UiO - East Asian Lunch Seminars

08/03/2026

Dear all, I am re-publishing here this appeal in a hope that some of you may participate in the petition drive to prevent the planned closure of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. This is a unique museum, of great importance not only to Sinologists but also to Koreanists and Japanologists of Northern Europe. It is completely insane that such an important part of East Asian Studies infrastructure can be dismantled - in the time when East Asian Studies are becoming increasingly important!
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Dear Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the campaign against the closure of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Östasiatiska museet, 远东博物馆) in Stockholm, which holds - among many other things - material from the earliest scientific archaeological excavations in China, conducted by Gunnar Anderson, and many other precious artefacts. And this in the year which marks its 100th unniversary and after a brilliant history!!!
https://kampanj.skiftet.org/medelhavsmuseet/kampanj/signera

The petition is in Swedish. Here is the translation:

Both the Mediterranean Museum and the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities are at risk of permanent closure following a 57% rent increase.

The Swedish National Property Board (SFV) is responsible for this, as its regulatory letter requires a 5% return on activities that make culture accessible to everyone. They themselves are running a large surplus, while museums are being closed!

We are not talking about commercial activities here, but museums.

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If you have any connections to media outlets, interest groups, or anyone else who could help with making this known and support the museums under threat, it would be wonderful if you could take action.

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Rädda Medelhavsmuseet

Medelhavsmuseet och Östasiatiska riskerar att stängas för gott. Både Medelhavsmuseet och Östasiatiska museet riskerar att stängas permanent efter en hyreshöjning på 57%.

Ansvariga är Statens Fastighetsverk (SFV) som i sitt regleringsbrev kräver 5% avkastning på verksamheter som handlar om att tillgängliggöra kultur för alla. De går själva med stort överskott samtidigt som museer ska stängas!

Det är inte kommersiella verksamheter vi pratar om utan museer.

https://kampanj.skiftet.org/medelhavsmuseet/kampanj/signera

Medelhavsmuseet och Östasiatiska riskerar att stängas för gott. En hyreshöjning på 57% tar knäcken på kulturen.

24/10/2025

Dear colleagues

you are invited to a hybrid lecture by Prof. Karolína Šamánková (Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic)

A History of Korea: the North Korean perspective

Time: October 29 (Wednesday), 14.15 to 16.00 CET

Place: SB Aud. 1, UiO, Blindern campus, Universitetet i Oslo

https://uio.zoom.us/j/66880997624
Meeting ID: 668 8099 7624

The lecture is a part of KOR2510 course (https://www.uio.no/studier/emner/hf/ikos/KOR2510/h25/index.html ). It is supported, via EPEL (European Program for the Exchange of Lecturers ), by AKSE (Association for Korean Studies)

Abstract: The lecture explores how the DPRK has constructed and adapted its interpretation of the Korean past to serve shifting political, ideological, and diplomatic objectives. By examining key moments in which the official historical narrative has undergone significant transformation—ranging from portrayals of early statehood on the Korean Peninsula, social transformations around the turn of the twentieth century, the division and the Korean War of the mid-twentieth century—the lecture seeks to illuminate the mechanisms through which historical memory has been instrumentalized to legitimize leadership, reinforce national identity, and sustain the regime’s continuity within changing regional and global context.

Bio: Karolína Šamánková is an Assistant Professor and Ph.D. candidate in Korean Studies at Charles University in Prague. Her doctoral research examines interpretations of modern Korean history in South and North Korean textbooks from the 1950s to the 1980s. She also serves as Deputy Director of the Korea and the Eastern Bloc Institute at Charles University, where her research focuses on Czechoslovak–Korean relations during the Cold War period.

12/02/2025

Dear all,

On February 24, 2025 (Monday), 12.15 to 14.00 (CET), Oslo University plans to hold an EPEL guest lecture by Amos Farooqi (Copenhagen University), "Korean Hip-hop, underground Scene and Musical Industry". The lecture is originally intended for Oslo University students (the course KOR1506 - South Korean Popular Culture), but, since it is a hybrid event with a broad potential appeal, we decided to allow Zoom participation from outside of the university as well. The Zoom link is below. Here is the abstract:

"This lecture explores the development and function of music scenes in relation to the commercial music industry through the case study of the Korean hip-hop scene and its relationship to the wider commercial entertainment industry in Korea. The relationship between the Korean hip-hop scene and the local commercial entertainment industry, which is personified by the oligopolistic control of a handful of major conglomerates and K-Pop labels, reveals the obstacles independent music production faces in the country and the uneven relations of power that permeate the Korean music industry."

Join Zoom Meeting
https://uio.zoom.us/j/62818382867
Meeting ID: 628 1838 2867

21/10/2023

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 12.15-14.00, UiO, SB Aud 1. - KOR2510 lecture (open for public)

"North Korean Economic Development Strategy and the Issue of Technological Innovation" by Hojye KANG, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Institut für Koreastudien, Freie Universität Berlin
(History and Policy of Science-Technology in North Korea)

Abstract: North Korea has succeeded in developing its own nuclear weapons and ICBMs. No other country - as small and as impoverished as North Korea - has ever managed to do this while overcoming a severe economic blockade.

Also on ZOOM (hybrid lecture):
https://uio.zoom.us/j/68833857834
Meeting ID: 688 3385 7834

Moreover, these technologies have recently been applied beyond the defense sector to "improve the quality of life of its citizens." The pace of economic development has begun to accelerate.
This lecture will provide a brief overview of North Korea's nuclear and missile technology. We will also look at North Korea's economic development strategy from the perspective of technological innovation. It can be called "Spin-off from the military to the civilian sectors."

Bio: Dr. Kang teaches the students at Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Korean Studies, with a special focus on North Korea Studies. He conducts research on North Korea Studies from a historical perspective faithfully but also grasping the latest trends closely. He studied Physics(BA) and changed his major to history. He studied in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science (PHPS), at SNU. The theses of MA and PhD were history and policy of science and technology in North Korea. He has a plan to write the whole history of North Korea without power struggles, focusing on National Building, National Innovation System. His latest research topic is ‘National/Regional Innovation System’.
‘the On-Site Research Program and the Formation of Science and Technology in North Korea’(2003) ‘History of Science and Technology in North Korea 1’(2007), ‘Analysis on North Korea’s Declaration of Nuclear Force Completion and an Alternative for Denuclearization’(2020), ‘Research on North Korea: An Analysis of Doctoral Theses Registered in the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database’(2021).

26/09/2023

26/09/2023

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 12.15-14.00, UiO, SB Aud 1. - KOR2510 lecture (open for public)

Eric Ballbach, "North Korea’s Fait Accompli: Implications of the Changing Status Quo on the Korean Peninsula"

14/06/2023

INVITATION
FORUM ON KOREAN PENINSULA ISSUES
Venue: ONLINE, ZOOM
Date & time: June 15 (Thursday), 14:00 – 17:00
PROGRAM
1. A Bulgarian’s journey to North Korea (2013)
Bringing people closer together above, below and beyond the 38th
parallel through student exchange
Todor Merjanov, Sofia University, Korean Studies Department
alumnus (class of 2016)
2. North Korean children in Bulgaria after the outbreak of the Korean
War
So Young Kim, Sofia University, Korean Studies Department
3. The first and the last high-level Bulgarian diplomatic mission in
DPRK. Notes from Pyongyang visit in 2007
Georgi Milkov, Journalist
4. The cult of the mountain as a symbol of state unifying power
(emphasis on the North Korean cult to Mount Paektu-san)
Evelina Hein, Sofia University, Chinese Studies Department
5. From socialist economy to free market – the role of Korean
companies in Bulgaria in the 1990s
Irina Sotirova, Sofia University, Korean Studies Department
6. “The Report of the Green Amoeba on the Chemical Pencil”
A work of contemporary literature observes North Korea through the
eyes of a teenager from 1980’s socialist Bulgaria
Velina Minkoff, writer, literary translator
For registration:

Event Date: 15 June (Thursday), 2023 Event Time: 14:00 - 17:00 (Eastern European Time) For questions and inquiries contact us at: [email protected]

02/06/2023

North Korean Human Rights: A Bridgehead for Global Security and Peace
Monday, 12 June 2023 09:00-10:00

​Welcome to a breakfast seminar with professor Shinwha Lee, Ambassador for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights from the Government of South Korea.

​Human rights are universal values that should be upheld by all humanity, transcending politics. However, the issue of North Korean human rights often becomes a subject of political contention. In her presentation, ambassador Lee will delve into three key aspects: 1) The nature and list of North Korean human rights issues, 2) The significance of addressing these issues, and 3) Actions for international cooperation required to address them. Furthermore, she will explore the interconnectedness between North Korean human rights and global/regional security concerns, emphasizing how mainstreaming human rights can serve as a foundation for achieving peace.

PRIO's Director Henrik Urdal will welcome and PRIO Senior Researcher Ilaria Carrozza will chair the event.

Keynote speaker
Professor Shinwha Lee, Ambassador for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights, Government of South Korea

Dr. Lee's previous positions include Post-doc fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs (CFIA); Special advisor to UNSG Kofi Annan’s Rwandan Independent Inquiry; Chair's advisor of East Asian Vision Group (EAVG), Full-time visiting professor at Columbia University, International board member of GR:EEN, Europe, Vice President for international affairs at Korea University; Chair of Research Committee of Seoul Forum for International Affairs (SFIA); Visiting scholar at MIT’s Center for International Studies (CIS) ), UN Secretary General's Advisory Group Member of Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), Member of Committee on Public Diplomacy, Republic of Korea; Advisor of Korean Army Development; and Member of Ministry of Defense Requirement Verification Committee. She received her Ph.D. from University of Maryland at College Park.

Comments by:

Stein Tønnesson, Research Professor, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)

Ed Brown, Secretary General, Stefanus Alliance International

A light breakfast will be served from 8:30am.

https://www.prio.org/events/9056 (you have to register beforehand)