Ciao, my name is Paola Laforgia


📍 between South Korea and Europe
Writing
In 2024 my first non-fiction book retracing the history of the Korean Wave was published. Since 2017 I have been writing academic papers, essays, articles, and conducting interviews, touching on topics such as music, art, and culture. Here is a selection.
(BOOK) (ITA)
Fattore K. L’ascesa della cultura pop coreana (2024)
(PAPER) (ENG)
Removing the K from K-pop? Limitations and potential of one of Hallyu’s key signifiers in ‘K-Soft Power and Beyond: Korean Culture, Media, and Global Exchange’ (2026)
(INTERVIEW) (ENG)
Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, in EPOCH Review (2026)
(INTERVIEW) (ENG)
Lean On Me: Four New Talents Hanging Sculpture on Walls, in Twin Magazine, Issue 33 (2025)
(ESSAY) (ENG) The Sound of a Place: What is Korean in K-pop? in ‘Home is Where the Heart Strives’ (2025) 
(INTERVIEW) (ENG)
New Talent: Neoterics. Four Artists Playing with the Edges of Technology, in Twin Magazine, Issue 32 (2025)
(ESSAY) (ENG) Centre or outskirt: for who though? in Wave Zine. The Out of Office. Issue 01 (2024)
(ESSAY) (ENG) Pizza, Pasta, and K-pop in ‘Sonic Traces From Italy’ (2021)
(ARTICLE) (ITA) Capire il K-pop, in NOT (2018)
(PAPER) (ENG) Amber Liu, K-Pop Tomboy. Reshaping Femininity in Mainstream K-Pop, in ‘Kritika Kultura’ (2017)
ABOUT

Born in Bari, Italy and based in Seoul, South Korea since 2021. I previously lived and worked in London, UK, with stints in Tokyo, Japan; Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; and Milan, Italy. From 2016 to 2022 I worked behind the scenes at NTS Radio. Between 2015 and 2018 I also dipped my feet into the fashion world, freelancing for publications including Vogue Japan.

I currently do promotion and A&R for South Korean independent record label SoundSupply_Service; host a regular radio show; occasionally DJ; organise events and parties; and write books, essays, and articles, both independently and on commission. One of my main research topics is ethnomusicology, with a particular focus on K-pop.

I hold a BA in Philosophy and a MA in Global Creative and Cultural Industries with a focus on the contemporary music scenes of South Korea and Japan. 

I speak Italian, English, Korean, Spanish, German, and some Japanese. I am learning French.

I do not have a Linkedin profile.

~~~

I’m available for:

• writing articles, essays, cultural and music commentary
• writing music press releases  
• writing copy
• translation work
• interviewing and hosting talks and panels

• music consultancy, incl. direction for labels
• programming for events, spaces (such as bars, restaurants, hotels, etc.), fashion shows, festivals, etc.
• radio hosting, producing, editing
• live DJ sets and listening sessions (mostly music to listen to rather than to dance to)
• thematic music mixes and playlists
• sound engineering and sound design work

Open to ideas and collaborations.
Get in touch at paolalfrg@gmail.com 💌