Between Export and Inheritance: Korean American Identity in the Age of K-Beauty
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | 3:30PM-5:00PM | AHN House | FLYER | RSVP

EASC Guest Speaker Series: Talk by David Yi with Faculty Moderator Prof. Sunyoung Park (EALC 430: Gender and Sexuality in Korean Literature and Culture) 

David Yi is a USC alum and co-founder of Very Good Light and the gender inclusive beauty brand good light. He is the author of Pretty Boys, the history of men, masc-identifying folx, beauty and masculinity. In this talk, he will focus on discussing a central paradox of the present moment: as Korean culture – through K-beauty, K-pop and media, and overall Korean capitalism – achieves unprecedented global visibility, Korean Americans often remain culturally peripheral to that success. Drawing from his work as a writer and founder in the K-beauty industry, the talk explores questions of belonging, authorship and power at the intersection of diaspora, capitalism, and cultural export. 

This event is co-cponsored by the USC Korean Studies Institute, Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies and the Consortium for Gender, Sexuality, Race and Public Culture.