Wooseong Kim

Wooseong Kim

Postdoctoral Researcher
Visiting address: Nobels väg 13, 17177 Stockholm
Postal address: C6 Institutet för miljömedicin, C6 Arbetsmedicin Bodin, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • I am a postdoctoral fellow in the New World of Work research group (led by Theo Bodin), which belongs to the Unit of Occupational Medicine at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet. My current research focuses on (1) how adverse life events shape individuals’ health and labor market outcomes, and how these effects differ between standard and non-standard employees in Sweden, and (2) how in-work poverty affects the mental and physical health of Swedish workers.

    I hold a PhD in Sociological Demography from Stockholm University, where I remain affiliated as a researcher at the Stockholm University Demography Unit, Department of Sociology.

Research

  • My research interests include the socioeconomic adaptation of immigrants and their descendants in high-income countries, social determinants of health, social inequalities, social stratification, and advanced quantitative methods. I have also been involved in research on recent developments in fertility in the Nordic countries, the influence of mental health on fertility, and the associations between health, socioeconomic status, and shared physical custody among Swedish parents.

Teaching

  • Karolinska Institutet

    Methods for Studying the Distribution of Health, (Master’s Level, Autumn 2024 onwards). Co-organized and facilitated a lab session on Life Tables, guiding students through hands-on demographic analysis. 

    Department of Sociology, Stockholm University 

    Basic Demographic Methods, course in the Multidisciplinary Master's Program in Demography (Autumn 2020 - Autumn 2024)

    Lectures on basic measures of fertility, basic measures of migration, and organizing Q&A sessions. 

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028
    Purpose and aimsThe Swedish-born children of immigrants (G2) experience persistent labor market disadvantages yet research has overlooked the G2’s poorer mental health in adolescence compared to the children of non-migrants as a potential mechanism. This project analyzes how mental health problems in adolescence impact school-to-work (STW) transitions, whether early labor market disadvantages exacerbate mental health issues, and how these processes interrelated for the G2 and children of non-migrants.Project organisation, time plan, and scientific methodsUsing Swedish register data, the project follows individuals born 1989–1997 from ages 16–36. The project employs sequence analysis to capture STW transitions and longitudinal structural equation modeling to assess bidirectional relationships between employment status and mental health. It will be carried out by an interdisciplinary team over three years and include descriptive analyses, longitudinal modeling, and causal inference strategies.What is important about the planned researchWith G2 comprising nearly 15% of Sweden’s population, their disproportionate labor market and health disadvantages risk reinforcing social stratification by country of origin. By integrating sociological, demographic, and epidemiological perspectives, this project provides a nuanced understanding of how disadvantages accumulate over time. The findings will inform policies aimed at reducing socioeconomic, mental health, and ‘ethnic’ disparities.

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