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Unspeakability in Doctoral Supervision: Exploring Academic Taboos through Metaphors in South Korea

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Title: Unspeakability in Doctoral Supervision: Exploring Academic Taboos through Metaphors in South Korea
Language: English
Authors: Kyungmee Lee (ORCID 0000-0002-9580-9026), Hackjung Kim (ORCID 0009-0000-6483-5929), Dongil Kim (ORCID 0000-0001-5899-8043)
Source: Higher Education Quarterly. 2026 80(2).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Doctoral Students, Supervision, Teacher Student Relationship, Cultural Influences, Cultural Context, Student Attitudes, Figurative Language, Barriers, Censorship
Geographic Terms: South Korea
DOI: 10.1111/hequ.70119
ISSN: 0951-5224
1468-2273
Abstract: Although doctoral supervision is central to doctoral students' academic development and well-being, students' candid perspectives on advisory relationships often remain unspoken due to academic taboos surrounding critique of advisors. This study examines how doctoral students in South Korea perceive and navigate advisory relationships under conditions of academic unspeakability shaped by Confucian cultural norms and neoliberal academic pressures. Employing metaphor analysis, the study conceptualises metaphors as both a methodological tool and empirical data that enable indirect articulation of emotionally and politically sensitive experiences. Data were collected from an online survey of 406 doctoral students and four focus group interviews with 24 participants at a research-intensive Korean university. The findings show that doctoral students use metaphors to express a wide range of emotions toward their advisors, including admiration, disappointment, fear, neglect and ambivalence, with the same metaphors often carrying contradictory meanings. The study further reveals that doctoral students actively manage unspeakability through emotional reframing, relational calibration via "nunchi" (reading the room) and pragmatic compliance or instrumentalization. These strategies sustain advisory relationships while simultaneously reproducing conditions of silence. The study highlights unspeakability as a governing condition shaping doctoral subjectivity and emotional labour.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1504008
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Unspeakability in Doctoral Supervision: Exploring Academic Taboos through Metaphors in South Korea
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kyungmee+Lee%22">Kyungmee Lee</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9580-9026">0000-0002-9580-9026</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hackjung+Kim%22">Hackjung Kim</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6483-5929">0009-0000-6483-5929</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dongil+Kim%22">Dongil Kim</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5899-8043">0000-0001-5899-8043</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Higher+Education+Quarterly%22"><i>Higher Education Quarterly</i></searchLink>. 2026 80(2).
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Doctoral+Students%22">Doctoral Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Supervision%22">Supervision</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Student+Relationship%22">Teacher Student Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Influences%22">Cultural Influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Context%22">Cultural Context</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Attitudes%22">Student Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Figurative+Language%22">Figurative Language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Barriers%22">Barriers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Censorship%22">Censorship</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Korea%22">South Korea</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1111/hequ.70119
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  Data: 0951-5224<br />1468-2273
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Although doctoral supervision is central to doctoral students' academic development and well-being, students' candid perspectives on advisory relationships often remain unspoken due to academic taboos surrounding critique of advisors. This study examines how doctoral students in South Korea perceive and navigate advisory relationships under conditions of academic unspeakability shaped by Confucian cultural norms and neoliberal academic pressures. Employing metaphor analysis, the study conceptualises metaphors as both a methodological tool and empirical data that enable indirect articulation of emotionally and politically sensitive experiences. Data were collected from an online survey of 406 doctoral students and four focus group interviews with 24 participants at a research-intensive Korean university. The findings show that doctoral students use metaphors to express a wide range of emotions toward their advisors, including admiration, disappointment, fear, neglect and ambivalence, with the same metaphors often carrying contradictory meanings. The study further reveals that doctoral students actively manage unspeakability through emotional reframing, relational calibration via "nunchi" (reading the room) and pragmatic compliance or instrumentalization. These strategies sustain advisory relationships while simultaneously reproducing conditions of silence. The study highlights unspeakability as a governing condition shaping doctoral subjectivity and emotional labour.
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 15
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Doctoral Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Supervision
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Student Relationship
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      – SubjectFull: Student Attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Barriers
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      – SubjectFull: South Korea
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