Upcoming TAMIU Reading the Globe Lecture focuses on South Korean Pop Culture

The world of South Korean pop culture comes to life during an upcoming lecture at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU).

Offered through the TAMIU Reading the Globe Program (RTG), this year’s annual lecture will be delivered by Euny Hong, a Paris-based journalist and published author, who will discuss her book, “The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation is Conquering the World through Pop Culture.”

Members of the University community can attend the upcoming lecture, happening Friday, April 17, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. in the Academic Innovation Center, room 126.

A second, public lecture will be offered through the Joe A. Guerra Laredo Public Library on Saturday, April 18 at 10 a.m. Prior to the lecture, a meet and greet with the author is also scheduled. The event is free and open to the public.

Free, limited books will be available at each lecture offering.

In her writing, Hong recounts how South Korea vaulted itself into the twenty-first century, becoming a global leader in business, technology, education, and pop culture. Featuring lively, in-depth reporting and numerous interviews with Koreans working in all areas of government and society, the publication reveals how a really uncool country became cool, and how a nation that once banned miniskirts, long hair on men, and rock ‘n' roll could come to mass produce boy bands, soap operas, and the world's most important smart phone.

The publication was selected as an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Non-Fiction. It has been heralded by Telegraph UK as, “fabulously snarky,” and by the New York Times as, “incisive and humorous – an excellent case study of calculated entrepreneurial moxie.”

Hong’s articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and Allure, among others. She has many TV appearances, on such programs as “Picture This” on BBC2, “Ronan Farrow Daily” on CNBC, and Bloomberg TV.

She is a graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in Philosophy and is a former Fulbright Scholar. She is fluent in English, French, German, and Korean.  

Reading the Globe is a University-wide initiative aimed at engaging all members of the University and the surrounding community. This initiative provides first-year students an opportunity for discourse on relevant issues and raises social awareness on a local and global scale. Since 2008, the program has enabled all First-Year students to engage in a selected book with an international focus through their University Seminar. 

For additional information on TAMIU’s RTG program, visit https://www.tamiu.edu/readingtheglobe/