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Please note that this CFP has been revised to more specifically encourage proposals from Korean studies scholars in multiple disciplines and with the deadline extended to June 30, 2024.

(Un)Defining Korean Architecture: Modernity, Stories, and Transformation

The 3rd annual Korean Studies Symposium at the University at Buffalo (UB), State University of New York, will take place on October 18-19, 2024. The event is organized by the Asia Research Institute and the School of Architecture and Planning at UB.

Korea has undergone a period during which its identity has many times been validated by the Western gaze and frequently portrayed through idealized images, many of which are architectural features, such as Hanok, palaces, and temples. While these references have been relied upon to affirm Korea’s cultural identity, it’s also true that Korea’s diverse constellations—in particular those of its cosmopolitan cities—are continually modified, edited, and updated by a globalized population. The global success of Korean popular culture since the 1990s, including music, media, art, and film, evidences that the inclination to align with Western culture is not critical, nor is a Korean identity rooted in traditional values the only way to communicate with a global audience. 

While theoretical architectural production is still suffering from a “hangover mode” reliant on Western modernism, contemporary Koreans edit, add, modify, and improvise the street and building elevations. Regardless of the architect’s and planner’s intent, spaces are revisited, reframed, and ritualized. The streets appear to be inundated with inexpensive commodities, signage, advertisements, and colorful walls. However, they transcend mere commodification, offering glimpses into the users' narratives of their work, desires, hopes, dreams, and rituals. To delve into, document, categorize, and analyze these narratives of the “city made by people,” it may be necessary to reevaluate the Western modernist dismissal of “ornament,” alongside other entrenched modernist categories such as "surface," "appearance," and "perception.”

The symposium, (Un)Defining Korean Architecture: Modernity, Stories and Transformation, aims to engage with robust conversations about the identity of Korea and the stories of its cities through the lens of art and architecture and invites papers and creative projects to expand this inquiry. This symposium will feature three keynote speakers from diverse fields, Peter Rowe at Harvard University, Artist Yeondoo Jung, and FHHH Friends (Architect), to discuss diverse perspectives on art, architecture, and city in contemporary Korea.

Submission Details:

The symposium welcomes research papers and creative projects (e.g., visual essays, short films, and visual art). We encourage contributions from Korean studies scholars in various disciplines—including, for example, history, geography, sociology, communication, media study, language and literature—that provide context or depth to the architecture, design, and urban planning components of the symposium. To apply, please submit an abstract/description of your work of up to 350 words, along with a brief CV (preferably 2 pages), no later than June 30, 2024, via registration above or this Airtable form.

All presenters of accepted papers/projects will receive notification by July 15, 2024, and will be provided with further instructions about final submission requirements and presentations. Local hotel accommodations and meals during the symposium will be provided to all presenters. 

Contact: Please email AsiaInstitute@buffalo.edu with any questions about the symposium.

Symposium Organizers:

Jin Young Song, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Nojin Kwak, Vice Provost for International Education and Professor of Communication, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Main Sponsors:

Asia Research Institute, University at Buffalo

School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo

Academy of Korean Studies