The Center for Korean Research at Columbia University will host the 2026 Columbia–Ewha–Yale Conference, Boundaries, on Friday, October 23, 2026. Organized by Jungwon Kim and Seong Uk Kim, the conference brings together scholars from Columbia University, Ewha Womans University, and Yale University for a day of interdisciplinary discussion.
Conference Abstract
This conference explores the concept of boundaries in Korea and other countries, both past and present, through a multidisciplinary lens encompassing social, political, cultural, and religious domains. It examines how boundaries function not merely as lines of division, but as dynamic constructs that shape human experience. Boundaries—whether social, political, cultural, or religious—serve as enduring frameworks that sustain societies, enforce norms, and delineate identities. At the same time, they also operate as sites of exclusion, negotiation, transformation, and resistance. By engaging with both historical and contemporary case studies, the conference seeks to illuminate boundaries not just as fixed structures, but also as continually constructed and contested terrains.
Conference Presentations
The program features eight presentations spanning Korean history, literature, religion, material culture, and social life. Hyein Koo (Ewha Womans University) examines the movement of women, textiles, and material culture across cultural boundaries in the Straits Settlements, while John D. Phan (Columbia University) explores transregional Confucian networks and intellectual exchange in nineteenth-century Lingnan. Turning to late Chosŏn Korea, Seong Uk Kim (Columbia University) investigates competing understandings of the public sphere among Buddhist monks and literati, and Jungwon Kim (Columbia University) considers the boundaries of judicial violence in eighteenth-century Korea. Hwansoo Kim (Yale University) examines tensions between biological kinship and monastic belonging at Haein Monastery from the 1930s through the 1960s.
The remaining presentations turn to modern Korean literature, gender, and social change. Jinhee Kim (Ewha Womans University) considers Korean modernism, postwar popular culture, and the work of poet Park In-hwan. Kyunghee Eo (Yale University) examines gendered envy, postwar Korean masculinity, and representations of the Western princess in Kim Sŏnghan’s short story “The Medium.” Finally, Sooja Kim (Ewha Womans University) traces the life of Jang Nam-su to explore women’s experiences of social mobility and the crossing of gender and class boundaries during South Korea’s industrialization in the 1970s.
Through these diverse historical and disciplinary perspectives, the conference will foster dialogue on how boundaries shape human experience and how they are negotiated and transformed across time and place.
Conference Details
- Date: Friday, October 23, 2026
- Time: 10:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
- Location: International Affairs Building, Room 918, Columbia University, New York
- Organizers: Jungwon Kim and Seong Uk Kim
- Host: Center for Korean Research
