A Pawn in the Great Game: Chosŏn’s Rapprochement with the Russian Empire Amidst the British Seizure of Kŏmundo, 1884–1886 (Page 189-212)

Volume 21.1

Abstract The paper examines the Chosŏn government’s rapprochement with the Russian Empire performed against the backdrop of the British seizure of Kŏmundo (1885– 1887). Two attempts of Russo-Chosŏn rapprochement, carried out in the summer of 1885 and summer of 1886, are analyzed separately and against the wider geopolitical situation in Northeast Asia and on the…

Islamophobia Discourse via Online Rumors in Korea: Focusing on the Rumor “How Lebanon, which was a Christian Country, became an Islamic Country?” and the “Taharrush Game” (Page 291-322)

Volume 21.1

Abstract This paper aims to explore the current status of the phenomena of online Islamophobia in Korea and how hate rumours affect internet users. The paper analyses Islamophobic information that flows online in Korean society with two particular rumors as examples, “Taharrush Game” and “How Lebanon, which was a Christian Country, became an Islamic Country?”…

Adaptation of Western Modern Concepts in Modern Korean Architecture in the Early Twentieth Century: Through the Perspective of Science, Efficiency, and Hygiene (Page 127-153)

Volume 21.1

Abstract This research explores the characteristics of Korean early modern architecture in the early twentieth century. Modern Korean architecture experienced conflicts and continuities between tradition and modernity from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. To evaluate these various influences, this article considers Korean early modern architecture through the perspective of su… Members Please…

Challenging the “Hierarchy of Nationhood”: Diasporic Entitlement and the Case of Korean Chinese (Chosŏnjok) in South Korea (Page 67-95)

Volume 21.1

Abstract With about 7.5 million people, the Korean diaspora is concentrated in China, Japan, North America, and the former Soviet Union. Since the 1990s, many ethnic Koreans have been “returning” to South Korea, their putative ethnic homeland. Significantly, their treatment by the state has been unequal: On issues of residency and employment rights, ethnic Koreans…

Islamic Studies of Korea in Medieval Scripts: Medieval Muslims’ perception of Korea “as a Muslims’ Paradise” and the Influence of Ancient Civilizations’ Golden Island in the Sea East of the Eastern End of the World (323-333)

Volume 21.1

Introduction Silla was one of two places in East Asia frequently described by medieval Muslim writers from the mid ninth-century onwards. The earliest study of Silla in antique documents can be traced back to eighteenth-century Arabists who attached a short note to the word “Sīlā” when editing or translating manuscripts.1 From the nineteenth century, not…

Different Cinematic Interpretations of Ch’unhyangjŏn: The Same Korean Identity (Page 155-188)

Volume 21.1

Abstract The article examines the classic Korean folklore fable, 춘향전 (春香傳), Ch’unhyangjŏn (The Fragrance of Spring), The Tale of Ch’unhyang, through the lens of three different successful movie adaptations produced in North and South Korea. Respectively, Yu Wŏn-chun and Yun Ryong-gyu portrayed The Tale of Ch’unhyang (1980) in its modest “Juche realist” North Korean film…

The Precarity and Strategic Navigation of Choso˘ njok Migrants in South Korea (Page 7–35)

Volume 20.2

Abstract This paper investigates how ethnic Koreans migrating to South Korea from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have learned to adapt to precarity, tailoring their strategies to cope with an increasingly uncertain South Korean job market. Using archival analysis, participant observations, and in-depth interviews, the findings of this study demonstrate that the in-betweenness of…

“Identity through difference”: Liminal Diasporism and Generational Change Among the Koryo Saram in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Page 37–72)

Volume 20.2

Abstract This article examines the case of the Koryo saram, the ethnic Koreans living in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, to reflect on how notions of diasporas, community, and identity have changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It contends that the Koryo saram are best understood through the lenses of diasporic conditions…

Seoul as a Site of Labor Resistance: The Spatial Representation of Inequality and Injustice (Page 73–99)

Volume 20.2

Abstract Under rising insecurity and precarity in the neoliberal labor market, Korean workers have protested mass job cuts and deteriorating working conditions. Although their grievances originate from the regions and workplaces where they are employed or laid off, the protest sites often move to major political landmarks in Seoul, the nation’s capital, with demands for…