Hi, I’m Rok Sim. Welcome to my webpage! Can you spot me? That’s me in the photo wearing a gat (갓)—back when I dreamed of becoming a daegeum (대금) player.
I’m currently a Ph.D. Candidate (ABD) in Linguistics at the University of South Carolina. My dissertation defense is scheduled for January 16, 2026, and I expect to graduate in May 2026. My dissertation, The Development of Indefinites in Korean: A Corpus-Based Analysis, examines how grammatical change unfolds through the interaction of linguistic constraints and social-historical conditions, with periods of accelerated change aligning with major sociopolitical transitions in Korea (the 1880s, 1930s, and 1960s).
More broadly, my research examines how linguistic patterns shift over time and come to carry social meaning across sociocultural contexts—and how those meanings are interpreted by people and, increasingly, by AI-enabled tools used in learning and assessment. Methodologically, I combine corpus-based analysis with perception experiments: I analyze historical and contemporary corpora to trace change, variation, and discourse, and I design experiments to test how listeners evaluate socially meaningful forms.
My peer-reviewed publications reflect this program, including work on racialized discourse in South Korea (Ethnic and Racial Studies, in press), GenAI/LLM evaluation of Korean aegyo (“talking cute”) (The Journal of Linguistic Science, 2025), and experimental research on English regional variation (American Speech, 2024; English Language and Linguistics, in press).
Outside of research and teaching, I enjoy classic films and dramas, running, and playing StarCraft. A few favorites:
- When Life Gives You Tangerines — trailer: LINK
- Reply 1988 — trailer: LINK
- Tian Mi Mi (甜蜜蜜) — trailer: LINK
- In the Mood for Love — trailer: LINK
You can find my CV, Publications, In Progress, Presentations, and Teaching, via the menu above. You can also click About Me to learn more about me.