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Layne Vandenberg

Layne Vandenberg

Layne Vandenberg is a PhD candidate in the King’s College London and University of Hong Kong Joint PhD Programme.

Layne Vandenberg is a PhD student in the King’s College London and University of Hong Kong Joint PhD Programme. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, completed a Fulbright Research Grant in Brazil and graduated from the Yenching Academy at Peking University with a Master of Laws in International Relations. Her research has focused on football (soccer) and sports policy, including the FIFA World Cup, the Olympic Games, and football reform in China.

Posts by Layne Vandenberg
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December 02, 2019

Queer Eye’s Adaptation to Japanese Audiences

By Layne Vandenberg and Emi Suzuki
Netflix’s Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! incorporates popular tropes of Japanese television to appeal to local viewers and address modern day issues.
November 08, 2019

Parasite: Moving Beyond ‘Foreign’

By Layne Vandenberg
Parasite is praised as a “foreign” film; but does it have to be?

October 12, 2019

Blizzard and Mei: Makings of Online Protest

By Layne Vandenberg
The Overwatch character Mei is taking center stage as online support for the Hong Kong protests overflows.

October 10, 2019

Sports Diplomacy: The Case of the Two Koreas

By Layne Vandenberg
North Korea has long used sport as a means for diplomacy, humanizing the regime and its people.

October 05, 2019

Nationalism in China’s Wandering Earth

By Layne Vandenberg
Chinese blockbuster Wandering Earth explores a future marked by environmental chaos and loss of home, saved only by Chinese heroism and family.
August 30, 2019

The Development of K-Pop Without China

By Layne Vandenberg
China is one of the world’s largest markets; but K-pop continues to be a global phenomenon without it.

August 29, 2019

K-Pop Phenomenon BTS Takes a Break

By Layne Vandenberg
Who can replace the K-pop group that experienced six years of nonstop success?
August 05, 2019

The Kit Kat in Japan, a Transliteration Success

By Layne Vandenberg
Transliterating company names into Chinese and Japanese has contributed to the success of popular brands.

July 31, 2019

The Evolution of Afro-Chinese Identity

By Layne Vandenberg
Interracial relationships between Africans and Chinese are changing how Chinese identity is defined for their children.

July 12, 2019

Rise of the Korean Zombie Thriller

By Layne Vandenberg
Mixing symbolic cinematography, imaginative storylines, and harsh societal critiques, Korea has joined the zombie craze.

May 31, 2019

Cutting Chopsticks From China's Food Delivery Waste

By Layne Vandenberg
China’s food delivery industry is searching for ways to make the sector more environmentally conscious, one order at a time.
May 29, 2019

The Significance of Son Heung-min, South Korea’s Star Footballer

By Layne Vandenberg
The 26-year-old striker for the Tottenham Hotspurs is one of South Korea’s most valuable cultural exports.

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