Hye Jin Lee

Hye Jin Lee is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Communication at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She holds a PhD in Mass Communication from the University of Iowa, where she served as managing editor of the Journal of Communication Inquiry. Her research focuses on cultural meanings of popular culture, K-pop industry dynamics, global fandom, and the intersection of gender with technology and media design.

Expertise spans digital media, entertainment, gaming, gender/sexuality studies, and global popular culture. She founded and formerly edited the Fembot Collective's Books Aren’t Dead podcast, which highlights feminist scholarship in media and technology studies.

Current research explores transnational cultural meaning transformation, social media-television convergence, and the gendered dimensions of technological innovation. Courses taught include The Evolution of K-Pop, Communication and Social Media, and Youth and Media.