this site is currently a repository for my PhD. here are some recent posts.

 

  • A city without frictions?
    This post is part of the paper, ‘Friction-free cities and the rise of contactless and robotised delivery infrastructure’, published in City.  Architect Sam Jacob (2015) claimed that ‘the city itself is a distributed robot’ where ‘we [might be] liberated to become friction-free smart citizens … doing our own thing’ (p. 25). In making a frictionless city, smart technologies such as urban robots contribute to reinforcing contact-free, segregated urban living, generating spaces of avoidance. Building on Lefebvre, Merrifield (2013) points out… Continue reading A city without frictions?
  • Robotised space and humans as subjects of care or sources of friction
    This post is part of the PhD thesis ‘The Smart City in Motion‘.  NAVER 1784, described by Kyungmin at Baemin Robotics Lab as ‘the utopia for indoor delivery robots’ during the interview, demonstrates how humans and robots might co-exist in shared robotised space. NAVER 1784 is the second headquarters of the Korean tech giant Naver, which opened as the world’s first robot-friendly building in 2022. The whole building serves as a testbed where engineers and designers of NAVER LABS cohabit… Continue reading Robotised space and humans as subjects of care or sources of friction
  • Encountering Dilly and its human guardian
    Part of this post is published in City: ‘Friction-free cities and the rise of contactless and robotised delivery infrastructure’. Gwanggyo and other urban robotic labs allow us to grapple with the ongoing ‘infrastructuralisation of robotically augmented cities’ (While et al., 2021, p. 781), as delivery robots are woven into the urban landscapes and humans and robots cohabit and evolve together. I visited Gwanggyo three times in the summer of 2022 to observe Dilly Drives in action. On my first visit… Continue reading Encountering Dilly and its human guardian
  • ‘Searching for the right delivery for you…’, says AI
    This post is part of the paper, ‘Connected, programmed, and immobilised A mobile ethnography of platform-mediated food delivery in Seoul’, published in Mobilities.  Couriers greet each other (if they greet) by saying, ‘are there any calls?’, especially at the edges of peak times and during low seasons when the supply of couriers is excessive. Waiting for a call, combined with information asymmetry, materialises as coerced immobility or aimless roaming. The Baemin Connect app only displays the message ‘Searching for the… Continue reading ‘Searching for the right delivery for you…’, says AI
  • ‘I don’t want to walk for free anymore’, says Eunyoung
    This post is part of the paper, ‘Connected, programmed, and immobilised A mobile ethnography of platform-mediated food delivery in Seoul’, published in Mobilities.  The rise of mobility platforms contributes to encouraging and commodifying movements of citizens. In line with many smart city apps anticipate their users to be mobile bodies, viewing them normatively and financially valuable (Rose et al., 2020). A colleague of Minwoo who commuted by tube would take off a couple stops before where many pubs were located. He then… Continue reading ‘I don’t want to walk for free anymore’, says Eunyoung
  • The making of a Baemin courier
    At 10 pm, I logged in as I was leaving home carrying a cubic thermal bag on my back as usual. My phone and GoPro were fully charged. The Baemin AI quickly found an order for me. I accepted it without even checking what it was because I must—I heard from my interviewees that rejecting the first order of the day can lead to 20–30 minutes (or even the entire day) without a job. The call was from a nearby… Continue reading The making of a Baemin courier
  • Platform work pays fairly, says K-Meritocracy
    This post is part of the paper, ‘Connected, programmed, and immobilised A mobile ethnography of platform-mediated food delivery in Seoul’, published in Mobilities.  Among Baemin couriers, there exists a belief that food delivery work rewards fairly—despite the obscure algorithms—compared to other types of work. As an online business owner, Minsu’s income depends on unpredictable demand from customers. Delivering with Baemin at least lets him earn money as much as he ‘burns his time [as in burning wood guarantees heat’. He added, ‘this also… Continue reading Platform work pays fairly, says K-Meritocracy
  • A ceaselessly flowing city, tetheredly moving couriers: the case of Baemin delivery platform workers in Seoul
    Re-posted from Backchannels, 4S blog: head here for the original post Digital platforms are increasingly taking over the operation of critical urban services (Barns 2019; Sadowski 2021). Notably, food delivery platforms, acclaimed as playing an infrastructural role during the COVID-19 pandemic by mediating delivery of food to immobilised populations, continue to proliferate in many cities across the globe. Food delivery platforms, as they aim to achieve logistical efficiency, enable particular modes of circulation and movements within cities, giving rise to a… Continue reading A ceaselessly flowing city, tetheredly moving couriers: the case of Baemin delivery platform workers in Seoul
  • Introduction: The Smart City in Motion
    The colossal buildings lining the boulevard in Hongdae light up the night sky with neon. But it’s not just the sky that shines. Every street, every alleyway, flashes and bounces with moving lights from all kinds of vehicles. Motorbikes, bicycles, small-wheeled electric bicycles, electric scooters, and electric unicycles bustle around. Each carries a delivery box loaded with crispy fried chicken, Jokbal and Makguksu, Malatang, iced Americano, Earl Grey caramel torte, and more. Blazing through the streets, they look like little… Continue reading Introduction: The Smart City in Motion
  • Prelude: Perfectly coordinated
    Urban landscape is ever-changing. Living in a city might mean encountering something new, or more specifically, moving with something new. Intersecting movements are what makes a city a living organism. Countless people and various forms of transport move in different directions at different paces. A few years ago, new things joined these urban movements – riders zipping around the streets carrying a huge cubic bag, wearing an iconic uniform and helmet. I saw them in London, Liverpool, Cambridge, and Seoul. Many… Continue reading Prelude: Perfectly coordinated