Jieun is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at UCLA, specializing in migration politics, gender politics, and political psychology. Her research focuses on the dynamics of migration and gender politics, with a regional focus on Asia.

Jieun's dissertation examines the relationship between the gendered labor market and the gender differences in immigration attitudes in Japan. She contends that women tend to oppose immigration more than men due to women's labor market vulnerabilities. The main findings, drawing on survey experiments and text analysis, highlight the complexities of anti-immigrant sentiments and the importance of incorporating gender-sensitive approaches in immigration policy. Currently, she is working on several projects, including examining attitudes and policy preferences related to climate change and climate-induced migration, as well as the Asian diaspora.

Her research is supported by the NSF-APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (DDRIG), the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) Dissertation Fellowship, the UCLA Initiative to Study Hate (ISH) Research Innovation Fund, and the Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies, among others. She holds a master's degree in International Relations from Seoul National University and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Australian National University.