School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

Haewon Lee

Key information

Roles
School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics PhD researcher
Qualifications
BA (HUFS, Vietnamese & Media Communications), MA (SOAS, Social Anthropology)
Email address
643227@soas.ac.uk
Thesis title
International Cooperation in safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH): Case studies from the Republic of Korea and Vietnam
Internal Supervisors
Professor Rachel Harris

Biography

Haewon Lee is a PhD researcher in Southeast Asia Studies at SOAS, University of London, where she also graduated with a master degree in Social Anthropology in 2017. Her research is broadly concerned with intangible cultural heritage (ICH), which includes ritual practices and performing arts in Southeast Asian countries. Her MA dissertation and previous other works mainly focus on the meaning of gender in the folk religions of Vietnam, specifically Mother goddess worship. Her inquiries into the ritual practices of mediumship in Vietnam extended her concerns into a multi-national project to safeguard ICH. Her doctoral thesis examines Vietnamese Lên đồng and Korean Kut as the main cases of mediumship and considers various tugging rituals and games in four countries (South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines) as case studies in relation to UNESCO inscription.  Recently, she conducted fieldwork in Vietnam and worked at the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS) as a visiting researcher. Previously, she worked as a research assistant in numerous cultural institutes, including the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute in Seoul, and the Asia Culture Centre in Gwangju, where she was responsible for four projects. Before coming to SOAS, she studied Anthropology and the Vietnamese language at the Vietnamese National University (VNU), each in the campuses in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City. 

 

 

 

Research interests

Unesco multinational nomination - Intangible cultural heritage - Conservation/safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage - Ritual performance - Vietnam - Southeast Asia.

Contact Haewon