Jiwon Kwon

Jiwon Kwon is a Ph.D. student in Ethnomusicology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research centers on the economics of music, with a specific focus on jazz, Korean and American popular music from the late 20th and 21st centuries. She explores how capitalist forces shape musicians’ creative autonomy and their music-making process, the dynamics and politics of music categorization, as well as the impact of streaming platforms on the global music industry. She holds a B.M. in Piano Performance and Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music and an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Washington University in St. Louis. An active pianist, composer, and arranger, Jiwon regularly performs and records. In her free time, she enjoys watching Korean and Japanese TV shows, reading books, and attending concerts and exhibitions.