Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Chuyun Oh.
Hi Dr. Oh, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I am Dr. Chuyun Oh, Associate Professor of Dance Theory at San Diego State University. I became the first Korean tenured professor in dance theory in the US after my book K-pop Dance (Routledge, 2022), which became Amazon’s new release bestseller. Now, I am offering the first 3 units K-pop dance theory and practice courses in higher education in the US.
I got into K-pop dance research as a Fulbright scholar Ph.D. student at UT Austin in the 2010s. As a former professional ballet and modern dancer, I saw an enormous potential in K-pop, becoming a professional dance field. Now as BTS Jungkook’s solo album “Golden” and his dance showcase, K-pop is a beloved social and popular dance of the global youth.
Teaching in Southern California, I share my gratitude with the big K-pop dance teams and cultures, including SDSU, UCSD, UC Berkeley, and more. They inspired me to write the K-pop book and create courses so that academia reflects what students are already interested in.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenge was that K-pop is “not the canon.” Dance programs, in general, remain pretty conservative – ethnic minority dance, such as hip hop, Capoeira, and salsa, to name a few, are considered as “electives.” In contrast, genres dominated by White Euro-American dancers, such as postmodern, modern, and ballet, are deemed as core coursework to graduate.
The limited “canon,” however, neither reflects the diverse student body nor students’ ever-changing interests, especially in California.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a faculty offering the first K-pop dance courses, I bring my students to performance venues in San Diego. This semester, SDSU students have performed at the San Diego Padres and San Diego Museum of Arts, to name a few. Most students taking K-pop courses are non-arts and non-dance majors, so those performances have given them such exciting moments to shine.
I think the events tell us the democratic nature of K-pop dance. Whether you are a dance major or not, trained in conventional dance techniques or not, you can perform and excite the audience.
The vast amount of tutorial videos and what I theorized as “gestural point choreography” in my book K-pop Dance – easy-to-remember, repetitive, eye-catching choreography in the middle of the song chorus – helps amateur dancers and general students to enjoy the beauty of dancing and its pleasure.
I have witnessed students’ desire to turn their hobby (fandom) into professional careers, such as K-pop event planner, fitness and dance instructor, K-pop backup dancer, and cover dance influencer. To meet their needs, I have offered “K-pop Creator Cerficiate” from Oniz Lab, registered to the Korean government, inviting K-pop idols and industry professionals. It is currently the only K-pop certificate offered in English for the US students.
2024 certificate will be offered from June 28th to July 26th, 2024, via my “K-pop Dance & Social Media” course at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) International Summer School (ISS) (https://summer.skku.edu/summer/index.do). SKKU is a top private college in South Korea where K-pop idol Cha Eun-woo graduated from. The certificate and scholarship application is available at: https://forms.gle/zXvaJsC8yno7G9uK8
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
San Diego is one of the best cities to live in. Its fancy urban culture, safety, accessible arts and cultural infrastructures, and diverse culture, from food to dance and music, make the city one of the most desirable places in the US. Of course, the living expenses are challenging to afford, but perhaps it is a privilege to live in such a perfectly balanced city.
Contact Info:
- Website: K-pop Creator Certificate, Oniz Lab
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chuyun.oh
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuyun-oh-%EC%98%A4%EC%A3%BC%EC%97%B0-7a92b380/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OhChuyun
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/Chuyunoh
- Other: https://summer.skku.edu/summer/index.do
Image Credits
Chuyun Oh
