Dr Sung-Hee Lee

About

I am a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Derby. I am also a Principal Investigator of the ESRC-funded UK-South Korea Family Policy Research Networking Project.

Research interests

My research focuses on social policy in East Asia, specifically, gender analysis regarding childcare policy development and its effect on working women’s care conditions in South Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan. I'm keen to influence and subsequently change working women’s life experiences, particularly where there are enduring and pervasive cultural gender ideologies, discriminatory assumptions and social injustices, not only in the practice of informal care but also in the workplace.

I have been drawn to understanding how the element of gender intersects with social class and working cultures. I have applied my academic rigour to these problems since many countries and societies are currently faced with further complexities brought about by race and ethnicity, owing to the growing numbers of migrant workers entering the care labour market. My research aims to show how the intersectionality of gender ideologies can be challenged by bringing gender forward for consideration in the political arena to impact women’s experiences in care work, for the better.

My international research profile is reflected in my excellent publishing record to date. I have brought my international recognition, with invitations from governmental research institutes (e.g., KWDI, KIHSA) and universities in South Korea, and Japan as well as from within the UK. I was subsequently invited to work on a governmental research project submitted to ‘The Presidential Committee on Ageing Society’ under President Moon Jae-in, in May 2019. Additionally, I produced two more collaborative governmental research projects working with the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and the City of Seoul.

Recent publications

Peer-reviewed publications

2023, What Determines Social Service Workers' Wages: A Cross Country Analysis Using a Luxembourg Income Study, Social Policy & Society, First View, pp. 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746423000350 (SSCI, Co-authored)
2022, Ideas, Coalition Magnets and Policy Change: Comparing Variation in Early Childhood Education and Care Policy Expansion in Early Childhood Education and Care Policy Expansion across Four Latecomer Countries, Government & Opposition, First View, pp. 1-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2022.35. (SSCI, Co-authored)
2022, 'Towards optimising children's capability and tackling relative child poverty in high-income countries: the case of Japan, Sweden and the UK since 2000', Global Health Action. 15:1, https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2022.2084230 (SSCI, Co-authored)
2021, ‘Why the initiative of free childcare failed to be an effective policy implementation of universal childcare in South Korea’, Journal of Asian Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2021.1955644 (SSCI)
2019, 'Beyond the Policy Rhetoric: The Limitations of Gender Mainstreaming in South Korea relating to Women and Childcare', Social Policy and Society. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746419000484 (SSCI)
2017, 'The socialization of childcare and a missed opportunity through path dependence: the case of South Korea', Social Politics, 24(2), pp.132-153. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxx001 (SSCI)
2016, 'Has childcare become less of a burden in South Korea? Exploring the nature of pre- and post-reform childcare provision’, Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 22(4), pp.414-442. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2016.1242941 (SSCI)
2013, A Study on the Curricula of Social Welfare in the UK Universities and their Content Analysis, Korean Journal of Social Welfare Education, 24, pp.53-80 (Co-authored)
2011, The current coordinates of the Korean care regime. Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, 27(2), pp.143-154 (co-author). https://doi.org/10.1080/17486831.2011.567019
2008, Comparison of Divergent Response in Welfare State Restructuring focused on Childcare Policy, Journal of Critical Welfare, 26, pp.77-123. (In Korean, KCI)

Book sections

2021, 'Work-family policy expansion and the ideas of social investment: the cases of Germany, England, South Korea and Japan', in Choi, Y-J. (eds) Welfare Reform and Social Investment Policy in Europe and East Asia: International Lessons and Policy Implications. Policy Press: Great Britain (Chapter 2, Co-authored)
2018, Family Allowances in the UK. In: Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs., ed. Social Security Systems in the UK, KIHSA and Nanam, Sejong: South Korea (In Korean)
2014, The Curricula of Social Welfare in UK Universities and the Implications for Korean Social Welfare Education. In: Hyun, Y-S., ed. Globalisation and Social Work Education, Korean Council of Social Welfare Education, Seoul: South Korea (In Korean)

Policy Briefing and/or Issue Analysis

2022, 'Why are childcare costs expensive in the UK?', International Social Security Review (국제사회보장리뷰), 23, pp.53-62. https://doi.org/10.23063/2022.12.5

Membership of professional bodies

Social Policy Association (SPA)
FHEA (Fellow of Higher Education Academy)

Qualifications

PhD in Social Policy, University of Bath, UK
PG Cert Higher Education, University of Derby, UK
MPhil and MA in Social Policy, Chung-Ang University, South Korea
BA in Social Welfare (Social Work and Social Policy), Hoseo University, South Korea

Recent conferences

Selected

2023, Comparing recent childcare policy development in England and South Korea, The Annual Social Policy Association Conference, University of Nottingham, 5-7 July 2023, Nottingham, UK (Co-presenting with Prof. Eva Lloyd, University of East London)
2022, Social policy support for working families: To what extent policies and institutions support families to balance work and family responsibilities in the UK and South Korea, ESRC-funded UK-South Korea Research Networking Conference, 28-29 October 2022, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea (Co-presenting with Prof. Alex Nunn, Leeds Trinity University)
2021, Why the initiative of free childcare failed to be an effective policy implementation of universal childcare in South Korea, 2021 Joint Conference of Korean Academy of Social Welfare, 22-23 October, Seoul National University (서울대학교), South Korea
2021, Why Do We Need a New Socialisation of Childcare, BK21 International Colloquium at JeonBuk National University (전북대학교), 29 July 2021, Jeonju, South Korea (With Invitation)
2019, Beyond the Policy Rhetoric of Gender Mainstreaming and Towards Inclusive States: Focused on Women and Childcare in South Korea, International Comparative Social Security, National Health Insurance Service, 7-8 September 2019, Wonju, South Korea
2019, 'Not too much and not too little', The SPA Annual Conference 2019, Durham University, 8-10 July 2019, Durham, UK
2019, 'The policy discourse of social investment and the impact on socialising childcare in South Korea and Taiwan', The 16th East Asian Social Policy (EASP) Research Network Annual Conference, National Taiwan University, 2-3 July, Taipei, Taiwan
2018, ‘The impact of gender politics on socialised childcare in Taiwan’, The 14th International Conference on Social Security, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (东北财经大学), 14-17 September. Dalian. China (With Invitation)
2018, ‘The socio and political conundrum around the policy initiative of free childcare in South Korea’, The 15th East Asian Social Policy (EASP) Research Network Annual Conference, University of Bristol, 5-6 July 2018. Bristol. UK
2018, ECEC discourse in England, Germany, Japan and Korea: framing the departure from the male-breadwinner ideology, XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology. Metro Convention Centre. 15-21 July 2018. Toronto. Canada (Co-presenter)
2017, Socialisation of care and gender politics, The 8th Expert Round Table Discussion 9 August at Korean Women's Development Institute (한국여성정책연구원), Seoul: South Korea (With Invitation)
2017, A comparative study of the impact of gender politics on the socialisation of care: South Korea and Japan, The 14th East Asian Social Policy Annual Conference 2-3 August at Nagoya University (名古屋大学), Nagoya: Japan
2017 The Socialisation of care in South Korea and Japan: Social Investment and Gender Politics, Workshop on Social Investment Policies in Europe and East Asia, 6-7 July at University of Leeds, Leeds: UK (With Invitation)
2016, The socialisation of childcare and a missed opportunity through gender politics: the case of South Korea, Post-graduate research seminar, 28th May at Meiji Gakuin University (明治学院大学), Tokyo: Japan (With Invitation)
2016, The impact of gender politics on the socialisation of childcare in Japan, 13th East Asian Social Policy Annual Conference 1-2 July at Ewha Woman's University (이화여자대학교), Seoul: South Korea
2015, The Socialisation of care and gender politics in East Asian countries. 11^th Social Security International Academy Conference, 12-13 September 2015 at SUNGKYUNGWAN University (성균관대학교), Seoul: South Korea
2014, Has Childcare Become Less of a Burden in South Korea? Exploring the nature of pre and post-reform childcare provision, In: Seminar 3 of the ESRC International Research Seminar Series: Child Maintenance: International Perspectives & Policy Challenges, 27 June 2014, University of York, York: UK (With Invitation)
2013, The UK University Curriculum Content and Development on the Education of Social Work and Social Policy, Korean Council on Social Welfare Education, 27 September 2013, Seoul: South Korea (With Invitation)
2012, The Analytical Framework of Socializing Care: Through the Lens of Gender Politics, East Asian Social Policy and Social Policy Association Joint Conference, 16-18 July 2012, University of York, York: UK (With Invitation)

Experience in industry

2019, A cross-sectional study on social service sector workers’ working conditions with the data of Luxembourg Income Study, Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs: Prime Minister’s Office for Government Policy Coordination (Accessed 18 February 2021, Co-authored and in Korean)
2019, The discourse of caring society in Europe and South Korea, in Korean Women’s Development Institute, in: Study on Social Policy Implementation for Caring Centred Society, Seoul: Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy (Accessed 18 February 2021, Co-authored and in Korean)
2017, A feasible model for social care service institute in Seoul, Chung-Ang University and City of Seoul, Seoul: South Korea (Accessed 18 February 2021, Co-authored and in Korean)
2008, The Institutionalisation of family daycare in South Korea, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family, Seoul: South Korea (Co-authored and in Korean)
2006, The development of accreditation system indices in elderly care services, Seoul Welfare Foundation. Seoul: South Korea (Co-authored and in Korean)

In the media

Interview with BRAVO My Life regarding grandparents' childcare in the UK (Published online 25 November 2022)
Interview with BBC World Service News Hour regarding South Korea having the lowest birth rate in the world. The clip starts at 34:30 (published online 30 July 2019)
Interview with South China Morning Post regarding childcare provision in South Korea and the reliance on informal care arrangements (published online 12 January 2019)
Interview with The index on censorship regarding free childcare in South Korea (published 17 December 2018)
Interview with The Atlantic regarding the low fertility rate in South Korea and the critical review on childcare policy in Korea (published online 3 August 2018)

International experience

Research Grants

I am currently holding two Research Grants as a Principal Investigator;

ESRC UKRI Research Grant (Ref: ES/W010712/1) aims to establish and develop a sustainable collaboration of researchers focusing on social policy toward families in the UK and South Korea
Academy of Korean Studies Grant (Ref: AKS-2021-R018) aims to investigate the recent childcare policy reform in South Korea (universal free childcare, called ‘Moo-sang Boyuck’ in Korean) and to assess the impact on socialising childcare among working mothers in South Korea

Teaching responsibilities

Teaching modules

Introduction to Research Methods (Level 7)
Advanced Research Methods (Level 7)
Research and the Skilled Practitioner (Level 7)
Researching Society 2: Qualitative Approaches (Level 5)
Patterns of Inequality (Level 4)

Additional interests and activities

Referee for Journals

Journal of Social Policy (Since March 2020)
Korean Journal of Social Policy (Since January 2020)
Social Policy and Administration (Since February 2020)
Women’s Studies International Forum (Since January 2020)
International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (Since September 2019)
Gender, Work and Organization (Since July 2018)
Asian Journal of Women’s Studies (Since January 2016)
Journal of Family Studies (Since July 2015)

Committee and/or Editorial Board Membership

Korean Academy of Social Welfare (Since January 2023)
Korean Academy of Family and Social Work (KAFSW) (Since January 2022)
International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (IJCCEP) (Since August 2018)
The Incheon Institute’s IDI Urban Research (Since March 2020)

External Examiner

Postgraduate Social Policy Programme, University of York, UK
BA Applied Social Science (Full-Time)-single honours degree, University of Hull, UK
BA Applied Social Science (Part-Time)-single honours variant, University of Hull, UK