Phuong Hoan Le, PhD-Lecturer at the Media and Communication Department, visited Seoul National University from October to December 2024 to work on her dissertation about gig work. In this interview, her PhD colleague, Tze-Ning, ask Hoan about her experiences abroad and discusses how others could go on a research visit during their PhD.
What was your main purpose for this trip?
In many ways, it was a unique opportunity for my PhD research and my career. In my dissertation, I focus on gig work in Western countries, particularly in the Netherlands and the US. But the world is of course larger than that, and I wanted to understand how digital platforms operate in a non-Western context. After I talked with a few South-Korean scholars, I got especially curious about the unique aspects of platform work in South Korea, such as the dominance of domestic mobile phone applications and the working conditions of platform workers.
How did you experience this trip?
I like to tell people that visiting Seoul was extreme in a few ways. I’ve been there before once, for a summer school in 2012, so I expected few surprises. But their weather caught me off guard: going from summer heat in October to Seoul’s heaviest November snowfall since the 1970s! I also was there when the martial law was declared!
In terms of work, it felt a bit like what I imagine a sabbatical to be, because I was away from a lot of the usual administrative work and teaching duties. I was also happy to have met several scholars who are—like me—curious about the future of work, and I am hoping to collaborate with a few of them. For example, I learnt that Korean shamans offer their services via online platforms, and this religious digital phenomenon offers a whole new perspective on platform work and algorithmic management. I hope to explore this further with a South Korean anthropologist after my PhD has ended.
How did you arrange for this trip to happen?
I first contacted a professor from Seoul National University [SNU]. I chose this university mostly because of her but also because SNU is known as South Korea’s most prestigious university. Once this professor said it was alright for me to come, I consulted several colleagues within our faculty, including my PhD supervisors, the Outgoing Exchange Coordinator, and the Grant Advisor for Personal Grants. That is how I found out that another colleague was coincidentally also planning to go to the exact same university at the same time as me! So, that was really nice, and he helped me get an Erasmus+ mobility grant. I also received very useful feedback and ideas from the Grant Advisor, and she helped me apply for the Erasmus Trustfonds.
Do you have any tips for other PhDs who want to go on exchange abroad?
My main advice would be to stay open minded, to engage in networking prior to going, and to keep your eyes open for opportunities. For example, I didn’t specifically want to go to South Korea, so I didn’t reach out to South-Korean scholars with a goal in mind, but I got inspired to visit this country after talking to these scholars. I also didn’t know that one of my colleagues was going to Seoul at the same time as me, but he was tremendously helpful in getting more funding for this trip. You never know what conversations will lead to!
- Researcher
