The K-Future Team of the Institute for Korean Studies at Seoul National University invites you to a colloquium with Professor Minwoo Jung from Loyola University Chicago.
Title: The Queer Politics of the Wounded: Reparation Work and Queer Youth Activism in Korea
Speaker: Prof. Minwoo Jung (Department of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago)
Date & Time: Monday, September 29, 2025, 4:00–6:00 PM
Venue: Room 501, IBK Communication Center (Bldg. 64), Seoul National University
Speaker’s Abstract:
How do communities forged through structural harm respond to collective wounds and become political subjects? How can the queer politics of the wounded move beyond the logic of pain and resentment? To address these questions, I introduce the concept of reparation work and explore it through the case of queer student movements in South Korea.
Drawing on feminist, queer, and postcolonial theories, I examine how institutionalized homophobia both injures queer youth and, paradoxically, shapes them into political subjects. I trace how queer students transform sites of social injury into arenas of healing—ranging from everyday practices such as the “Band-Aid Campaign” to more organized forms of activism that challenge heteronormative campus politics. Through these reparative practices, queer youth activists confront wounded pasts, resist structures that perpetuate harm, and imagine livable queer futures.
I propose reparation work as an analytical framework that expands the horizon of queer youth politics and broader struggles for social justice, both within and beyond Asia.
We warmly welcome the participation of all interested colleagues.
Contact:
Yong-rae Jung, Research Assistant