Haiqing Li is a PhD researcher in Social Sciences at Curtin University, working primarily in sociology. Haiqing examines how young men in urban China engage with Korean popular culture through fashion, grooming and body aesthetics, and how these practices shape masculinity and consumer identities. Supervised by Joanna Elfving-Hwang, the research draws on qualitative interviews, digital fieldwork and discourse analysis to explore the relationship between transnational cultural influences and everyday gender norms.

Alongside doctoral research, Haiqing works as a Research Assistant and Project Coordinator at Curtin’s Korea Research Centre, supporting research, academic events and community engagement. Haiqing contributes to research on Korean language education in Australia and is credited as a research assistant in the Centre’s 2026 report on structural barriers and opportunities for Korean language education in Western Australia. Haiqing also organises and facilitates weekly Korean Language Drop-in sessions, providing peer learning support.

Haiqing holds a Master of Arts in English Studies for the Profession (English Language Teaching) from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in General Education from The Education University of Hong Kong, and received a Korea Foundation Scholarship for Graduate Studies in 2025.