Hi all! My name is Minji Hong from Seoul, South Korea.

I am a PhD student in Sociology at Rice. I graduated from the University of Chicago on August 2025 with a Master's in Social Sciences (MAPSS) with a concentration in Sociology and Education & Society certificate. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in May 2024. For my master's thesis, I researched the cosmopolitan identity-making of elite international schools in Asia and its contribution to the reproduction of the racialized cultural hierarchy. Prior to my Master's degree, I worked at the policy research institute (Institute for Policy & Strategy on National Competitiveness, IPSNC) as a part-time researcher for three years in Korea. I also have internship and work experience in the media industry (The Chosun Ilbo and Korea Broadcasting System, KBS) and the finance/ banking industry (Paramark Venture and ING). My research interests encompass race, education, inequality, elites, cultural sociology, and social stratification.