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Call for Conference Papers

Digital Korea: Stories, systems and spaces of connection

Centre for Korean Studies

The University of Sheffield, UK

30-31 May 2024

The Centre for Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield is pleased to be calling for papers for a conference titled Digital Korea: Stories, systems and spaces of connection, funded by the AKS Core Grant Programme.

This conference explores the diverse ways that Korean social, political and cultural relations at all levels, on both sides of the DMZ, are mediated by and through digital media. Alongside state-led narratives of national progress or industrial development that often benchmark digital achievements, Koreans use digital media in ways that do not always align with these broader state narratives. This conference brings attention to these stories, systems and spaces of connection to show how both North and South Korean cases can be in conversation with each other and cases of digital sociality around the world. We aim to highlight research that addresses diverse, hidden, or underexplored aspects of digital connections, from the micro-interactions of friendship on chat apps to the commercialisation of whole neighbourhoods into digital valleys. We welcome papers that discuss topics as diverse as bureaucracy, medicine, religion, international politics, friendship, popular media, parenting, science and engineering, office life, old age, and others. 

The conference is open to Korean Studies scholars at any career level, including PhD students, post-doctoral scholars and established academics. We welcome papers from any discipline that touch broadly on any of the themes below:

• Digital platforms in contemporary Korea: including the use of platforms in work and organisations, and the role of digital platforms in public discourse, debate, governance and activism;
• Digital markets: attending to the practices of the platform economy, E-commerce and consumption, and the rises in FinTech;  
• Digital infrastructure: focusing on the materiality of virtual domains, the rise of the “smart city,” genealogies of networks (1G-5G), Korea’s high-speed/high-barrier internet, technological waste and recirculation;
• Digital media, influencers and popular culture: the use of digital media in the creation and dissemination of film, television, music, and literature; influencers, the creation of digital communities and cultural diplomacy;
• Digital storytelling and representation: how digital media platforms have shaped narratives about Korea and its people;
• Virtual realities and augmented experiences: the integration of virtual reality, augmented reality and interactive media in entertainment, gaming and art;
• Digital archives and Korean history: their development and use, as well as their application in teaching and learning;
• Digital research methods: innovations in Korean Studies research using digital methods.

Venue and Dates:

The University of Sheffield, UK

30-31 May 2024

The cost of accommodation in Sheffield will be covered for successful applicants travelling from outside Sheffield.

Schedule:

May 29: Arrival and check-in

May 30: Conference (full day) 

May 31: Conference (half day)

Application and submission of abstracts:

Applicants should submit the following information by email to cks@sheffield.ac.uk by the deadline of Monday, 29th January, 2024.

1. Your full name as you would like it to appear in the abstract booklet
2. Your institutional affiliation and role
3. Your email and telephone number (including country code)
4. Title of your paper
5. A 250-word abstract in print-ready format
6. The file should be named as follows: surname_paper title.doc (document format, no PDFs please)

Presentations at the conference should be in English. While we do not request full paper submissions, we will collect submissions from interested participants after the conference to produce a conference publication (such as a special issue of a journal). 

Application period

The deadline for submissions is Monday, 29th January, 2024. Applications should be sent to cks@sheffield.ac.uk.

The Centre for Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield will contact all participants by mid-February regarding acceptance of their applications.