Subject Area: Korean Studies

This course focuses on key themes in Korean culture from the pre-modern to the modern periods. It emphasises the relationship between cultural continuity and change and also highlights key areas of debate in Korean studies.

The course is structured thematically and chronologically, with topics including Korea’s selective adaptation of the “Chinese model” of governance used in combination with Korean feudal political structures; the role of elite and folk religions such as Buddhism and Shamanism; the emergence of the literati culture, its emphasis on Neo-Confucian cultural orthodoxy and suppression of Buddhism during the Choseon dynasty (1392-1910); the importance of Christianity in social and cultural change in the 19th and 20th centuries and its role in modern Korean nationalism; the impact of Japanese colonialism (1910-1945), the Korean War and division of the peninsula; and contemporary cultural issues of importance such as the role of women, popular nationalism and complex contestations over defining Korea in light of the continued North-South division. The course concludes with a critical examination of evolving conceptions of Korean culture.