[KS] Call for Papers: 2026 SNU International Conference for Contemporary Korean Studies

[강승]

Call for Papers



*202**6** SNU International Conference for Contemporary Korean Studies*



*Date:* August 21-22, 2026
*Location:* Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea



*Korea as** Method*



The SNU Institute for Contemporary Korean Studies is pleased to announce
the 2026 Annual International Conference, to be held at Seoul National
University in the summer of 2026. Building on the continued success of this
conference series, the event aims to provide a vibrant interdisciplinary
forum for critical scholarship on Korea and beyond.



This year’s theme, *Korea as Method*, invites participants to move beyond
treating Korea merely as an empirical case or regional object of study.
Instead, the conference proposes Korea as a *methodological, theoretical,
and epistemic lens* through which broader social, political, economic,
cultural, and historical configurations and relations can be rethought and
rearticulated.



The notion of “Korea as Method” raises several critical questions: How can
Korea serve not only as an object of analysis but also as a *source of
concepts, comparisons, and critiques*? What kinds of theoretical insights
emerge when Korean historical experiences—such as colonization and
division, developmentalism and democratization, authoritarianism and social
movements, as well as the global circulation of Korean popular culture in
the context of digital transformation—are taken seriously as generative
sites of knowledge production? How might Korean cases unsettle dominant
theoretical frameworks or contribute to alternative ways of understanding
modernity, capitalism, democracy, statehood, identity, and culture?



By foregrounding Korea as a methodological vantage point, this conference
seeks to foster conversations that are both grounded in Korean realities
and oriented toward broader comparative and global debates. We particularly
encourage contributions that reflect on *methodological innovation,
theoretical translation, comparative strategies, and epistemic reflexivity*
in contemporary Korean studies.



*We welcome submissions that engage with, but are not limited to, the
following themes:*



   - Korea as a site of theory-building and conceptual innovation
   - Methodological reflections in Korean studies: comparison, translation,
   and contextualization
   - Rethinking modernity, capitalism, and development through Korean
   experiences
   - Democracy, authoritarianism, and political transformation in
   comparative perspective
   - State, citizenship, and governance in and beyond Korea
   - Korean social movements, labor, and civil society as comparative
   reference points
   - Gender, family, and reproduction in Korea as global questions
   - Religion, spirituality, and ethics in Korean contexts
   - Cultural production, media, and popular culture as analytical lenses
   - Digitalization, platform economies, and technological change in Korea
   - Epistemological debates in area studies and global knowledge production



Other themes relevant to contemporary Korean studies are also welcome.



*Languag**e*

The official languages of the conference are English and Korean. Abstracts
must be submitted in English. Interpretation services will be available
during the conference as needed.



*Live Streaming and Recording*
The conference proceedings will be recorded for archival purposes and may
be made available on the Institute’s website. Selected sessions may also be
live-streamed via YouTube. If you prefer not to be recorded or included in
the live stream, please indicate this in your submission.



*Registration Fee*

There is no registration fee for this conference. Limited financial support
may be available for graduate student presenters.



*Submission Types*

   - *Individual Papers:* 15-20 minute presentations
   - *Panels:* 3-5 papers plus a discussant and a chair



*Word Limits*

   - Panel abstracts: 250 words (accompanied by 3-5 individual paper
   abstracts of 200 words each and short bios of the presenters)
   - Paper abstracts: 200 words (accompanied by a short bio of the
   presenter; only one paper presentation is allowed per person)



*Submission Deadline*

Please submit panel and paper abstracts by *March* *10**, 202**6*, to the
following email address: *snucks202**6**@gmail.com* <snucks2026 at gmail.com>



The program committee will notify applicants of acceptance decisions by
*April* *5**, 202**6*.



For further information or inquiries, please contact the organizing
committee at the same email address. We look forward to receiving your
submissions and to welcoming scholars from diverse disciplines and
perspectives to the conference.



Hyeong-Ki Kwon, PhD

Director, SNU Contemporary Korean Studies

Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, SNU



* Please note that our website is currently under construction. If you
experience difficulty accessing the main site (https://cks.snu.ac.kr/),
please use the temporary address (http://snuresearch.nineonelabs.co.kr/).
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://koreanstudies.com/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreanstudies.com/attachments/20260220/dd088855/attachment.html>