Lecture "Modern Seoul As Seen Through Literature"

July 18, 2022 - 18h30 @ Korean Cultural Center

This lecture will be in Korean & English

In Korean society, Seoul as a megacity is at the center of almost every field, including politics, economy, and culture. However it is also a black hole that absorbs Korea's population, capital, and information.

Between the 1960s until the 1980s the shape of the current urban landscape of Seoul together with the lives and desires of citizens took form. In 1966 economic growth and urban development had begun in earnest, and rapid and constant changes that came from a rupture with the past have progressed in a chaotic manner. The urban redevelopment of Gangbuk, the demolition of shantytowns, and the development of Gangnam, a new development site, were carried out in this way.

Seoul is where modern Korean history, which has focused on modernization without self-reflection, took place and is at the center of current pressing problems that has to do with housing, education, youth, employment, and women's rights.

This lecture will provide an opportunity to explain these historical processes behind Seoul becoming a modern city based on modern literature texts, historical literature, and an abundance of photographs.

Speaker: Song, Eunyoung

Research Fellow in the Institute of Korean Studies of Yonsei University in Seoul

Author of 'The Origin of Modern City Seoul: Its Social History in 1960s and 1970s Literature' (Korean title: '서울 탄생기: 1960~70년대 문학으로 본 현대도시 서울의 사회사' (푸른역사, 2018) and has studied Korean urban culture, youth culture, and subculture based on Korean modern literature.

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