Biography: Gyu Tag Lee is a Professor of Global Affairs and Director of the Center for Korean Culture and Society at George Mason University Korea. His primary research interests include popular music, critical media studies, and the globalization of culture, with a particular focus on K-Pop and Hallyu. He has authored numerous books and scholarly articles on K-Pop, popular music, and the Korean Wave, including The K-Pop Age 케이팝의시대(2016), К-Pop in Conflict 갈등하는케이,팝 (2020), and Z With Luv: Post-BTS and the Future of K-Pop Z를위한시:포스트-BTS와케이팝의미래(2023).He is also a co-author of Exploring Hallyu 한류탐색(2024). All of these publications are in Korean. 

Abstract: This talk explains how the meaning and boundaries of K-pop are constituted through the interplay of musical hybridity, industrial structure, and audience recognition. Moving beyond descriptive accounts of K-pop’s global success, it proposes a comparative and theoretically grounded framework that situates K-pop within the broader landscape of global popular music. Through analyses of its relationship with Swedish pop, Latin pop, and world music, this talk shows that K-pop is neither defined by fixed musical or linguistic features nor confined to Korean ethnicity or geography. Instead, its distinctiveness lies in a business model—an integrated “agency–idol system” based on “total management strategy” that combines long-term training, synchronized choreography, audiovisual storytelling, and coordinated multimedia rollouts. While this model anchors K-pop’s Korean provenance, it simultaneously enables transnational adaptability. This talk further explores how the “K” functions as a polyvalent signifier: a marker of national authorship for domestic audiences, a symbol of cosmopolitan modernity for global fans, and a representation of cultural visibility for diasporic communities. By reframing K-pop as both a cultural product and an institutional practice, this talk concludes K-pop as the cultural phenomenon showing hybridity, globalization, and cultural identity in popular music. 

Biography: Prof. Dr. Jeang-Yean Goak ist Professorin für Germanistik an der Duksung Women’s University. Sie ist Mitglied der International Cultural Relations Research Alliance (ICRRA), Forschungsmitglied des Dobong Cultural Institute sowie Vorstandsmitglied mehrerer koreanischer Fachgesellschaften für Germanistik. Sie promovierte an der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt mit einer Arbeit zur deutschen Romantik auf der Grundlage von Psychoanalyse und idealistischer Philosophie. Ihre aktuellen Forschungsschwerpunkte umfassen Kulturpolitik, internationalen Kulturaustausch, Kulturmanagement und Kosmopolitismus sowie Kultur- und Medienkritik auf der Grundlage von Psychoanalyse, Postkolonialismus und kultureller Semiotik. Prof. Dr. Goak trägt mit zahlreichen Publikationen zu deutscher Kulturpolitik, Film und Literatur, Kulturmanagement sowie zum deutsch-koreanischen Kulturaustausch zur Vermittlung zwischen Wissenschaft und Öffentlichkeit bei.

Abstract: Dieser Vortrag untersucht Kim Gus Konzept des Kulturstaates im Lichte der Theorie von Ralf Dahrendorf und vergleicht es mit Herders Kulturstaatskonzept, um zu klären, welche Implikationen sich daraus für aktuelle Debatten über den Kulturstaat und den Kulturaustausch – insbesondere im Kontext der sogenannten Hallyu – ergeben. Dahrendorfs Überlegungen zur auswärtigen Kulturpolitik, zu Bürgerrechten, Lebenschancen und kosmopolitischen Ordnungsentwürfen dienen dabei als moderner Bezugsrahmen, um Kim Gus Entwurf neu zu interpretieren und ihn mit Herders Ansatz ins Gespräch zu bringen. Zugleich regt der Vortrag dazu an, zu prüfen, wie sich auf dieser Grundlage eine kulturpolitische Praxis zur Förderung kulturellen Austauschs konzipieren und begründen lässt. Trotz eines zeitlichen Abstands von etwa 150 Jahren weisen Kim Gu und Herder strukturelle Parallelen in ihren Kulturstaatskonzepten auf: In beiden Fällen wird Kultur als Grundlage nationaler Identität verstanden und zugleich als Fundament internationalen Friedens und interkulturellen Austauschs. Die Untersuchung liest die globale Ausstrahlung der Hallyu – von K-Literatur über K-Drama und Film bis hin zur Popmusik – als Fallbeispiel, an dem sich Kim Gus Vision eines Kulturstaates neu kontextualisieren lässt, und fragt, welche neuen Formen des deutsch-koreanischen Kulturaustauschs sich daraus ergeben können.

“South Korean Democracy in Historical Perspective: Transition, Stress, and Resilience”

Prof. Dr. Sunhyuk Kim

Korea University

June 24th, 2026

Biography: Sunhyuk Kim is a professor in the Department of Public Administration at Korea University in Seoul. He has previously been an assistant professor at the University of Southern California, a visiting professor at Harvard, and a research fellow at Stanford. From 2015 to 2019, he served as Vice President for International Affairs at Korea University. Professor Kim has authored The Politics of Democratization in Korea and Economic Crisis and Dual Transition in Korea. His research focuses on democracy, civil society, and social movements. He holds an MA and PhD in Political Science from Stanford University and a BA in Economics from Seoul National University (SNU).

Abstract: This presentation examines the evolution of South Korean democracy from its authoritarian roots to its current crisis and resilience. It argues that South Korea is a prime example of “democracy from below,” where mass mobilization, civil society activism, and elite-society coalitions were key to democratization, while external actors played a supportive role. The discussion highlights the legacy of authoritarianism, the breakthroughs in 1987, and the establishment of electoral democracy, noting achievements such as regular power transitions and a stronger legislature, alongside ongoing issues including executive overreach, weak political parties, and lingering authoritarian enclaves. The recent self-coup attempt by President Yoon serves as a critical test, revealing both democratic fragility and resilience through legislative opposition and citizen mobilization. The conclusion emphasizes that the future of South Korean democracy depends on civic engagement, institutional reform, and global solidarity amid challenging external conditions.

Is Gongron (公論) Really “Public Opinion”?: South Korea’s Democratization and the Discourse on Joseon’s Gongron Politics

Kyungrae Kim
Jeonbuk National University

June 3th, 2026

Biography: Kyungrae Kim earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the Department of Korean History at Seoul National University. He specializes in the political and intellectual history of the Choseon Dynasty, with a particular emphasis on the 16th century. His research explores the lives and ideas of reformers, the dynamic interaction between royal authority and the bureaucracy, and the circulation of media and the formation of public discourse. In the long term, he aims to develop a new narrative of Choseon history that transcends the conventional frameworks of “development” and “autonomy.” He is also a co-author of a middle school history textbook currently used in South Korea.

Abstract: The Choseon Dynasty (1392–1910) is the era in which most of the tangible and intangible elements defining modern Korean “tradition” were established. Despite the historical rupture caused by Japanese colonial rule, the legacy of Choseon has continued to profoundly shape the daily lives and mindsets of contemporary Koreans. However, since the early 2000s—and particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic—traditional cultures rooted in the Choseon era have been rapidly vanishing from everyday life. Simultaneously, a trend of mocking and criticizing Choseon history has spread widely within South Korea, notably among the younger “MZ generation” and far-right political groups such as the “New Right.” This phenomenon demonstrates that the interpretations and narratives of Choseon history constructed by the Korean academic community since liberation are losing their persuasive power, signaling an urgent need for a fresh perspective. Centering on the key concept of “Gong-ron” (Public Discourse), this lecture examines how Choseon history has been interpreted and explained since the advent of modern historiography, and seeks to explore new possibilities for the future.

"Geographic thoughts of Koreans, reflected on the maps of 15th-19th Century Joseon"

Wookung Huh
Seoul National University
April 29th, 2026

Biography: Wookung Huh, 허우긍, is an emeritus professor at Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; and has been teaching an e-School class, Human Geography of Korea, at the Universität Tübingen since 2021. He studied geography at Seoul National University (B.A. and M.A.), and at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA (Ph.D.) He served the presidentship of Korean Geographical Society for the years of 1999 and 2000. His research interests include cartography, telecommunications, and transportation.
Abstract: A map may reflect geographic knowledge and thoughts of people of a certain time at a certain area. This seminar examines the old maps made by Koreans during the 500-some years of Joseon Era (AD 1392-1910) to reveal the ways Korean ancestors understood and perceived their surrounds. This presentation goes through maps of Korea at various scales: the entire Korean Peninsula, the provinces, the royal capital Seoul, and other local areas. Attention is given to the questions such as how much the Koreans of the Joseon Era knew about the location and extent of their country; in what ways they interpreted the topography of the country, the mountain ranges in particular; and how they perceived their immediate space. The presentation also explores how much the old-day geographic knowledge and thoughts have been passed down to contemporary Korea.