AAS Call for Proposals

Panel Title: Being Korean from the "Outside"

Hello! We are looking for one additional presenter and one or two discussants for a panel proposal to the 2027 AAS Conference in Boston.

Our panel focuses on the experiences of "outsiders" concerning what it means to be Korean. South Korea, with its recent successes in cultural products (such as K-Pop, movies, TV shows, cosmetics, etc.), has exported an image of "Korea" that conforms to its own imagination of the Korean nation. However, South Korea is not the only "Korea." In Korean, there are competing symbols used to designate the imagined community. Furthermore, an increasing number of immigrants have begun to challenge the ethnocentric imagination of the nation. Amidst these challenges to different interpretations of "Korea," our panel aims to bring in scholars interested in the relevant theoretical or empirical discussions of Korean nationalism.

Broadly, we are interested in the epistemic aspect of Korean nationalism. Specifically, we are interested in …

• How is "Korea" imagined differently and by whom?
• How is the Korean identity policed in different Korean communities?

Our current papers explore …

• One paper explores how the lack of interpretive resources in South Korea causes Epistemic Burnout among Korean Chinese (Joseonjok) individuals in South Korea. It shows the effects of living with an image of "Korea" that differs from that of the South Korean majority, and how Korean Chinese imagination of "Korea" is policed in South Korea.
• Another paper examines how preexisting diaspora identities/politics impacted and were changed by state-led emigrations in the 1960s. It argues that preexisting colonial and Cold War migrations facilitated state-led emigrations after decolonization & during the Cold War, which then resulted in a convergence of Koreans abroad as loyal, capitalist, Christian, South Koreans.
• A third paper explores how everyday visual aspirations become sites through which regional hierarchies are produced, embodied, and negotiated in contemporary East-Southeast Asia. Through the aesthetic practices of middle-class Vietnamese women, the paper delves into the relationship between power and desire.

We welcome participants from all disciplines who are interested in these topics.

If you are interested, please contact Se Hyun Kim (se.h.kim@mail.mcgill.ca) and Ga Eun Cho (gcho2@jhu.edu) with an abstract of your paper and a short bio.

Thank you!