Overseas Leading University Program for Korean Studies Interim Report (2011-2012)
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Overseas Leading University Program for Korean Studies Interim Report (2011-2012) I. Project Progress (for the corresponding period) 1. Original Project Objectives for the Corresponding Project Period a) Development of research manpower b) Centre of Korean Studies Seminars c) Organization of Conferences and Workshops d) Development of curriculum materials and research publications e) Support for Postgraduate Students f) Publication of Seminar and Conference/Workshop Papers 2. Project Contents and Results A) Development of research manpower The research manpower in the SOAS Centre of Korean studies has been augmented by the creation of one full-time research fellow. This postdoctoral position was awarded to Dr. Andrew David Jackson, beginning in October 2011. Over the past year, Dr Jackson has been revising his doctoral dissertation for publication. He has been involved in several talks and workshops at various academic events and has presented papers at the KSGSC (Korean Studies Graduate Students Convention) annual conference in Paris, France, at the History as Social Practice: Unconventional Historiographies of Korea Workshop, at the University of Leiden, Holland, and at the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies 2012 Annual Conference, St Hugh’s College, Oxford. In April, Andrew was invited by Dr Martin Peterson to lead a week-long workshop entitled: “Understanding Late-Chosŏn Rebellion: comparison and theory,” at the University of Copenhagen, and in May, Andrew organised and chaired a day-long Korean cinema workshop at SOAS, entitled: ‘Korean Film Years of Radical Change.’ Besides this, Dr Jackson’s duties have included general administrative work associated with the activities of the Centre. B) Centre of Korean Studies Seminars During the last academic year, a total of sixteen lecturers were invited from leading European academic institutions as well as Australia, the United States and Korea. The institutions include Bonn University, Leiden University, the University of Copenhagen, the University of New South Wales. In addition, the Centre of Korean Studies was honoured to have a special lecture from Professor Martina Deuchler on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the foundation of the Centre of Korean Studies. Date Speaker Affiliation Talk title 8/Sep/2011 Dr Gregory N. Evon The University Censoring the Mind and Hand: of New South Competing Literary Wales Orthodoxies in Eighteenth- Century Korea 11/Oct/2011 Professor Wayne St Norbert Maritime Customs and Chinese Page 1 of 17 Patterson College, Imperialism in the 1880s: A Wisconsin, USA New Look at Korea's 'Chinese Decade. 21/Oct/2011 Dr Naoko Shimazu Birkbeck Publicising Colonies: ‘Korea’ College, and ‘Koreans’ in NIPPON University of London 28/Oct/2011 Dr Hye-Joon Yoon Yonsei Torn Between Two Lovers: The University/SOAS Task and Risk of Translating Korean Classical Literature into English 18/Nov/2011 Dr Youngsook Pak SOAS Folk Painting (Minhwa) -Case Study of Choson Chaekkado cum Chaekkori 25/Nov/2011 Dr Martin Petersen University of A New Deal: comic story Copenhagen representations of food issues in post-famine North Korea 13/ Jan/2012 Andray Abrahamian UNIST, Korea Prospects for the DPRK’s Development in the Short to Medium Term 26/ Jan/2012 Professor Kang Nae- Chung-Ang The Vacillation of Culture in hui University, Neoliberal South Korea Seoul, Korea 03/Feb/2012 Dr Codruta Cuc Babeş-Bolyai Heritage Sites in South Korea: University in Memorializing the Mythical Cluj-Napoca, Founders of the Ancient States Romania 16/Feb/2012 Nicholas Young and The P'yongyang Introducing the P’yongyang Matthew Reichel Project project 24/Feb/2012 Professor Albrecht Universität Bonn A 550 years old Huwe misunderstanding: The real relationship between Hunmin jeongeum (script) and the old Chinese characters 02/Mar/2012 Professor Boudewijn Leiden Kasa as a means of Walraven University communication 09/Mar/2012 Dr Seung-young Kim Sheffield Rise and Fall of the U.S. University Trusteeship Plan for Korea as Peace-maintenance Scheme, 1941-1945 16/April/2012 Dr Daham Chong Sangmyung Inventing the “Lesser Middle University Kingdom (小中華)”: Early Chosŏn’s dispatch of Kyŏngchagwan (敬差官) to Jurchen and Tsushima Regions 27/April/2012 Professor Martina SOAS A New Perspective on Korean Deuchler Society: the Role of Descent Page 2 of 17 Groups in Korea's Long History 18/May/2012 Dr Myung Uhn Kim Seoul National On the Performative University Mechanisms of Politeness in Modern Korean C) Organization of Conferences and Workshops In addition to regular seminars, another goal of the project was to organize larger and more prestigious conferences and workshops. Under the grant period (2011-12), the Centre of Korean Studies at SOAS was able to hold 2 state-of-the-art workshops dealing with themes related to the current popularity of modern Korean popular culture. These workshops were funded exclusively from AKS funds on the themes of Korean Music and Dance (traditional and modern) and South Korean film. These workshops featured invited speakers from institutions in Korea and beyond, thus fostering important ties with overseas partners. The ability of SOAS to host these events has not only greatly enhanced the Korean Studies research environment at SOAS, but also greatly raised the profile of Korea in the UK. These workshops were extremely well attended with scholars and students attending from all over the United Kingdom and beyond. C-i) Past, Present and Future: The Diversity and Distinctiveness of Korean Music and Dance Under the leadership of Prof. Keith Howard, the Centre held a workshop on Korean Music and Dance that brought together scholars of Korean music and dance, junior and senior, in an exploration that tracked back to the eighth century and forward to today. Held on 13 and 14 April 2012, scholars came from the UK, USA, Canada, Korea, Taiwan, Austria and Germany. Sessions divided into considerations of vocal music (Juhae Gu, Dorothea Seo, Chan E. Park), SamulNori (Nathan Hesselink, In Suk Kim, Nami Morris, Simon Mills), twentieth century new music (with presentations from Hyunseok Kwon, Gyewon Byeon, Hyelim Kim, Sung- Hee Park), Dance (Chae-hyeon Kim, Keith Howard, Jung Rock Seo, Un Mi Kim), K-pop (Sung Woo Park, Rowan Pease, Hae-kyung Um, Sang-Yeon Sung). The keynote presentation, given by Joshua Pilzer, was on the music of Korean comfort women, and a distinguished presentation was given on the earliest recordings of Korean music by Robert C. Provine (who attended from Washington by Skype!). On the first day, topics within these themes ranged from education, through performance, to trot and p’ansori, from poetry and iconography of ancient lion dances to contemporary dance performances and a consideration of dance notation, and from personal and mediated voices about music’s production to a paper on Ulleungdo’s musical life. On the second day, presentations ranged from a close focus on the year 1911 and its significance, through music and cultural nationalism, composition, songs in recent history, K-pop production, Korean popular songs in China and Taiwan, to hip-hop. In addition to the formal academic papers, participants enjoyed a workshop presentation on the dance salp’uri and a concert featuring the Chindo drum dance and music for kayagŭm zither and taegŭm flute. Eighty people attended the symposium, a number which doubled for the concert 'Zithers, flutes and drums' which was held on the evening of 13 April. Working papers from the symposium are currently being edited and will shortly be put on the website of the Centre of Korean Studies at SOAS. Page 3 of 17 C-ii.) Korean film: Years of radical change. Under the supervision of Andrew David Jackson, the Centre held a workshop on South Korean film, entitled: ‘Korean film: Years of radical change’ on 10th May 2012. The aim of the workshop was to discuss South Korean cinematic traditions and radical shifts in Korean cinema that have occurred over the past twenty five years. Five senior scholars from British Universities critically examined some of the most important issues in Korean Cinema; including, female experience and female voices in recent South Korean horror film, the development of sound in South Korean cinematic production, the films of Kim Seung-ho, the recent work of EJ-Yong, and cinematic representations of the Joseonjok, the ethnic Korean communities of Manchuria, focusing on the work of director Jang Ryul. This is the first time that a workshop dedicated to Korean film had been organised at SOAS; the event was well attended and should provide an important foundation on which to build future Korean film related events. Participants: Dr Colette Balmain (Kingston University) Dr Julian Stringer (Nottingham University) Dr Jinhee Choi (King’s College, University of London) Dr Chi-yun Shin (Sheffield Hallam University) Dr Mark Morris (Cambridge University) Page 4 of 17 Professor Chris Berry (Goldsmith’s College, University of London) Dr Isolde Standish (SOAS) D) Development of curriculum materials and research publications During the last academic year, centre teachers have been engaged on several different projects including: D-i) Linguistics and Language Projects: this has included the development of up-to-date, authoritative language textbooks and materials to meet the needs of teachers of Korean language and literature in Western universities. Currently there are three ongoing projects including: Intermediate Korean Reader Book Project, Dr. Jaehoon Yeon (SOAS), Dr. Lucien Brown (University of Oregon) & Dr. Jieun Kiaer (University of Oxford) Over the past year, all chapters for the Intermediate Korean Reader have been prepared in draft form. The book has been accepted for publication by Routledge and will be published in 2013. “Speed up your Korean” Book Project, Dr. Jaehoon Yeon (SOAS) & Dr. Lucien Brown (University of Oregon) Over the past year, Dr. Yeon and Dr. Brown have continued drafting chapters for this book project. A book proposal was submitted to Routledge and accepted for inclusion in the series Page 5 of 17 of “Speed up …” language learning books.