Two-day academic workshop

De-constructing Korean Identity in (Post)-Soviet spaces

What does "Korean-ness" mean? Being "Korean" is commonly perceived as an ethnic identity marker with the nation-building connotations. It comes not only from both of Korea ́s state ideologies, but also from the dispersed diasporic voices. At the same time, it can be a legally defined boundary, drawn by the mixture of kin and culture. Yet, what does it mean to be "Korean"? And what role does "Korean-ness" play in the process of identity negotiations of Korean diaspora, especially in the context of the Global Korean Community (Network) as an emerging transnational actor?

Registration

5-6 March 2021

9.00 – 14.30 (CET)

Zoom

In this research workshop, we will look at the processes of identity formation among Koreans in the (post)-Soviet spaces and in the various contexts of transnational social and cultural "othering". We will also discuss the (self)representation of Koreans outside of the narrative of Korean peninsula. Then we will highlight the processes of Ethno-Nation formation in Korea, and how they integrate (or are challenged by) the narratives offered by the Korean diaspora from outside the peninsula. To do this, we will discuss different cases of post-Soviet Korean identity formation from different regions, historical periods and taking stances of different disciplines, also by putting the case of Koryo-Saram in the larger context of Global Korean Diaspora.

Program

Friday, 5 March

9:00 – 9:15

Introduction and welcome note by Prof. Yonson Ahn
Deputy Managing Director IZO
Director of Korean Studies at Goethe University, Frankfurt
& Short explanatory notes by KRN team

9:15 – 9:40

Identity constructions of Koryo-saram Diaspora in Central Asia and Russia

Prof. Valeriy Khan, Institute of History, the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan

9:40 – 10:05

Historical Consideration of Internationalism of Diaspora Intellectuals in Goryeo in the Soviet Period

Prof. Yun San Won, Korean Diaspora Research Center, Institute of History, Chonbuk National University, South Korea

10:05 –10:30

The history and identity of Korean media and its role in identity formation

Prof. Woong-ho Hong, Korea Institute of Foreign Relations, Dongguk university, South Korea

10:30 –10:55

Transnational Construction of Koryo-saram Diaspora in Russia from historical perspective

Dr. Zhanna Son, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs / School of Asian Studies, Higher School of Economics, Russia

10:55 –11:20

Between Ideal and Reality: Cultural Adaptation and Identity Negotiation of the Koryo-Saram Married Migrant Women in Korea

Prof. Youngsoon Kim, Department of Social Studies Education & Multicultural Studies, Inha University, South Korea

11:20–12:00

Break

12:00 –12:15

Who can be Korean? Narratives of Korean Ethnicity in Mexico through the concept of 'Third Korea'

Sergio Gallardo, Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology, CIESAS-Mexico City

12:15 –12:40

Welcome back home (?): official discourse vs. South Korean reality as seen by Koryo-saram

Andrii Ryzhkov & Nayelli Lopez Rocha, National Autonomous University of Mexico

12:40 –12:55

Comparing public policies of memory in the construction of Korean national identity: museums, memorial and transformations in the peninsula

Thiago Mattos, Korea Development Institute School, Sejong, South Korea

12:55 –13:10

Complex, Fluid and Diverse Nature of Korean Identity: Experiences of Ethnic Koreans from Russia and Central Asia (Koryoin) in South Korea

Yulia Nikitina, The Academy of Korean Studies, South Korea

13:10 –13:25

In search of Koreanness: the Soviet legacy in the history of linguistics in North Korea

Ria Roy, University of Cambridge, England

13:25 –13:40

Shuttles of The Ethnic Borders: The Mixed Identity Of The Descendants Of The Mixed Marriages Between Koreans And Representatives Of Other Ethnic Groups In Vladivostok

Vadim Akulenko, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia

13:40 –14:10

Discussion

Pavel Em, National Research University Higher School of Economics

14:10 –14:30

Summary and closing remarks by the KRN Committee

Evgenia An, Zachary Adamz, Svetlana Kim

Saturday, 6 March

9:00 – 9:10

Introduction and welcome note by the KRN Team

9:10 – 9:50

KEYNOTE SPEECH
"Another 'Failed Collateral Language'? The beginnings of 'Soviet' Korean in the Russian Far East"

Ross King, Department of Asian Studies, The University of British Columbia, Canada

9:50 – 10:00

Discussion

Zachary Adamz

10:00 – 10:15

Koryo Saram Diaspora in the vortex of political changes: on the Soviet language planning and its consequences

Janna Ballod, Seokyeong University, Seoul, South Korea

10:15 –10:30

Iconography in Soviet Korean Azbukas: A Methodological Question

Olga Belokon, Asian Studies, The University of British Columbia, Canada

10:30 –10:45

Discourses of settlement and belonging among Sakhalin Koreans

Yulia Khan, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

10:45 –11:00

Integration and Transformation of Ethnic Minorities in Post-Soviet: A Case Study of Korean Diaspora (Koryo Saram) in Kazakhstan

Jinhye Lee, JSPS - Japan Society for the Promotion of science, Japan

11:00 –11:15

Influence of the multiethnic environment on diasporic identity of the Koreans in Kazakhstan

Yefrem Yefremov, Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan

11:15 –11:30

Genealogy of Koryo-saram

Dmitriy Shin, Independent Researcher, Moscow, Russia

11:30 –12:00

Discussion

Moderation: Zachary Adamz

12:00 –12:30

Break

12:30 –13:00

Discussion about OTOSOTR: Search for identity represented through a monodrama"

Tatyana Kim and Anatoliy Ogay, actors, writers and producers, Los Angeles, USA

13:00 –13:15

Making of "Jeronimo" and "CHOSEN" - collective effort to create a narrative through documentaries

Joseph Juhn, Diaspora Film Production, New York, USA

13:15 –13:30

The motives of Koryo-saram Identity in Portrait Photography

Dina Lee, Professional Portrait Photographer, Vienna, Austria

13:30 –14:00

Future is Coming from All Directions

Moderation: Alexandra Tsay, Curator of Contemporary Art, Theatre, Performance and Cultural Policy Studies, University of Warwick, England
Soyung Lee & Alexander Ugay, Artists from South Korea & Kazachstan

14:00 –14:30

Discussion

Moderation: Svetlana Kim

14:30

Summary and Cooperation Opportunities by the KRN Committee

Evgenia An, Zachary Adamz, Svetlana Kim

Registration

We will send the Zoom-link to the workshop only to the registered participants

Organizers