The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International & Area Studies at Yale

Pursuing excellence in research, teaching, and capacity-building across societies to bring about a more informed, inclusive, and flourishing world

Explore our themes

Engaging global voices to better understand ourselves and others.

Scholarship and intervention to promote respect and human rights

Exploring and advancing effective and inclusive leadership.

Balancing the needs of people and the planet

Exploring the complexities of global warming through international and regional lenses

Building resilience in individuals and societies

Translating scholarship into insights and solutions

A view of Luce Hall, which houses the Yale MacMillan Center

Five Teaching Assistants from different countries pet Handsome Dan outside Luce Hall

"Spellbound" Conference participants view ancient Middle Eastern manuscripts at the Beinecke Library

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group photo at the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki

Former president of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado (center) addresses a group of Yale faculty and administrators

MacMillan Center

From K-Pop to the Classroom: Wonseok Lee’s Journey in Defining Music and Culture

May 5, 2025

K-pop, short for Korean pop, continues to amass global fascination as it transcends cultural boundaries and blends diverse music genres worldwide. Wonseok Lee, a postdoctoral associate with the Council on East Asian Studies and Lecturer in Music, has brought an examination of the K-pop phenomenon to Yale.

A room filled with musicians playing their instruments, guided by a conductor.

Class posing as a group in front of a lawn.

The Yale MacMillan Center and Freedom of Expression

In all of our activities, we follow Yale’s policies and support free expression and free inquiry.

In support of our goal of encouraging a wide range of opinions within our community, the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies does not take its own institutional positions on issues of the day.

Read the full MacMillan Center Freedom of Expression Statement.

Council & program spotlight

Council on Southeast Asia Studies

The Council on Southeast Asia Studies at Yale University oversees a multifaceted interdisciplinary program promoting education, research, and intellectual exchange on the cultures, politics, history and economies of Southeast Asia.