This Special Lecture Series is designed to deepen the themes of Korean History involved in historical and cultural sites in Kwangju and near area. It is for participants of FU-IKS Summer School 2023 as well as for general audience interested in this topic.

 

Overview

---

1) 10. May 2023

The Meaning of Jeolla Region in the History of Korea from cultural historical perspective

Presenter:

Dr. Koo Hyein (Researcher, Korean Culture Research Institute at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea)

 

Abstract:

This lesson aims to delve into the rich culture of Jeolla region, spanning from the prehistoric era to the Joseon dynasty. We will also delve into the traditional Jeolla cuisine, architecture, art, and music, which are all integral aspects of its culture. By doing so, we hope to gain a better understanding of the multifaceted nature of Honam culture, which has been preserved and passed down for generations.

---

2) 17. May 2023

The Meaning of Jeolla Region in the History of Korea from cultural historical perspective

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Jung Keun-Sik (Professor, Department of Sociology at Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea)

---

3) 24. May 2023

Confucianism and Confucian Academism (Sowŏn) in Chosŏn Dynasty

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Vladimir Glomb (Institute of Korean Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)

---

4) 31. May 2023

Japan’s Invasion of Chosŏn Korea in 1592-1598 and its Aftermath in East Asian History

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Hur Nam-lin (Professor, Department of Asian Studies at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)

Abstract:

In 1592 Japan’s Hideyoshi regime invaded Chosŏn Korea (1392-1910). Ming China sent a rescue army to Korea to repel the Japanese invaders and, as a result, the war evolved into a major international conflict of unprecedented proportions in premodern East Asia. The war ended in 1598 as the Japanese troops retreated empty-handed back to their country. In this lecture, Hur discusses how the war unfolded, what impact it brought to Chosŏn Korea, Japan, and Ming China, and how international relations between them were reconfigured in postwar East Asia. In particular, Hur pays attention to a range of socio-economic changes which Chosŏn Korea experienced in the postwar.

---

5) 07. June 2023

Japanese Colonial Rule in Korea

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Michael Kim (Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea)

 

Abstract:

Japan established a protectorate in 1905 and annexed Korea in 1910. The colonial occupation officially lasted until the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima precipitated the end of World War II on August 15, 1945. The history of the colonial period involved intricate dynamics between the Government-General of Korea and Korean society. The lecture covers topics such as the political history, the legal system, censorship, and the colonial policies that transformed the colony during 35 years of formal Japanese colonial rule.

---

6) 14. June 2023

Independence Movement in Korea

Presenter:

Dr. Lee Sincheol (Adjunct Professor at Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea and Director of the Asia Peace and History Institute)

 

Abstract:

The Korean independence movement during the Japanese occupation took many forms, ranging from peaceful contestation to armed struggles. Members of the independence movement directly fought against the Japanese occupants as well as appealed to the international community through diplomatic efforts. Soon after the invasion, the Korean people organized an army of volunteers known as the "righteous army(의병)" and fought the Japanese through military actions. In addition to military efforts, the March 1st Movement was the greatest peaceful independence movement and had global historical significance. During the colonial period, Koreans also established a provisional government and made efforts to obtain the diplomatic approval of other countries. The struggle of the independence movement lasted until the Allies won the war against Japan during World War II.

---

7) 28. June 2023

Yŏsu-Sunch’ŏn Rebellion (1948-1949)

Presenter:

Prof Dr. Henry Em (Professor at Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea)

 

Abstract:

In South Korea, the Korean War is often referred to as yugio (6.25). This designation implies that the character and meaning of the war can be grasped by “June 25, 1950,” the date when the Korean People’s Army (North Korean Army) invaded South Korea. But how did Japan’s defeat in the Asia-Pacific War, in 1945, result in the creation of two Koreas three years later? To what extent did the United States Army Military Government in Korea (1945-1948) shape the creation of South Korea in 1948? What does the uprising on Cheju Island in 1948 and the subsequent Yŏsu-Sunch’ŏn rebellion tell us about the creation of South Korea, and the origins and conduct of the Korean War, a war that remains un-ended?

---

8) 30. June 2023

The Kwangju Uprising of 1980 and the Democratization Movement in South Korea

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Lee Namhee (Professor at University of California, Los Angeles, United States)

 

Abstract:

In the annals of the South Korean democratization movement, the Kwangju Uprising of 1980 was the most critical event in ushering in the project of revolution in the minjung (common people) movement and defining minjung as subjects of history. The lecture will explore the process of counterremembering and rearticulating that transformed what was initially called a communist-incited riot to a “watershed event of the last hundred years” and the socio-political and cultural conditions that have given this “failed” uprising its paradigmatic potency.

---

9) 05. July 2023

The Age of Doubt: Pak Kyŏngni and the Female Writer in Twentieth-Century Korea

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Ryu Youngju (Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, United States)

Abstract:

Best known for Land, a historical novel cycle in twenty-one volumes that took twenty-five years to complete, Pak Kyŏngni is modern Korea's greatest female writer, her stature matched perhaps only by Pak Wan-sŏ. Through the eyes of women whose lives became the most vulnerable to the catastrophes of Korea's twentieth century, Pak Kyŏngni's works bear witness to that history's sharpest contradictions.

In this session, we will closely read together "The Age of Doubt" (1957), one of Pak's earlier short stories, as a point of entry for understanding Pak's literature as a pursuit of "dignified life" in conditions that only permit mere survival. We will then chart the evolution of this pursuit in her longer works across the century and ask why Pak Kyŏngni matters for female writers in Korea today.

---

Moderator: Dr. Hyondok Choe

Time & Venue

Time:

Wednesday, May 10th 2023 - July 05th 2023

4:15 - 5:45 PM (CEST)

Online:

Webex