The SNU Center for Contemporary Korean Studies will host the 2025 SNU International Conference for Contemporary Korean Studies over two days, from Friday, August 22 to Saturday, August 23, 2025, on the second floor of the SNU Asia Center (Building 101). Following its inaugural conference last year, this second annual gathering will be held under the theme “Korea as Symptom: Perspectives on the Future.” The conference seeks to interpret a wide range of contemporary phenomena in Korean society—from the crisis of democracy to the global expansion of K-pop—within broader historical and global transformations.
Bringing together scholars of Korea from around the world, including researchers from South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, India, the Philippines, Israel, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy, the conference will begin with welcoming remarks by SNU President Hong Lim Ryu and continue with an intensive two-day program. In addition to established research agendas such as the political economy of Korea, the global circulation of Korean culture, and statehood and democracy in contemporary Korea, the conference will feature in-depth discussions of emerging topics including gender and migration, K-pop and social movements, queer narratives in Korean literature, and religion and political identity. On the second day, the conference will conclude with a roundtable discussion involving all presenters and discussants, bringing together the key insights from the preceding sessions and identifying future research agendas for Korean Studies.
Major sessions of the conference will be livestreamed on YouTube, allowing interested scholars and members of the public around the world to participate remotely. Simultaneous interpretation will also be provided for selected sessions to facilitate communication among participants.
The SNU Center for Contemporary Korean Studies was established in 2023 with the goal of building a research-oriented global hub with strong global visibility. The Center seeks to advance scholarly understanding of social transformation and cultural practices in contemporary Korea while promoting interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers in Korea and abroad. Currently, more than 50 researchers and research assistants are conducting collaborative research with scholars around the world, and major research outcomes of the Center are being published as part of a Korean Studies monograph series with Palgrave Macmillan.
Beginning with this second international conference, the event is expected to become an annual academic gathering. Future conferences will continue to explore new ways of understanding contemporary Korea: the 2026 conference will be held under the theme “Korea as Method,” followed by “Korea as Alternative” in 2027, extending the conversation toward new methodologies and alternative perspectives for thinking about contemporary Korea.
Event Information
- Event: 2025 SNU International Conference for Contemporary Korean Studies
- Date & Time: August 22 (Fri)–23 (Sat), 2025, 09:00–18:30
- Venue: 2F, SNU Asia Center (Building 101), Seoul National University
- Organizer: SNU Center for Contemporary Korean Studies
- Format: In person and livestreamed on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@SNUCKS2025
Please refer to the attached conference materials for further details.
