Can you imagine your favorite K-pop idol becoming a case study? Well, get ready! In Spring 2026, the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication is doing something no other U.S. university has done before. USC Annenberg is turning a K-pop icon into an academic subject with their course, “COMM 400: Crooked Studies of K-pop: Reimagining K-pop’s Dominant Discourses Through G-Dragon.”
This course isn’t just a class; it’s a major cultural milestone. It boldly recognizes Kpop and, specifically, the legendary G-Dragon, the boundary-pushing leader of BIGBANG, whose influence goes far beyond the music charts—as a subject of serious, in-depth academic inquiry.
It’s more than a syllabus. It’s a cultural statement. A recognition that K-pop isn’t just global entertainment; it’s worthy of study, critique, and respect. And for fans, creatives, and culture-watchers, this changes the game.
The G-Dragon K-pop Lecture at USC Annenberg You Need to Know About
It’s official: USC Annenberg will host a 4-credit course purely dedicated to the cultural giant that is G-Dragon. This groundbreaking G-Dragon lecture at USC is helmed by renowned media scholar and K-pop expert Professor Hye Jin Lee. Through this course, she offers new insights, aiming to challenge long-held assumptions about K-pop’s artistry and influence.
Why G-Dragon?
When people list K-pop legends, G-Dragon’s name arrives almost instantly. For nearly two decades, he has been more than a chart-topping idol.
From his 2006 debut with BIGBANG to shaping his own creative universe, G-Dragon (whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong) has constantly redefined what a pop artist can be. He’s not only an incredible performer but also a genius writer, a prolific producer, a creative director, and a global fashion icon.
He made hits like “Lies” and “Crooked,” became a fashion legend, and built an identity that’s equal parts avant-garde and mainstream. In Korea and across continents, G-Dragon isn’t just popular. He’s influential.
For Professor Hye Jin Lee, a K-pop media scholar at USC, that influence makes him the perfect case study. Focusing on G-Dragon lets students zoom in on one life and zoom out on an entire industry at the same time.
Following G-Dragon’s lecture, Professor Hye Jin Lee will also present a lecture on i-dle, previously known as (G)I-DLE, to the class on a different schedule.
What the Course Covers
The class is officially titled “Crooked Studies of K-pop: Reimagining K-pop’s Dominant Discourses Through G-Dragon.”
So, what’s behind the title? The word “crooked” (a nod to his 2013 anthem) hints at a fresh, slightly rebellious perspective; it’s not just about his discography, but about questioning what we think K-pop is.
This G-Dragon USC course is a 4-credit deep dive into K-pop as culture, business, and art. The class uses his career as a lens to understand how the industry really works.
Music & Autonomy
G-Dragon is a “producer-idol” who breaks the K-pop mold. The students study his tracks and creative choices to understand how he negotiates artistic freedom within a tightly structured industry.
Cultural Branding
How G-Dragon built his unparalleled cultural brand as a blueprint for global influence. His great impact on fashion, art, and brand collaborations is examined as an extension of his identity, not just as marketing.
K-Pop’s Inner Workings
This G-Dragon K-pop course gives insights into the idol system, training structures, and fan economies. Through G-Dragon’s career, students learn how the K-pop machine operates behind the scenes.
Global Youth Culture
How G-Dragon shaped—and was shaped by—Hallyu’s rise and global youth trends. Students explore authenticity, identity, and industrial dynamics in the content of global pop culture.
Media Theories
Ideas of spectacle, identity, authorship, and global fandom, all grounded in one artist’s ongoing story.
And all of this is seen through the lens of one artist—one global creative force.
Student and Public Response
The moment USC posted about the course on Instagram, the response was explosive.
A video of a student reacting to the news—tagged #GDRAGON and shared by USC Annenberg—sparked buzz across timelines. Fans called it a dream come true. Some students even joked about transferring schools just to enroll, and some questioned the possibility of online lecture, showing their interest in the course.
For many, it wasn’t just exciting. It was validating. K-pop has long been loved. Now, it’s being studied. And G-Dragon? He’s not just a playlist pick—he’s a case study.
A New Chapter for Global Culture and Education
So why does one class matter so much? Because it quietly changes the rules about who deserves to be taken seriously.
Universities have offered courses on Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and other Western artists. This time, the focus is on a South Korean artist whose career grew out of a very different system. That choice challenges traditions in cultural studies that treated Western stories as the default.
This course highlights how a teenager from Seoul became a global icon who helped rewrite pop’s sound, style, and business model. It also shows how he blurs roles. He is the product, the producer, the idol, and the auteur all at once.
In the process, the class invites students to view Asian pop culture not as a niche trend but as a powerful part of global culture that shapes how young people see themselves.
From Passion to Power
G-Dragon has spent years making waves on stage, on charts, and in fashion headlines. Now he is also making history inside a university classroom.
This USC G-Dragon course signals a new era for K-pop and for global media studies. It shows that the things fans love are worthy of slow reading, close watching, and serious debate. Fandom becomes expertise, and passion becomes power.
One day, a student might walk into this class because they loved “Crooked” in high school. They could walk out seeing K-pop and themselves in a completely new way. And maybe that is the real question this course leaves with us: when your favorite music is finally treated as knowledge, what new future does that open in your mind? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
In the meantime, enjoy G-Dragon’s “Crooked”!
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