[KS] Tuesday night in Seoul

[Stephen Epstein]

Dear all,
 
For whatever reason, international Korean Studies-related events here in Seoul always seem to happen on Tuesdays.  I've been asked to announce the first of the following (which I'll be attending), but I should also note that those in the area will be spoiled for choice this Tuesday night, with the following events on tap:
 
1) Bilingual Book Reading: Lee Dong-ha's Toy City

Please join the Daesan Foundation/Kyobo Book Centre in celebrating the
English publication of Lee Dong-ha's novel Toy City. This novel vividly
depicts the aftermath of the Korean War from the perspective of a sensitive
boy. A bilingual reading by author Lee Dong-Ha and translator Kim Chi-Young will be followed by a
Q&A session. Refreshments will be served.

Date: Tuesday, May 22nd, at 6 P.M.

Place : Kyobo Book Centre Gangnam Branch (Take the subway Line 2 to Gangnam
Station, Exit No. 3 or Line 7 to Nonhyeon Station, Exit 6) 
 
 
2) At the RAS, Vladimir Tikhonov will be speaking:
 
May 22, 2007                                                               RAS Lecture Meeting
Tuesday/화요일                                                                Dr. Vladimir Tikhonov
7:30 p.m                                                          2nd Floor, Resident’s lounge
                                                                                    Somerset Palace-Seoul

Politics of Conscription: Militarized Statehood in Postcolonial Korea

After the universal male conscription system was first introduced by the Japanese in 1943 and then re-introduced by both post-colonial Korean states in 1948-49, the obligatory military service and all the experiences linked to it became a central reference point in the life cycles of the majority of able-bodied males in both Koreas. In case of South Korea, the tightening of the draft system in the early 1970s made the outright draft-dodging extremely costly and difficult, and led the public consciousness to identify the universal conscription as the only "just and equal" system in what is universally perceived as unjust and unequal society. From the early 1970s, joining the army started to be perceived as an obligatory rite of passage for all "normal" males, and the draft objectors were subjected not only to prison sentences and harsh treatment in the hand of police authorities, but also to an enormous amount of stigmatization in the public consciousness. Dr. Tikhonov's presentation will examine the influence the militarized masculinity paradigm has been exerting on the Korean society as a whole, especially on gender relationships.

Born in Leningrad (St-Petersburg), former USSR, 1973; MA from St-Petersburg State University (1994); PhD in Korea's ancient history from Moscow State University (Dec. 1996). Vladimir Tikhonov has worked for KyungHee University (1997-2000) and for Oslo University as associate professor (2000-2006) and as a full professor (from 2006).  He has published 12 monographs and translations of Korean classics into Russian, Korean, and Norwegian.  He is expecting his English translation of the Manhae Han Yongun Buddhist treatises to come out in autumn 2007.
 
 
3) And, as far as I'm aware, there will be a Yonsei-KF Korean Studies Forum at Millennium Hall at Yonsei University that evening, with a speaker who will be focusing on crime victims here in Korea. For more information, I assume you should contact jennifer.bresnahan at gmail.com