Lee, Youngrong (이영롱), PhD

I am Youngrong Lee, a sociologist specializing in work, gender, social inequalities, and labour movements. Trained as a global ethnographer and comparative sociologist, I examine how workers understand, negotiate, and resist the shifting conditions of contemporary labour markets. My research highlights how global economic forces intersect with local organizational practices, workers’ intersectional subjectivities, and forms of collective action.

I consider the gig economy a key site for observing contemporary issues of work, inequality, and resistance. My research explores how the global gig economy—and the notion of the ideal gig worker it promotes— is constructed and contested among local workers, corporate actors, and unions in Toronto, Canada, and Seoul, South Korea. My work has appeared in Critical Sociology, the International Journal of Comparative Sociology, and other venues.

I recently completed my Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Toronto (2025). Prior to my doctoral studies, I earned an M.A. in Sociology from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Culture and Gender Studies from Yonsei University, and a B.A. in Social Science from Sungkonghoe University. Beginning in September 2025, I will join the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University as a Postdoctoral Fellow, working closely with Dr. Erin Reid.

Outside academia, I enjoy exploring food in its many forms—cooking, tasting, reading, and learning about it—and I often invite friends to my home to share the meals I prepare. I am also an enthusiastic beginner swimmer and an avid squash player.