'Crooked Studies of K-pop': Prestigious U.S. University Launches Course on G-Dragon's Worldview

New Course Established at USC Annenberg
"In-depth Analysis of G-Dragon to Present New Discourse on K-pop"

A regular course focusing on singer G-Dragon will be newly established at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC), a prestigious university in the western United States.

Singer G-Dragon is delivering his acceptance speech for the Order of Cultural Merit at the red carpet event of the "2025 Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards" held on the afternoon of the 23rd at the National Theater of Korea, Haeoreum Theater in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

On December 5, Galaxy Corporation announced that a course titled "COMM 400: Crooked Studies of K-pop: The Case of G-Dragon" will be offered at USC Annenberg during the spring semester next year.

Galaxy Corporation emphasized, "This is the first time that a four-credit regular course exclusively dedicated to a K-pop artist will be offered at USC Annenberg, which is regarded as one of the top communication programs. The launch of the G-Dragon course at USC is an official academic recognition of the industrial and cultural value of G-Dragon's universe, comparable to the Beyonc? course at Yale University or the Taylor Swift course at Harvard University."

The course, led by Professor Lee Hyejin, aims to present new discourse on K-pop through in-depth analysis of G-Dragon. Professor Lee plans to highlight G-Dragon’s influence and worldview that extend beyond music.

Choi Yongho, CEO of Galaxy Corporation, stated, "It is highly significant that, in celebration of G-Dragon’s 20th debut anniversary, a regular credited course focusing on his cultural influence is being offered at a prestigious university like USC, marking a first for K-pop. This will serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the artistic depth and global impact of K-pop."

Meanwhile, G-Dragon is recognized as an influential artist across the K-pop industry and continues to attract academic interest. In June last year, he was appointed as an invited professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). His term runs until June next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.