(4 weeks, June-July)

The flagship KARSI experience that moves beyond surface consumption to embodied cultural knowledge through integrated research methodologies. Students progress from direct urban engagement through industry immersion to sophisticated critical analysis, culminating in original research production. Led by our core faculty team including Dr. Michael Hurt, Dr. Donna Lee Kwon (pending), and CedarBough Saeji (pending), with an exclusive industry partnership providing unprecedented access to K-pop production processes.

Week 1: Embodied Urban Research- Dr. Hurt's "City as Text" methodology through actual movement across Seoul, visual sociology techniques via street-level engagement, treating urban spaces as living research sites rather than tourist destinations

Week 2: Embodied Cultural Production- Dr. Kwon's "madang" methodology exploring embodied spatial participation, plus full industry immersion with Five Stones Entertainment through authentic trainee experience. Students follow actual daily trainee schedules, including morning calisthenics and exercise routines, choreography learning and execution, portfolio production with professional headshots and album cover shoots, makeup and hair styling regimens, and complete participation in planning and rehearsal processes. This truly embodied approach moves far beyond observation to direct physical and emotional engagement with K-pop production demands, with exercise intensity adjusted for individual physical capabilities.

Track Selection Process:Students work with faculty to identify research focus areas based on their embodied discoveries, choosing specializations that will guide their Week 4 research products from Performance & Space, Industry & Labor, Urban & Visual, or Transnational Flows perspectives

Week 3: Embodied Critical Analysis - CedarBough Saeji guides students in analyzing embodied experiences through sophisticated theoretical frameworks, moving from personal experience to scholarly insight

Week 4: Research Synthesis & Production - Students work within their selected research focus areas to synthesize embodied learning into original research papers, data analysis projects, and presentation materials, creating customized final products while maintaining the holistic foundation from Weeks 1-3.

(16-week/semester course)

Comprehensive ethnographic training specifically designed for Korean contexts, combining online instruction with hands-on Seoul fieldwork components. This program develops professional ethnographic skills through sustained practice and supervision, based on Dr. Hurt's experience teaching inside a multi-city-sited course co-taught at Yonsei University and Syracuse University. Students learn to "read" Seoul's urban spaces as complex texts containing multiple layers of meaning through sophisticated spatial analysis techniques.

Semester Structure: Weeks 1-4 theoretical foundations and methodology training, Weeks 5-12 extensive fieldwork across Seoul neighborhoods (Apgujeong, Euljiro, Yeonnam-dong, Dongdaemun, Seongsu-dong), Weeks 13-16 analysis, digital mapping projects, and final urban intervention presentations

KARSI Winter Vietnam Expedition: "Cultural Flows & Colonial Memory"
(2 weeks, January)

Intensive field research expedition tracking Korean cultural influence throughout Southeast Asia. Students continue the ongoing "Hallyu in Hanoi" ethnographic research project, interviewing Vietnamese youth and analyzing K-pop's impact on local culture. This program develops comparative analysis skills while contributing to ongoing research on transnational cultural flows.

Vietnam Winter Art Residency
(2 weeks, January/February)

A unique combination of documentary photography training and cultural analysis based at Chau & Co. Gallery in Hanoi. Students work with Vietnamese artists in 1:1 mentorship relationships, creating installations that compare Vietnamese and Korean cultural experiences. This program develops visual storytelling skills while exploring cultural parallels and differences.

KARSI Trace Expeditions: "Korean Cultural Flows Through Asia"
(10-14 days, usually June or July)
Annual academic expeditions that follow the prestigious AAS-in-Asia conference wherever it convenes, combining conference attendance with intensive field research tracking Korean cultural influence in the host country. Students experience authentic academic conferences firsthand while conducting original ethnographic research using Dr. Hurt's proven photo-sartorial elicitation methodology, previously employed in Indonesia, Vietnam, and other Asian locations.

Conference Integration: Students attend panel sessions, keynote presentations, and networking events at one of Asia's premier academic conferences, learning to comport themselves in professional academic contexts while observing cutting-edge Asian Studies research

Field Research Component: Extended research phase following conference using Dr. Hurt's photo-sartorial elicitation methodology to investigate Korean cultural influence and adaptation patterns in the local context, contributing to ongoing research on hallyu flows across Asia

Mentorship Structure: Graduate student research assistants and local academic partners provide on-ground support for ethnographic data collection, interview techniques, and cultural analysis

Academic Networking: Students develop relationships with international scholars, observe academic presentation standards, and gain exposure to professional research communities

Various Locations: Our program adapts to conference venues, ensuring students experience diverse Asian cultural contexts rather than fixed itineraries. Recent AAS-in-Asia locations include Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2024), Kathmandu, Nepal (2025), Daegu, Korea (2023), Bangkok, Thailand (2019), Delhi, India (2018), Seoul, Korea (2017), Kyoto, Japan (2016), Taipei, Taiwan (2015), and Singapore (2014)