Jiwon’s research looks at intercultural communication, interactions, and cooperations in various in-person and online contexts. At the heart of his research agenda lies the fundamental question: How can people from different backgrounds work with each other when they have little in common? To answer this question, he looks at various social arrangements that make different ideas, cultures and populations come into contact with each other. His dissertation highlights the nonprofit sector and organizations as havens of intercultural solidarity where a variety of individuals must work together for a common goal. Drawing from a multi-year ethnography, he looks at how nonprofit workers interpret, resolve, and work around these individual differences.
Jiwon received a M.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in Sociology and South Asian Studies from Seoul National University, South Korea. His works have been published in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, New Media and Society, Mobilities, and Korean Journal of International Migration.