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http://www.international.ucla.edu/korea/

UCLA Center for Korean Studies, Los Angeles, CA (2026)

04/28/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: [Book Talk] Against Abandonment: Repertoire of Solidarity in South Korean Protest

- Thursday, May 14, 2026
- 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
- Bunche Hall, Room 10383

About the Book:

Against Abandonment: Repertoire of Solidarity in South Korean Protest (Stanford University Press, 2025) offers insight into the utility and futility of protesting precarity under neoliberal capitalism. Based on long-term ethnographic research and in-depth interviews with key labor and social movement activists, the book follows the protests of minoritized workers, especially women employed in precarious jobs, as they contend with what it means to be treated as disposable and what it takes to resist. Long-term protest camps, life-threatening hunger strikes, grueling prostrations, perilous high-altitude occupations are agonizing to perform and to witness but often powerful as affective catalyst of change. Through dramatic performances and rituals that repeat across time and space, Against Abandonment finds that protesters cultivate repertoires of solidarity as a relational force that binds people and worlds together in a collective praxis of refusal. In doing so, Against Abandonment builds upon intersectional, transnational, and abolitionist feminist theorizing that has long emphasized the centrality of building relations of care and community in place-based struggles against capitalist abandonment.

Moderated by Tobias Higbie, Director of the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) at UCLA, it will begin with brief comments by Jennifer Jihye Chun (Asian America Studies at UCLA) and Ju Hui Judy Han (Gender Studies at UCLA), which will be followed by an open ended dialogue among panelists, with Jong Bum Kwon (Webster University), Hannah Appel (Anthropology at UCLA), and Zeynep Korkman (Gender Studies at UCLA).

Additional information about speakers included at
https://www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17646

04/28/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: Spring Festival of World Music: Music of Korea

- Sunday, May 10, 2026
- 12:00 PM
- Lani Hall, Schoenberg Music Building, UCLA

This concert brings together performances from UCLA's Music of Korea and Intercultural Improvisation: Cultures in Musical Dialogue courses, celebrating Korea's rich musical heritage alongside cross-cultural creative practice. The program features traditional and contemporary works shaped by both historical roots and collaborative experimentation, with students performing on a diverse range of Korean instruments including gayageum (12-string zither), janggu (hourglass drum), danso (bamboo flute), as well as cross-cultural music ensemble. Repertoire includes beloved folk songs such as Arirang and Doraji, vibrant percussive traditions like Samulnori, and newly devised pieces created through an improvisation-based process. Embracing both tradition and innovation, the beauty of traditional folk music and cross-cultural creativity come together to shape each work organically, resulting in a dynamic musical dialogue and shared creativity across cultures.

More information, including about parking and Mother's Day gifts, can be found at
https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/event/music-of-korea-and-intercultural-improvisation-ensemble/

Event on CKS website:
https://www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17664

04/28/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: [Book Talk] A Fractured Liberation: Korea under U.S. Occupation

- Thursday, April 30, 2026
- 5:00 PM
- Bunche Hall, Rm 10383

When Japanese imperial rule ended in August 1945, the Korean peninsula erupted with hopes and aspirations that had been bottled up for nearly forty years. This electrifying excitement jolted Koreans into action everywhere. Peasants occupied Japanese-owned farmlands, workers seized control of factories, and women demanded political and economic equality. Yet, within months, those aspirations would collide with the realities of a U.S. military occupation, giving way to a bitter contest over the future of Korea that would ultimately end in political tragedy.

Drawing from his recently published book, A Fractured Liberation: Korea under U.S. Occupation (Belknap/Harvard University Press, 2025), historian Kornel Chang will discuss how liberation was experienced from the ground up by ordinary Koreans while also showing how U.S. occupation forces reshaped - and often foreclosed - the possibilities that liberation had seem to open. Consumed by fears of instability and communist influence, the military high command, led by Lieutenant General John R. Hodge, clashed with Korean and American reformers who were pushing for democratization and social change. Chang's talk recovers a moment of genuine political possibility - one of competing futures in which different choices may have led to different outcomes. Division and war, he contends, were not inevitable. North and South is not the way it had to be.

This talk is moderated by Albert Park, Claremont-McKenna College (The Claremont Colleges).

Receive a 30% discount with promo code AFL30 at
www.hup.harvard.edu

More information about the speakers included at
https://www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17585

04/21/2026

CONTEST: 2026 CKS "Comfort Women" Creative Project Contest

In 2022, the Center for Korean Studies received a gift to create a permanent endowment to support creative projects by UCLA students and faculty, together with an online archive, research, and programming.

The contest is open to all UCLA undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled in the 2026 Spring quarter. Each work must address the topic of "comfort women" in some way in literary (poetry, prose, or video of spoken word), visual (such as drawing, painting, print, textiles, sculpture, ceramics, photography, film, video of performance), or multi-media format.

We will have both undergraduate and graduate student divisions with separate first prize awards of $500 in each division. Second place ($300 Visa gift card) and third place ($150 Visa gift card) awards may be in either division. Depending on the number of entries, we may increase the number of second and third prizes awarded. There will also be non-monetary prizes.

Students should read this brief fact sheet on "comfort women" to familiarize themselves with the topic:

https://apjjf.org/asia-pacific-journal-feature/4829/article

Submissions are due by 11:59 pm on Sunday, May 17, 2026. The awards ceremony will be in late May.

Submission Portal: https://forms.international.ucla.edu/ApplicationForm.aspx?YHbbgjRDrfhNlUG0I5gagAYpgtCTk6TKw7IyDy6TsKA=

Release Form: https://forms.international.ucla.edu/ApplicationForm.aspx?YHbbgjRDrfhNlUG0I5gagAYpgtCTk6TKw7IyDy6TsKA=

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Jennifer Jung-Kim at [email protected].

04/20/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: Testimony of Korean Survivors

- Friday, April 24, 2026
- 2:00 PM
- Bunche Hall, Room 10383

Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea (SPARK) offers an opportunity to hear from atomic bomb survivors who were in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, to conscripted workers from Korea, Shim Jin-Tae survived the atomic bombing in August 1945 and repatriated to South Korea as a young child. Since 2001, Mr. Shim has led the Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Association chapter in the town of Hapcheon, known as "Korea's Hiroshima," where thousands of Korean atomic bomb survivors resettled after their repatriation form Japan after World War II. Mr. Shim has led a redress movement for restoring justice and human rights for Korean atomic bomb victims, and for holding the U.S. government responsible for the nuclear violence, culminating in the upcoming International People's Tribunal (IPT) on 1945 U.S. Atomic Bombings in New York in May 2026.

Q&A with survivors will follow testimony. This event also introduces the IPT, including its establishment, role, activities, and future projects.

Please come to hear survivors' story and be informed of IPT.

Visit the link below for more information

https://www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17601

04/16/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: [Book Talk] Q***r Throughlines: Spaces of Q***r Activism in South Korea and the Korean Diaspora

- Tuesday, April 21, 2026
- 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
- Bunche Hall, Room 10383

About the Book:

Q***r Throughlines draws on years of direct participation, interviews, and ethnography to examine transnational Korean LGBTQ+ activism since the 1990s. Han maps the sites and routes of leftist and q***r political movements, highlighting challenges posed by Christian conservatives in both South Korea and the United States. The book uses the concept of "throughlines" to weave together a web of movement stories across time and space: a coalition of Los Angeles-based LGBTQ+ activists and allies fighting an anti-gay petition campaign led by Korean immigrant churches; q***r activists involved in anti-war protests in Seoul; progressive clergy embracing inclusivity and risking heresy charges and excommunication; and q***r and trans activists refusing to be sidelined form visions of political change underway. These moments do not always line up in a straightforward narrative of victory of progress, yet they create powerful lines of solidarity, community, and kinship.

Moderated by Grace Kyung-won Hong (Asian American Studies and Gender Studies at UCLA, it will begin with brief comments by Ju Hui Judy Han (Gender Studies at UCLA) and then shift to an open ended dialogue among panelists, with Giancarlo Cornejo Salinas (Gender Studies at UCLA), Laura Hyun Yi Kang (Gender & Sexuality Studies at UC Irvine), and Yeong Ran Kim.

More information about the speakers are included in the link below.

https://www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17612

04/16/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: Symposium on Korean America and the US-Korea Relations

- Friday, April 17, 2026
- 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
- Ronald Tutor Campus Center (TTC), 450 University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, 90089

This symposium examines the historical and contemporary relationship between Korea and the United States, with particular attention to the Korean diaspora in Los Angeles. Korean migration to the United States began shortly after the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1882, and by the early twentieth century Korean communities had taken root in Hawai'i and California. Korean Americans played a key role in the Korean independence movement during the period of Japanese colonial rule (1910 - 1945), and they contributed as activists and as soldiers to the U.S. military effort during WWII. Today, Korean Americans continue to shape political, economic, and cultural developments to both their ancestral land and their home country.

Bring together regional as well as national experts, this event seeks to develop a more nuanced understanding of the place of Korean Americans within the interwoven histories of the two nations, in the process also deepening our knowledge of national histories themselves. Along with scholarly panels, the symposium will feature a roundtable of social activists from Los Angeles's Korean American community, seeking to identify policy concerns and future directions in light of both history and current conditions.

For more information including schedule, and presenters, please visit the event website by clicking the link below.

This symposium is organized by USC's Korean Studies Institute and sponsored by UCLA Center for Korean Studies, the Korean Foundation, and USC's Korean Heritage Library.

https://calendar.usc.edu/event/korean-americans-and-us-korea-relations-march-first-symposium-on-history-and-democracy

03/18/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: From Coreano to Coreguayo: Korean Migration and Identity in Paraguay

Monday, April 13, 2026
4:00 PM
10383 Bunche Hall (10th floor)

This talk examines the history of Korean migration to Paraguay and the emergence of a distinctive diasporic identity known as coreguayo, a term combining coreano (Korean) and paraguayo (Paraguayan). Beginning with the first wave of state-sponsored agricultural migration in 1965, Lee trace how a small Korean community took shape in a South American country that has received little attention in Korea diaspora studies. Drawing on archival materials, local Korean and Paraguayan newspapers, and forty-six interviews, the talk highlights three historical moments that reshaped the community: the failure of early agricultural settlements, the expansion of urban commerce during the economic boom of the 1980s, and the economic crisis and mass out-migration of the late 1990s. Although Korean immigrants gained economic visibility through commerce, they also experienced social marginalization and developed tightly knit ethnic institution that both sustained and constrained community life. Following the sharp population decline after the economic crisis, 1.5 - and second-generation Koreans came of age in a context of demographic contraction rather growth. Through higher education, professional careers, and increased interaction with Paraguayan society, many began to articulate a hybrid sense of belongings as coreguayos. Rather than emerging simply from cultural mixing, this identity developed in response to historical disruption, limited institutional support, and life in a small and shrinking diaspora. By focusing on Koreans in Paraguay, this talk expands understandings of Korean migration beyond well-studied destinations and highlights how diaspora identities are shaped not only by opportunity and success, but also by instability, loss, and adaptation.

https://www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17546

03/18/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: Beyond the Stage: Inside K-pop Performance with Seungyeon Chang of CLC

Wednesday, April 8, 2026
4:00 PM
Royce Hall, Room 314

In this special talk and workshop, Seungyeon will offer an inside look at the world of K-pop performance - how choreography shapes storytelling, stage presence, and the global reach of Korean pop culture. she will also reflect on the discipline, creativity, and adaptability required to grow as an artist beyond the idol stage.

Drawing from her experiences performing internationally, teaching dance workshops, and developing new creative projects across cultures, Seungyeon invites audience to explore how dance connects music, identity, and global community. This event offers an unique opportunity hear directly from a K-pop artist while gaining insight into the evolving future of performance and creative careers.

Seungyen Chang is a Korean dancer, choreographer, DJ, and leader and main dancer of the internationally recognized K-pop group CLC. Widely admired for her dynamic stage presence, musicality, and precision in performance, she has built a global following through her work on stage and in dance Beyond her career as a K-pop artist, Seungyeon has continued to expand her creative path through choreography, international dance workshops, performances, and cross-cultural artistic projects across Asia, Europe, and North America. As both an artist and educator, she is passionate about connecting people through movement, music, and shared creative experiences.

https://www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17604

03/04/2026

UPCOMING EVENT: [CKS Colloquium] The Mosque Conflict: Multiscalar Bordering and the Rise of Islamophobia in South Korea
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
4:00 PM
10383 Bunche Hall (10th floor)
Prof. Joowon Yuk, Kyungpook National University

Muslim constitute a minuscule percentage of South Korea's population, yet Islamophobia has surged over the past decade. While the 2018 anti-refugee campaign against Yemeni asylum seekers marked a pivotal moment in the nationalization of Islamophobia, anti-Islamic ideologies have consistently permeated public discourse since the late-2000s. This dissemination has occurred through media campaigns, opposition to halal food initiatives, and resistance to mosque construction, often driven by the concerted efforts of the Protestant Right. At the heart of this phenomenon lies a tense oscillation between a multiculturalism deeply ingrained with a developmental ethos and an exclusionary, "nationals-first" nationalism. This talk investigates these dynamics through the controversy surrounding the construction of the Daruleeman Mosque in Daegu - a conflict that gained international notoriety for the grotesque display of pig carcasses at the site. Drawing on four years of participatory action research and ethnographic filed work (since 2021), this talk analyzes this local dispute as a site of 'multiscalar bordering.' The analysis argues that bordering in this context operates through overlapping processes: from multilayered exclusions enacted by residents, to the administrative maneuvers of local authorities, and the interventions of far-right Protestant groups linking local grievances to global anti-Islamic rhetoric. By tracing the interactions between these diverse actors, this talk reveals how boundaries of race, religion, and national belongings are being redrawn across different scales. Ultimately, the research expands the study of racism into non-Western contexts, demonstrating that Islamophobia is not merely a byproduct of cultural friction or a Western-imported phenomenon, but a strategic manifestation of a new Korean nationalism that easily overrides that fragile multicultural discourse that has developed with the increase of the migrant population.

Joowon Yuk is a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Minorities and Human Rights at Kyungpook National University, South Korea. Her scholarship interrogates the cultural politics of race, gender, and class focusing on the shifting dynamics of migration and citizenship Her most recent work includes the article "The Protestant Right and the Rise of Islamophobia in South Korea" (2025), published in Anthropology of the Middle East. As a visiting scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, she currently explores the historical entanglement of race and religion in Korea to develop a localized theorization of race within Korean studies.

This is part of the "Koreans in the World" project hosted by UCLA's Center for Korean Studies. This event is supported by the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS Award Number: AKS-2023-SRI-2200001) as part of its Strategic Research Institute Program for Korean Studies.

UCLA Center for Korean Studies

04/28/2026

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Monday	8am - 12pm
Tuesday	8am - 12pm
	1pm - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 12pm
	1pm - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 12pm
	1pm - 5pm
Friday	8am - 12pm
	1pm - 5pm