Dr Sarah A. Son

BA, MA, PhD

School of Languages, Arts and Societies

Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies

Sarah Son profile photo 2025
Profile picture of Sarah Son profile photo 2025
s.a.son@sheffield.ac.uk
07572023571
4.14, Jessop West

Full contact details

Dr Sarah A. Son
School of Languages, Arts and Societies
4.14
Jessop West
1 Upper Hanover Street
Sheffield
S3 7RA
Profile

Dr Sarah Son joined the ±¬ÁÏTV in 2019. She completed her PhD at SOAS, University of London, in 2014, before spending five years working in South Korea in the civil society sector on North Korean human rights. Her work included research and monitoring of abuses; reporting and media engagement; consulting with the United Nations, foreign missions and advocacy organisations; and managing human rights documentation training projects for NGOs both in and outside Korea.

Her research sits at the intersection of international relations, human rights, and cultural politics, with a focus on North Korea, inter-Korean relations, and Korean identities. She examines how narratives of victimhood, justice, and nationhood circulate across media, education, religious spaces and diaspora activism. Her current work investigates North Korean diaspora human rights activism and the possibilities and constraints it creates for transitional justice and political change.

Alongside her academic publications, Dr Son contributes to public debate on Korean politics, society, and culture. She provides media commentary and writes for online platforms including The Conversation, addressing topics such as inter-Korean relations and Korean popular culture.

Dr Son is Director of the Centre for Korean Studies at the ±¬ÁÏTV, funded by the Academy of Korean Studies Core Grant Programme. In this role, she leads Korean Studies research, knowledge exchange, and public engagement activities, and works with academic, policy, and civil society partners to promote understanding of Korea in the UK and internationally.

Qualifications
  • BA International Relations (Hons) (Bond University)
  • MA International Studies and Diplomacy (SOAS)
  • PhD Korean International Relations (SOAS)
Research interests

Dr Son's research explores the intersections of international relations, human rights, and cultural politics in and around the Korean Peninsula. She is particularly interested in how questions of identity, justice, and political community are negotiated across borders through activism, media, and state narratives. Her work examines North Korean human rights activism and diaspora politics, as well as broader debates around inter-Korean relations, nation branding, and the international promotion of national identity. She has supervised doctoral research on contemporary political movements in South Korea, ethnographic research with North Korean escapees, and the identities and political engagement of ethnic Korean diaspora communities.
 

Publications

Books

  • Docan-Morgan T, Son SA & Teimouri GB (2019) . Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal articles

  • Son SA, Zadeh-Cummings N & Chubb D (2025) . International Journal of Transitional Justice.
  • Son SA & Ballard G (2025) . International Journal of Educational Research, 133, 102672-102672.
  • Son SA & Schwak J (2022) . Asian Perspective, 46(3), 501-521.
  • Zadeh-Cummings N, Son S & Chubb D (2022) . Australian Journal of International Affairs, 76(2), 121-129.
  • Son SA (2022) . Political Geography, 92.
  • Son SA (2020) . Asian Studies Review, 44(4), 621-640.
  • Son SA (2019) . Asian Survey, 59(4), 630-652.
  • Son SA (2018) . Asian Studies Review, 42(4), 662-681.
  • Son SA (2018) . International Bulletin of Mission Research, 42(2), 143-151.
  • Son SA (2018) . International Bulletin of Mission Research, 42(2), 102-104.
  • Son SA (2018) . Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 5(1), 138-149.
  • Son SA (2016) . Asian Ethnicity, 17(2), 171-184.
  • Son SA (2015) Unity, division and ideational security on the Korean peninsula : challenges to overcoming the Korean conflict. North Korean Review, 11(2), 45-62.

Book chapters

  • Son SA & Schwak J (2022) In Lim S (Ed.), South Korean Popular Culture in the Global Context: Beyond the Fandom (pp. 94-115). London: Routledge.
  • Schwak J & Son SA (2022) , South Korean Popular Culture in the Global Context (pp. 94-115). Taylor & Francis
  • Son SA (2021) In Lim S & Alsford NJP (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Contemporary South Korea (pp. 241-257). Routledge
Teaching interests

North and South Korean politics and society, East Asian international relations, nation branding, identity, migration, global citizenship, human rights

Teaching activities

I have always had love of learning, and a large part of this has been down to those who have taught me various subjects across my academic career with clear passion and enthusiasm for their subject matter.

These are qualities I work to emulate in my own teaching, while incorporating a range of activities that give students opportunities to learn and practice key skills they can apply in their careers as graduates.

My modules encourage students to develop confidence and independence in their learning, while gaining an understanding of the issues that face the region from a range of perspectives.

The modules I teach are:

  • Understanding Contemporary North Korea

PhD Students

  • Shinhye Lee
  • Jeongwon Lee, Catrin Snaith
     
Professional activities and memberships

British Association for Korean Studies Council Member

Recent non-academic publications:

  • , for NK Pro, 7 July 2021.
  • , for East Asia Forum, 4 June 2020.
  • , for The Conversation, 29 May 2020.
  • , for The Conversation, February 25, 2020
     
  • , for The Conversation, August 28, 2019
     
  • , for The Diplomat, June 26, 2019
     
  • , for policyforum.net, February 26, 2019