Nayoung Seo

Nayoung Seo is a Ph.D. student in English at the George Washington University where she is a Columbian Distinguished Fellow. Ms. Seo’s research focuses on comparative literature between East and West, particularly Romanticism and Shakespearean adaptations. She has presented on gender, cultural globalization, and film and theater studies at the American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA), Shakespeare Association of America (SAA), Asian Shakespeare Association (ASA), Renaissance Society of America (RSA), Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) and other venues. Her most recent essay “Switching Gender Roles: Romeo and Juliet in K-drama” is in press from Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation in issue 16.1, fall 2024.

Seo’s short story, titled “The Land of Canaan,” which portrays the plight of North Korean refugees, received the Korean Literary Society of Washington’s award in 2023. Her work on this topic was also featured by Radio Free Asia. Dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices through storytelling, Seo has played a pivotal role in diversifying perspectives in comparative studies within the realms of gender and immigration. Serving as a volunteer book reviewer for one of the major South Korean newspapers, Hankook Ilbo, she enhances South Koreans’ access to Korean Americans literary works written in English.