Jayson Chun

Jayson Chun is an Associate Professor in the Humanities Division at the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu, with a joint affiliation as an Instructor in the Asian Studies Program at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon (2004), an M.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1993), and a B.A. from Georgetown University (1989). His research focuses on postwar Japanese popular culture, Korean and Japanese pop music (K-pop and J-pop), anime history, media studies, and Asian American and Hawai‘i history. He has taught courses such as Asia Cool: Modern Asia & Pop Culture and The Pop Pacific: South Korean and Japanese Popular Music and Society.

His publications analyze topics like K-pop’s transnational influence, Japanese media history, and cultural diplomacy. He has presented widely, including a 2022 lecture on BTS and historical K-pop contexts in Seoul. Chun has studied at Hiroshima University and the University of Tokyo, and completed language training in Seoul and Beijing. His work bridges academic research with public engagement, emphasizing the role of popular culture in understanding modern East Asia.