G-Dragon performs during a welcome dinner for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit at the Lahan Select hotel in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Oct. 31. Yonhap
Starting in spring 2026, the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles will offer a class focused on G-Dragon’s music career and his cultural impact.
The class is titled “Crooked Studies of K-pop: The Case of G-Dragon” and will be taught by Hye Jin Lee, a professor in the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
The course is the latest in a string of college classes available on pop culture themes. Yale University and Harvard University have each offered classes based on Beyonce and Taylor Swift’s influence.
“Introducing a course on G-Dragon at a prestigious institution like USC, particularly as he marks the 20th anniversary of his debut, is highly meaningful,” G-Dragon’s agency Galaxy Corporation said in a statement Friday. “We believe this will further underscore the artistic depth and global influence of K-pop.”
G-Dragon debuted in 2006 as a member of BIGBANG under YG Entertainment. The group transformed K-pop with chart-topping hits like “Lies,” “Haru Haru,” “Tonight” and “Bang Bang Bang,” many of which were written or produced by G-Dragon himself. He launched his solo career in 2009 with “Heartbreaker” and most recently released “Übermensch” earlier this year.
In October, he became the youngest recipient of the Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit, Korea’s second-highest honor in the arts, in recognition of his contributions to music and culture.