Sung-Ae Lee's major research focus is on literature, film and television drama of East Asia, with particular attention to Korea. Her research centres on relationships between cultural ideologies in Asian societies and representational strategies. She is interested in cognitive approaches to adaptation studies, Asian popular culture, Asian cinema, the impact of colonisation in Asia, Trauma Studies, literature and film produced in the aftermath of the Korean War, and the literature and popular media of the Korean diaspora.

She has two doctoral degrees: a PhD in English Literature (Macquarie University) and a PhD in Asian Studies (Macquarie University). The first of her theses examines representations of utopia/dystopia, nation states, and abjection in society in George Eliot's major fictions. The second thesis (by publication) is a study of Korean literature, film and television drama which depicts how liminal subjectivities are displaced to the social periphery. Her other academic qualifications include an MA in English ([with Merit], University of Sydney), an MA in Linguistics (CSU, Fresno, CA, USA) and a BA in English (Ewha Women's University).

Her teaching has evolved in line with curriculum renewal within International Studies. She previously taught units such as INTS3030 Visualising Cultures, INTS3020 Language, Literature, Translation: Intercultural Perspectives, and INTS3050 PACE: International Studies Internship; however, these units have since been discontinued or restructured.

She has made a significant contribution to the design and delivery of the current curriculum, including INTS1002 Unlearning Culture: Myths, People, Change, INTS1201 Cultural Influence and Power, INTS2202 Narrative and Authority, and PICT3020 PACE: International Studies in Practice, supporting continuity while strengthening research-led, interdisciplinary teaching.

She designed and taught INTS1010 Asia in the Global Context, INTS2050 Screening Asia, and INTS3070 Global Circulation of Asian Popular Culture.

PhD supervision

Principal supervisor:

Yatian Li, commenced 2026. Thesis project: The Interconstructivity of Later-Life Ecologies: A Comparative Study of Gerontological Narrative Construction in East Asian Films

Sanaz Hamoonpou, commenced 2020, awarded 2024. Thesis title: Iranian Poiesis: A Cine-/Theatrical Creative Identity

Yue Wang, commenced 2015, awarded 2019. Thesis title: Old Stories Retold: The Adaptation of Traditional Stories in Contemporary Chinese Fantasy Narratives

Associate supervisor:

Rebekah Peach, commenced 2015, awarded 2020. Thesis title: Power, Place and Perspective: Exploring Subjectivity in 21st Century Fairy Tale Screen Adaptations