han Kang "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life"
www.nobelprize.org
December 8, 2024 at 2:35 AM
"Most meetings of fans take place online, where it’s hard to truly get a sense of the connection between one fan and another...But at concerts, there’s a sense of togetherness, and these beautifully-designed lightsticks...become a show of the feelings in the hearts and minds of fans."
Watching the lightsticks at the Pro-impeachment protests and thinking a lot about the communality of K-pop lightsticks, which I wrote about way back in 2022 notesonkpop.com/the-communal...
The communality of K-pop lightsticks
Some thoughts on the value of "the biggest waste of plastic in the world"
notesonkpop.com
December 8, 2024 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by Jenna Gibson
A few thoughts on queer participation in the current pro-democracy rallies in South Korea: Queer visibility isn’t new in Korean social justice movements. LGBTQ communities have long been key players, challenging norms while demanding justice, equality, and accountability: 🧵
December 6, 2024 at 8:48 PM