● Title: History of Ancient East Asia: Evidence from Wooden Tablets
● Date: 24th June (Sat), 15:30-17:20
● Venue: HKH (Humanity Korea Hall) Rm#B102
● Chair: LAI Ming Chiu (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
● Chair Bio: Professor Lai Ming Chiu is the Senior Research Fellow (Honorary) in CUHK-CCK Foundation Asia-Pacific Centre for Chinese Studies, Institute of Chinese Studies and the Adjunct Professor in the History Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Professor Lai focuses on the institution and social history of Qin-Han China (221B.C.-A.D.220) with special interest in the unearthed documents, such as the bamboo and wooden manuscripts of Qin-Han period. He has published his research in a variety of journals including 中國史研究 (Journal of Chinese Historical Studies); 中國文化研究所學報 (Journal of Chinese Studies); 簡帛（Jianbo）; 簡帛研究 (Jianbo Yanjiu) and 東西人文 동서인문 (Journal of East-West Humanities). Professor Lai is the author of 輻輳與秩序：漢帝國地方社會研究 Power Convergence and Social Order: The Study of Local Society of the Han Empire and co-author of 漢越和集：漢唐嶺南文化與生活 Cultural Interaction Between Han and Yue: Culture and Life in Han-Tang Lingnan Region. He is currently working on the social life and local community of the Linxiang County 臨湘縣 during Eastern Han Period by the exploration of the evidence of the wooden manuscripts from Wuyi Square of the Changsha Province.
● Panel Description: Ever since letters appear in human history, recording by letters is not only a crucial factor for the prosperity of human societies built on information production, processing, distribution, but also it works as a mean of transmission of human experience and history. Throughout the history of recording, paper has been an icon for creativity and innovation. However, considering that paper only became popular 1500 years ago in the history of man, the researches on the era before paper depends on some excavated non-paper recording materials; before invention of paper, wooden wooden tablets had been an important mean of writing and recording. Therefore, about a million wooden tablets excavated from Korea, China and Japan are crucial data for research on history of ancient East Asia. In session 1, we will inspect the previous researches on restoration of East Asian history based on the wooden tablets excavated from Korea, China and Japan. we will also talk about the true nature of the cultural and political network to open a new horizon of understanding of East Asian history.
● Keum Jae Won (Kyungpook National University): Status and Prospects of East Asian Wooden Tablet Research at Kyungpook National University's HK+ project Unit
● Wu Wenling (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences): A new understanding of China and East Asia through wooden tablets excavated from China
● Kim Chang Seok (Kangwon National National University): Features and Uses of Ancient Korean Mokkan Seeing on East Asian Perspective
● Marjorie Burge (University of Colorado): Written Culture in Seventh-Century Japan: Contextualizing Japan’s Earliest Mokkan Inscriptions
● Followed by Round Table Discussion (40 minutes)
● Paper Title (1): Status and Prospects of East Asian Wooden Tablet Research at Kyungpook National University's HK+ project Unit
● Presenter: Keum Jae Won (Kyungpook National University)
● Bio: Keum Jae Won is currently a HK Research Professor at the Institute of Humanities Studies, Kyungpook National University. He specializes in ancient Chinese history (Qin-Han period), historical geography and paleography, the bamboo and wooden manuscripts. After obtaining his bachelor's and master's degrees in Oriental History from the Department of History at Kyungpook National University in 2000-2009, he worked as a visiting researcher at the Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He obtained his doctorate in History from Peking University, specializing in ancient Chinese history, from 2011-2015. From 2015-2021, he worked as an associate professor at the School of History, Northwest University, China.
● Abstract: The HK+ Project Team at the Institute of Humanities Studies in Kyungpook National University is conducting research on the origins of record culture by tracing the roots of record culture focusing on the ‘木簡(Wooden Tablet)’, a record medium, which can be considered a East Asian humanities platform that records Chinese characters. The main purpose is to cover the roots of East Asian record culture that were connected under mutual influence through a comparison of excavated wooden records from Korea, China, and Japan. The research project has already completed the first stage (2019-2021) with the theme “Basic Research for Exploring the Origins of East Asian Record Culture”, and is currently conducting the second stage (2022-2026) with the theme “In-depth Research on the Origins of East Asian Record Culture and Intellectual Network”. Various research achievements, including the publication of the “Comprehensive Compilation of East Asian Wooden Tablet” (six volumes), were released to the academic community based on previous research. In addition, in preparation for the production of the East Asian wooden Tablet database and search platform, approximately 1 million Korean, Chinese, and Japanese wooden tablet materials have been sorted and classified, and the website ‘East Asian Wooden Tablet Dictionary’ (eawd.knu.ac.kr) is currently being operated. This will be utilized as an open platform in the future, and the “East Asian Wooden Tablet Dictionary” will be published after content selection and editing. In the future, the team plans to continue to pursue activities such as producing research results related to the agenda, hosting domestic and international academic conferences, promoting interpersonal exchanges among researchers, and offering courses to foster the next generation of scholars. Through these efforts, the team hopes to overcome borders and contribute to leading East Asian regional research, complementing the bias of national history and leading Korea as the core base of East Asian cultural research.
● Paper Title (2): A new understanding of China and East Asia through wooden tablets excavated from China
● Presenter: Wu Wen Ling (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
● Bio: Wu Wen Ling is Professor at Ancient History Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and at University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts Studies. She is currently studying the history and bamboo and wooden documents of Qin-Han China, especially deciphering unearthed bamboo and wooden manuscripts. As an important member, she participated in deciphering bamboo and wooden manuscripts from Liye, Juyan, Tianchang and Changsha, and co-published the relevant deciphering books such as Baboo Documents of Wu Kingdom of Three Kingdoms from Zoumalou, Changsha. She has published dozens of research papers on bamboo and wooden manuscripts and Qin-han history.
● Abstract: It is evident that there has been a long history of using bamboo and wooden slips as usual medium of writing in China. it seems likely that it was not until the middle of the third, or even the end of the fourth, century that paper had taken a predominant place over bamboo and wood, and become the principal medium of writing. According to historical records, material remains of bamboo and wooden documents used for administrative purposes extend to the Jin periods, but these material objects hardly survived. Discovery of bamboo and wooden manuscripts is really a major archaeological event of China in 20th century. Since the early 20th century, more than 400,000 pieces of inscribed bamboo and wooden slips, which date from the period of Warring States to the Wei-Jin Dynasties, have been found in various parts of China. Most of these can be dated to the Qin and Han Dynasties.
The huge number of inscribed bamboo and wooden slips from northwest frontier beacon, post sites, tombs and ancient wells are valuable first-hand information of ancient people, Which helps to confirm the reliability of historical records, correct historical records error, supplement historical records and expand the field of history study, enabling us to constantly approach the real historical world.
Bamboo and wooden manuscripts are usually classified into two categories: books and documents. Among them, the bamboo documents accounted for about eighty percent that date from the Warring States, Qin, Western Han, Eastern Han, Three Kingdoms, Wei and Jin period, includes official documents such as the government administrative archives, law, registers, accounts, case records, judicial documents, certificates and passports, seals and labels; and private documents such as letters, wills and funerary objects lists. Official and private bamboo documents played an important role in the national administrative activities and people’s daily life at that time, and most of them has not been found in the literature handed down from ancient times, is no substitute for first-hand information. Their unique historical value lies in supplementing and providing rich information regarding administrative procedures, official document system, land system, tax system, household registration system, official system, title system, law and justice, garrison system, weaponry and military facilities, hotel and post house, accounting and financial system, historical geography, etc..
The objects of unearthed bamboo and silk books are of great significance to study the system of ancient Chinese books, which make us have a more in-depth understanding of creation, form, reading, interpretation, selection and elimination, propagation and preservation, classification of ancient books. Extensive contents of bamboo and silk books cover Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Yi-ology, Yin-Yang School, Military Strategist, Poetry, Philology, Arithmetic, Divination, Natural Science, Medicine, and other fields, which are of great significance to the intellectual history studies, contribute to the reconstruction and recovery the structure and system of knowledge in ancient times. Promoting research on philology, detection of forgeries and collation of ancient books, history, literature, medicine, mathematics, early Confucian history, Taoism and divination, reconstruction of the academic history of Pre-Qin and Qin-Han, the intellectual history of ancient China will be rewritten in a large extent.
Overall, the unearthed bamboo and wooden slips reveal the strict legal system, efficient document administration, trustworthy contract society, colorful daily life, devout belief world, developed academic culture, and historical features different from those recorded in historical books in ancient China.
● Paper Title (3): Features and Uses of Ancient Korean Mokkan Seeing on East Asian Perspective
● Presenter: Kim Chang Seok (Kangwon National National University):
● Bio: Kim Chang Seok is a professor of Dept. of History Education at Kangwon Nat’l University. He has served as an executive of the Society for Ancient Korean History and the Korean Society for the Study of Wooden Documents. His books include Kingship and Law: Formation and Development of Law System in Ancient Korea (2020), Formation and Development of Foreign Trade in Ancient Korea (2013), and A Study on the Material Flow System of Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla: Focusing on the Commerce and Finances (2004). Recently, he is studying on the perception of the body in ancient society and its change.
● Abstract: A mokkan is a wooden slip on which characters are inscribed after it has been trimmed. In ancient times, Koreans communicated with others by leaving notes or their thoughts on such mokkan (wooden slips). Contrary to China where slips are divided into zhujian (竹簡, bamboo slips) and mudu (木牘, wooden tablets), bamboo slips were rare in Korea. Korean mokkan are rectangular in shape which is in keeping with that of Japanese wooden slips.
However, while multi-sided wooden slips have been discovered in Korea, very less ones have been unearthed in Japan. This was designed to heighten convenience when studying scriptures or preparing documents. The characteristics of Korean wooden slips can be attributed to the traditional method of communication that existed even before the introduction of Chinese characters. The mokkan culture of ancient Korea was as such a combination of the conventional communication method using pieces of wood and the Chinese character system.
Approximately 700 mokkan have been discovered to date. These were used as scriptures, documents, tags, rituals, memos, and for practice purposes. In keeping with this wide range of uses, various types of Korean mokkan were produced. Although the mokkan discovered to date were produced solely within the borders of Lelang Commandery of the Han dynasty, Baekje, and Silla, the possibility of mokkan produced in Koguryeo, Gaya, and Parhae being discovered in the future cannot be ruled out altogether.
Interest in ancient Korean mokkan has increased and a significant number of studies have also accumulated. There are differing opinions regarding the wooden slips found at Seongsan Mt. Fortress in Haman, and more specifically in terms of the word noin (奴人) recorded on the mokkan and the tax burden of nobi (奴婢). Meanwhile, mokkan discovered in Bogam-ri, Naju, shed some light on the nature of the ruling system of Baekje in local areas during the early seventh century. The human-shaped one found in the reservoir complex at Hwawang Fortress in Changnyeong, was used to conduct a ritual ceremony for the dragon king (yongwang). However, different opinions have emerged as to whether the purpose of the ritual ceremony was to pray for rain or to cure diseases.
Rather than being compiled by later generations, Korean ancient mokkan are historical materials that were prepared by people who lived during the actual period being depicted. Furthermore, the contents of these mokkan help to shed some light on the state of affairs at the time and the intentions of the composer. A more profound understanding of ancient society in Korea can be secured when more materials are accumulated and classified by type and purposes of use, an endeavor that will be made possible by a perspective embracing all of East Asian mokkan, and interdisciplinary studies in related fields are developed and implemented.
● Paper Title (4): Written Culture in Seventh-Century Japan: Contextualizing Japan’s Earliest Mokkan Inscriptions
● Presenter: Marjorie Burge (University of Colorado)
● Bio:Marjorie Burge is Assistant Professor of Japanese in the Department of Asian Languages & Civilizations at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research focuses on the writing and literature of early Korea and Japan. She is currently working on her first book, titled Unearthing the Written Cultures of Early Korea and Japan.
● Abstract: Wooden strips with ink writing known as mokkan have been recovered in the hundreds of thousands from sites around Japan dating to the so-called ancient period, roughly equivalent to the seventh and eighth centuries. Of these, however, only about 10% date to the period prior to the establishment of the Nara capital in 710. The pace with which writing as a technology spread during the eighth century can be easily grasped through the distribution of mokkan sites throughout the archipelago that date to that time, but the picture is less clear for the seventh century. This presentation highlights seventh-century mokkan, beginning with the earliest mokkan associated with capitals in Naniwa, Asuka, and Ōmi, and then focusing on those mokkan recovered from sites far outside the capital region. Despite vast distances and some localization, important shared features of mokkan usage and inscriptive practice suggest sustained connections between center and peripheries, as well as among “peripheral” literate communities throughout Japan. In this presentation, I argue that seventh-century mokkan, when compared to those of the eighth century, attest to the importance of peninsular migrants as both scribes and teachers in the earliest manifestation of written culture in Japan. Through a focus on document mokkan, I show how certain features of the “vernacularization” of document forms are shared among mokkan from early Korea and Japan, and in this context, I emphasize that the beginnings of written culture in Japan must be understood in connection with the fall of Paekche and the unification of the southern part of the Korean peninsula under Silla rule in the 670s.
● Title: Early Printing in Asia
● Date: 25th June (Sun), 14:00-15:50
● Venue: HKH (Humanity Korea Hall) Rm#B102
● Chair: Hye Ok Park (Claremont Graduate University )
● Chair Bio: Hye Ok Park holds Ph. D. in History from Claremont Graduate University, Master’s in Library Information Science from Texas A&M-Commerce, and B.A. in History from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. She has served as Executive Director of Digital Campus at CSU, Fresno, and Director of e-Learning at CSU, Pomona, consecutively from 1998 to 2007, after having served as Associate University Librarian at Adelphi University in New York, Library Information Systems Director at City University of New York, and California State University, Fresno, in the 1990s and 2000s.
She has published numerous papers in English on various subjects in library and information technology as well as in history, such as “The History of Pre-Gutenberg Woodblock and Movable Type Printing in Korea,” in International Journal of Humanities and Social Science in 2014. Her dissertation, Arirang People in Transnational Diasporas of Russian Far East and Manchuria, 1895-1920, has been published in Korean and in English in 2021.
● Panel Description: In the studies of world recording culture, paper has been an icon for creativity and innovation. But, the production of recordings completely depended on hand-writing, which consequently restricted the mass transmission and distribution of information. To redeem the issue, mass printing whose types were made out of mud, wood and metal were exploited. Thus, the true meaning of recording starts from putting paper, types and ink together. Thus, in session2, we will talk about the history and prior relations of the most important printing materials and its meaning. Specifically, we will talk about the Korean Baegun Hwasang Chorok Buljo Jisimcheyojeol as well as Nanmingquan Song Zhengdaoge, which were 78 and 216 years prior to the Gutenburg’s metal printing in 1455. We will talk about the change in the style of the Chinese character and its historical significance on the history of printing culture.
●Lee Seung Cheol, Noh Ji Young (UNESCO International Center for Documentary Heritage): From Jikji to Gutenberg
● Yoo, Woo-Sik (WafeMasters, Inc. Dublin, CA, U.S.A./ Kyungpook National University): Discovery and Evidence of the World’s Oldest Metal Type Printing Book: The Song of Enlightenment (南明泉和尙頌證道歌) from Goryeo Dynasty of Korea in 1239
● Ryu Hyun-guk Birth of the Joseon Dynasty version of Ming typeface (1684-1884)
● Sun Ming-yuan The development and dissemination of Juzhen Imitation Song Typeface and its historical significance
● David Redman (CEO Ten O’clock Media Inc.): Dancing with Jikji & The Song of Enlightenment
● Followed by Round Table Discussion (40 minutes)
● Paper Title (1): From Jikji to Gutenberg
● Presenter: Lee Seung Cheol , Noh Ji Young (UNESCO International Center for Documentary Heritage)
● Bio: Lee Seung Cheol worked as the curator of the Cheongju Early Printing Museum and is currently Acting Director General of UNESCO International Centre for Documentary Heritage, located in Cheongju, Korea. He received his Ph.D. in Korean Language & Literature and Department of Library and Information Science, and his major research areas are ‘Jikji’ and ‘Korean moveable metal type printing technology’. For a long time, he has worked with the BNF, the Gutenberg Museum, the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Belgium, the Japanese Museum of Print, and others. Major studies include Jikji Research; Jikji, speaks; and Research of Goryeo period Moveable Metal Type.
● Bio: Noh Ji Young is a Programme Specialist in Research & Development Division of UNESCO's International Centre for Documentary Heritage (ICDH). She holds a master's degree in Archival and Information Sciences and is a certified National Archivist. Her primary research focuses on archival curation, which led to the her master’s thesis, "A study on the role of archives and archivists in the era of industry 4.0: Focusing on DCC curation lifecycle model." As her research interests expanded, Jiyoung strives to discover and develop effective ways to utilize documentary heritage on a global scale while also playing a key role in coordinating the joint international research program 'From Jikji to Gutenberg' and overseeing the development of the monitoring system for the UNESCO Memory of the World programme.
● Abstract: From Jikji to Gutenberg initiative is a long-term project that spans from 2022 to 2027, with funding from the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) in the United States, the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF), and UNESCO International Centre for Documentary Heritage (ICDH). The initiative began as a collaboration between J. Marriott Library at the University of Utah and UNESCO ICDH, and has since grown to involve museums and educational institutions worldwide, such as the Smithsonian Museum & Gallery, Library of Congress, and Princeton University Scheide Library, as well as a team of researchers from various fields related to documentary heritage and bibliographical history.
This team of researchers, including historians, scientists, and conservators, is conducting ongoing studies and investigations to discover new evidence on both Eastern and Western printing culture. The project is actively engaged in global conferences, publications, and scientific experiments. For example, in 2022, a team of scientists and staff members of ICDH gathered more than 60 pieces of early printings from both the Western and Eastern world to conduct chemical mapping through XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) and XANES methods at SLAC National Laboratory's Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. The team is still in the process of analyzing the data, but the project has already garnered attention from press media worldwide, including NBC, Wired Magazine, and C-Net.
In 2023, a team of over 50 scholars and researchers from more than 16 countries gathered in-person for the first time at the Library of Congress to share knowledge and experience on the early printing culture and history as part of a scholarly colloquium. The ultimate goal of this project is to publish an extensive catalog in 2025 and open a worldwide exhibition in 2027. The catalog will comprise scientific and historical research and analysis on two UNESCO Memory of the World inscriptions, Jikji and the Gutenberg Bible, along with related early printing cultures of both the Western and Eastern world. The exhibition will be opened in museums and libraries in different cities worldwide, showcasing a 42-line Gutenberg Bible and other early printed materials related to the history of printing cultures, displayed alongside an earlier Korean book printed from cast-metal type. The project is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to shed light on the similarities and differences between Eastern and Western printing culture, providing valuable insights into the history and development of printing technologies.
● Paper Title (2): Discovery and Evidence of the World’s Oldest Metal Type Printing Book: The Song of Enlightenment (南明泉和尙頌證道歌) from Goryeo Dynasty of Korea in 1239
● Presenter: Yoo Woo Sik (WafeMasters, Inc. Dublin, CA, U.S.A./ Kyungpook National University)
● Bio: Yoo Woo Sik, Ph.D. co-founder, President and Technical Officer at WaferMasters, Inc. holds MS and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Kyoto University in Japan and an MBA degree from Western Connecticut State University in the U.S.A. He was a visiting scientist at the Materials Science and Engineering Department of Brown University from 1993 to 1994. He has been associated with The Institute of Humanities Studies at Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea, as a guest researcher since 2019. He has authored and co-authored more than 400 papers in the fields of semiconductor and numerous papers on the discovery of the world’s oldest metal-type printed book (The Song of Enlightenment (南明泉和尙頌證道歌) published in 1239 from the Goryeo dynasty of Korea) in Korean and English. He has been presenting his findings for public awareness and to promote the recognition, duly earned, by monumental world documents for the culture heritage of mankind.
● Abstract: It has been well known that the metal type printing technique was invented in the Goryeo (高麗) dynasty of Korea in the early 13th century. According to written history document, 28 copies of Sangjeongyemun (詳定古今禮文) were printed with movable metal type between 1234 and 1241. The original version of The Song of Enlightenment (南明泉和尙頌證道歌) with Commentaries by Buddhist Monk Nammyeong Cheon was also printed using metal type. Jikji (直指), the oldest extant metal printed book in the world, was printed in 1377 as recognized by the UNESCO Memory of the World program. Six nearly identical versions of an ancient printed book, The Song of Enlightenment, has been found in Korea since the 1920s. All of them have long been believed to be printed versions from the 13th to 16th centuries that used duplicated woodblocks of a metal-type-printed version from 1239 and its replica. Among Korean historians, there have been heated debates over the printing techniques and dates (or sequence) for the last 50 years. One particular version has long been suggested by collectors and researchers to be the original metal-type printed book. However, it was extremely hard to reach a consensus due to the subjective nature of ancient book examination by historians, bibliographers and conservators. To conclude this heated debate with firm scientific evidence, all six versions of The Song of Enlightenment were examined by image comparisons of individual characters, lines of characters, pages and borderlines to determine whether they are the identical versions, using the same woodblocks, or different versions from different techniques in different times.
All claims raised against the possibility of metal type printing of the particular book (Gongin (空印) version, designated as a Korean treasure in 2012) were reviewed thoroughly in terms of paper, shapes of printed characters, printing characteristics and differences with other versions. Very clear circumstantial and physical evidence for metal type printing of the Gonin version was found. It was confirmed to have more than metal casting defects, including, the lightest ink tone of printed characters, and the smallest inked area (characters with thin strokes) among all six versions. The Gongin version was very likely printed using movable metal type in September 1239, as indicated in the imprint. It is definitely the world’s oldest extant book, printed using metal type in Korea in 1239, predating Jikji (1377) by 138 years and the 42-line Gutenberg Bible (~1455) by 216 years. The results of image-based biblio-forensic study, together with bibliographic history analysis, strongly point out the fact that the version of interest is the world’s oldest metal-type printed book, printed in September 1239. Evidence will be reported and discussed in detail. The computer aided, image analysis-based biblio-forensic study lead the closure of 50 year-long debates among Korean academics, and the discovery of the world’s oldest metal-type printed book to be recognized as the cultural heritage of mankind.
● Paper Title (3): Birth of the Joseon Dynasty version of Ming typeface (1684-1884)
● Presenter: Ryu Hyun Guk (Tsukuba University of Technology)
● Bio: Ryu Hyun Guk is a professor at the National Tsukuba University of Technology in Japan. In the past 33 years ago, he has been studying “Modern Korean typeface design History,” “Change of Typefaces in the Era of Korean Mechanization,” “North Korean type printing history of Design History,” “Type Printing Cultural History of Korean Diaspora in Russia,” “Cultural history of Hangeul type printing among Korean Chinese in China,” “Joseon Dynasty Type Printing Culture History,” in Japan.
Major books. In 2019, "The Practice of East Asian Typographer" Korea Publishing Research Institute for the 26th Korean Publishing Criticism Award, The Grand Prize. In 2017, "Galaxy of Hangeul Typeface (1945-2010)”, Sejong Excellent Academic Books (Culture Division), and the Korea Publishing Agency. In 2016, "Birth of Hangeul Typeface (1820-1945), Sejong Excellent Academic Books (History Division), and the Korea Publishing Agency. In 2015, the 22nd Korean Publishing Criticism Award, "Birth of Hangeul Typeface (1820-1945), Korea Publishing Research Institute, and many others.
● Abstract: In the late Joseon Dynasty, the Ming typeface was birthed in the heyday of printing technology. However, it is still being determined when, where, who, or what it was developed for because there was no research on the Ming type in Korea. This basic proposal has just been revealed in Korean printing history Today.
To solve the above-unexplained problem, research and verification were conducted from 1664 to 1884 using 1,140 pieces of “Mun-jib (Anthology)” digital archive data stored in Korea, Japan, and the United States. “Gyo-seo-gwan’s Ming-type books” were selected and classified into five periods.
In the 200 years of the late Joseon Dynasty, the classification of the existing first half (1684-1723) and the second half (1724-1884) as the character classification method of the "Joseon Ming type Book List" (121 books) was too broad in the study of character change.
Therefore, the following five periods were divided into five periods by empirical verification of the collection of literature published in Ming type. The first period was divided from 1684 to 1720. The second period was from 1720 to 1741. The third period was from 1741 to 1776. The fourth period was from 1776 to 1800. The fifth period was divided from 1800 to 1884. Additionally, 27 “Mun-jib” of representative literature were chosen from the “List of Representative Literature” found in different Ming types.
Seven characters ‘十 (Ten),’ ’人 (people),’ ‘山 (mountain),’ 之 (of),’ ‘也 (also),’ ‘以 (with),’ ’心 (heart)’ was added and compiled into a “Representative character analysis table” to compare and analyze representative characters in the time series to compare and analyze representative characters in the time series, seven characters were added and compiled into a “Representative character analysis table.” A seven-character usual character analysis policy was established, and a comparative analysis was conducted.
As mentioned above, we extracted the characteristics of the constituent elements of characters, such as changes in line thickness, the angle and length of strokes, the relationship between strokes and strokes, and the division ratio between vertical and horizontal strokes. We judged whether the character shape had been improved. Could you bring out the number of print development?
As a result, it is a discovery that the development of five types produced in the late Joseon Dynasty and two types made by individuals have been confirmed. As mentioned above, the late Joseon Dynasty was a peak period when printing technology was concentrated, and it is new knowledge that the Ming type was birthed here.
● Paper Title (4): The development and dissemination of Juzhen Imitation Song Typeface and its historical significance
● Presenter: Sun Ming Yuan (Macao Polytechnic University):
● Bio: Sun Ming Yuan received his Ph.D. in design from the Faculty of Arts and Engineering at Kyushu University in Japan in 2008. From 2009 to 2019, he held the position of associate professor at the School of Arts at Northwestern University in China, before assuming his current role as an associate professor at the School of Arts and Design at Polytechnic University of Macau in 2019.
Sun Mimngyuan's research interests are primarily focused on graphic design and the history of movable type. His scholarly contributions are notable, having published over twenty academic papers and research reports in China, Japan, Korea, and other regions since 2004. Among his representative works are "The Cultural History of Movable Type Printing" (co-author), "A Study of Jujin Imitation Song Style" (monograph), "A Study of the Development History of Modern Chinese Graphic Design and Typography: 1805-1949" (monograph), and "Between the Square and the Square - An Anthology of Chinese Character Typography" and “Keizosuke Sato” (compilation and translation).
● Abstract: Juzhen Imitation Song Typeface is highly recognizable and aesthetically pleasing, and is widely considered one of the most successful metal movable typefaces. It is also the origin of the Imitation Song Typeface (known as "soutyoutai" in Japan) in both China and Japan. However, despite its significant influence, research on Juzhen Imitation Song Typeface has been extremely limited, and there are still many crucial details that need to be explored. These seemingly insignificant details are indispensable for summarizing the font development experience and studying the evolution of the font.
The research study is based on the history of printing fonts and the specific era, and aims to clarify important issues such as the development process, the required technical skills for producing molds, the composition of the character family of the Juzhen Imitation Song Typeface, and how it was used and disseminated, particularly in Japan." Juzhen Imitation Song Typeface was developed by Ding Sanzai and other intellectuals who were dedicated to preserving traditional historical concepts in typography. By creating this typeface, they aimed to revive the traditional Chinese aesthetic spirit and express the essence of Chinese culture. The typeface combined the traditional Chinese engraving and printing techniques with new movable type technology, opening up a new era of metal movable typeface. Its significant contributions to the development of the Imitation Song Typeface system have earned it a milestone position in the East Asian Chinese character culture circle.
● Paper Title (5): Dancing with Jikji & The Song of Enlightenment
● Presenter: David Redman (CEO Ten O’clock Media Inc.)
● Bio: David Redman is an actor, scriptwriter, director and producer from Scugog Island, Ontario, Canada. David is known for his work on the award-winning documentary, “Dancing with Jikji” (Jikji Code) and the History Channel’s docu-series, ‘The Palate of the City: Busan’. He is currently on leave from his position at SeoKyeong University and is the CEO of Ten O’clock Inc. David became interested in movable metal print when he realized no one could read his handwriting.
● Abstract: “Dancing with Jikji” (Jikji Code) is a feature documentary that uses early print history as a vehicle to explore the questions of Eurocentrism and its consequence, the ancient cultural exchanges between East & West, and the meaning of the truth in history. Despite Jikji being recognized by UNESCO as the world’s oldest movable metal type book, the main character, David Redman finds the staff of the French National Library have no knowledge of Jikji housed in the institution. Realizing Eurocentrism is at play, he sets off on a journey of discovery that includes his own learned Eurocentric view of history. The film’s main findings include proof of the cultural exchange between Vatican’s monks to Korea prior to 1333, 14th century Vatican monk’s letters that mention print, a Roman Catholic Archbishop in Beijing in the 13th century, a movable metal type printer in Avignon prior to Gutenberg and a reference of an example of printed money in Europe in the early 14th century.
The author is currently proposing a new documentary to explore questions about ‘The Song of Enlightenment:’ Is the Gongin Version the oldest extant movable metal print book? Why have some historians not looked at this question seriously, especially in Korea? Did this early 13th century technology influence European developments two centuries later? The proposed documentary would follow the controversy from the 8th AAS-in-Asia Conference in Daegu, Korea and as ‘The Song of Enlightenment” gains more interest world-wide. This project will take a step further into the exploration of Eurocentrism and Ethnocentrism as well as key reasons why people often deny new facts. These key reasons of denial may provide new insight into Eurocentrism and Ethnocentrism.
● Title: Exploring Hallyu 3.0: Understanding the Korean Wave in the Post-BTS Era through Film, Science Fiction, Webtoons, and Popular Music
● Date: 26th June (Mon), 14:00-15:50
● Venue: HKH (Humanity Korea Hall) Rm#B102
● Chair: Kyu Hyun Kim (UC Davis)
● Chair Bio: Kim Kyu Hyun is Associate Professor of Japanese and Korean History at University of California, Davis. He holds a BA from Harvard-Radcliffe College and a Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University. He is the author of The Age of Visions and Arguments: Parliamentarianism and the National Public Sphere in Early Meiji Japan (Harvard Asia Center Publication, 2007). His forthcoming book is entitled Treasonous Patriots: Japanese Colonialism, Wartime Mobilization and the Problem of Korean Identity, 1937-1945. He has written numerous articles on modern Japanese and Korean history, Japanese popular culture and Korean cinema, among other topics, and has served as a Contributing Editor to www.koreanfilm.org, the oldest English-language website devoted to Korean cinema.
● Panel Description: The Korean Wave, once dismissed as a passing trend only in Asia, has now firmly established itself as a global phenomenon with more than two decades of popularity. Initially known as Hallyu 1.0 and beginning around 1997, it has since evolved into Hallyu 2.0 as described by Dal-young Jin. The current state of the Korean Wave in the post-BTS and postSquid Game era, is even more difficult to define due to the rapidly changing mediascape of Kdramas and K-pop music videos driven by insatiable consumer demand. New K-dramas are released weekly, if not daily, across a variety of streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, Watcha, and Wavve. This panel aims to take a moment to reflect on the ever-evolving Hallyu 3.0 landscape and explore its diverse genres, artistic forms, and industries by inviting papers from leading scholars and writers in the field.
● Joe Chung Hwan (Hongik University): The Korean Popular Culture Class beyond Borders: Fandom, Korean Studies and Media Literacy (Eng.)
● Lee Gyu Tag (George Mason University): Cultural Hybridity and Appropriation In K-Pop (Eng.)
● Yoo Sang Keun (NY Marist College): Reimagining Decolonized Futures in South Korean Mediascape of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Eng.)
● Kim Eun Joung (Gachon University): The Rise of Webtoons and The Impact of Digital Mega-Platforms on Korean Comics Culture (Eng.)
● Kim Bo Young (Writer): Science Fiction Literature in Korea: Progressive Thought, Gender Dynamics, and Expanding Horizons (Kor.)
● Followed by Round Table Discussion (40 minutes: Korean & English)
● Paper Title (1): The Korean Popular Culture Class beyond Borders: Fandom, Korean Studies and Media Literacy
● Presenter: Joe Chung Hwan (Hongik University)
● Bio: Joe Chung Hwan received his Ph.D. in English and and MA in Film Studies as double major at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His interest covers the representation of 9/11 and media-scope in the post- 9/11 era as well as cultural exchange between the Korean Wave and American popular culture. He worked as a screenplay analyst and production manager at CJ Entertainment, a major Korean film studio, for five years and taught Korean popular culture at SUNY at Buffalo. He is an assistant professor at English department of Hongik University. His recent publications include “Revisiting Joint Security Area: The South Korean Blockbuster and the Birth of ‘Norientalism’” in The Journal of Literature and Film (2022), “Korean Reality TV in the Age of Covid-19: Social Distancing and Emotional/Sensory Closeness” in The Journal of Humanities (2021), “Antihero Millennials Go to Wall Street: Representing Financial Crisis in Hollywood Films” in In/Outside: English Studies in Korea (2021) and “The Guys as a Cinematic 9/11 Eulogy: Erasing Spectacle, Showing Text, and Engaging Non-visual Senses” in Journal of American Studies (2019)
● Abstract: Since the 1990s, the Korean Wave (Hallyu), which refers to the popularity of Korean popular culture overseas, has become an even bigger wave that has surpassed the storm in a teacup as of 2022, after going through the era of COVID-19. Korean popular culture courses have become popular classes offered in various foreign universities out of South Korea since 2010 when Hallyu began to gain recognition not only in Asia but also in Europe and North America. Recently, media literacy has been emphasized in Korean educational institutions, leading to the opening of courses related to media in addition to the study of Korean popular culture.
This presentation will examine the changes and current status of Korean popular culture courses both domestically and internationally. The speaker will discuss the limitations and possibilities of Hallyu courses from the perspective of fandom, Korean studies, and media literacy through various forms of Hallyu courses that he has taught as a lecturer and curriculum developer. First, the presentation will compare and contrast a Korean popular culture course offered as a Korean studies subject through the Asian Studies major at a university in the U.S. (2015-2016) and a course taught in English as a liberal arts course with international students and Korean students at a university in South Korea (2019). The presentation will also discuss the potential of Hallyu courses as an introductory course on the entertainment industry that encompasses media literacy, using two examples: a Korean entertainment industry course in Korean at a high school in South Korea as a pre-college program (2019) and a course taught at Hongik University as a special interdisciplinary course on practical projects, where students performed K-pop marketing and film adaptation projects with mentoring from marketing experts and current film producers (2022 & 2023).
● Paper Title (2): Cultural Hybridity and Appropriation In K-Pop
● Presenter: Lee Gyu Tag (George Mason University-Korea)
● Bio: Lee Gyu Tag received his bachelor’s in English language and literature from Seoul National University, South Korea. After completing his three-year military service in the Republic of Korea Air Force, he received his master’s in communication from Seoul National University. In 2013, he earned his doctorate in Cultural Studies from George Mason University. Since 2014, he has been teaching at George Mason University-Korea.
He is an expert of popular music, media studies, globalization of culture, and especially, K-Pop. He has been writing books and articles about K-Pop, popular music and Hallyu for a number of on- and off-line media, and is a committee member of Korean Music Awards. Additionally, he has been interviewed by a number of Korean domestic and international media such as CNN, New York Times, NPR Radio, Wall Street Journal, South China Morning Post, Netflix's documentary Explained, EBS's public lecture Class e, Joong-Ang Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo, KBS, MBC, SBS, YTN, etc
● Abstract: K-Pop began as a part of Korean local popular music in the late 1990s, but has become a global popular music genre firstly in East Asia since the early 2000s then even outside East Asia since the early 2010s. Especially, after the big success of BTS and other bands in the late 2010s K-Pop is considered one of the hottest rising musical genres in the world.
In the beginning when K-Pop was developed as a specific musical genre in Korea, it mostly referred to US and Japanese popular music both musically and industrially. Musically, K-Pop referred to R&B, Hip Hop and electronic dance music from US and enka and J-Pop from Japan. Industrially, the unique business model of K-Pop usually called ‘agency-idol system’ supported by ‘total management strategy’ was highly influenced by the star system of Hollywood movie studios in the early 20C and the factory processing of Motown in the 1960s as well as by Japanese idol industry in the 1980s and 1990s. It means K-Pop is basically a result of cultural hybridization between local and global.
Recently, K-Pop is accepting other cultures as well as human resources from different parts of the world, which makes its hybridity deeper and more significant. International players including musicians, composers and producers are now essential parts of K-Pop and industrial collaboration between Korea and other countries is increasing. Also, other countries are using K-Pop as their reference to create their own music. However, in this procedure, sometimes unexpected conflicts happen including cultural appropriation and nationalism controversies. It shows the ambivalent aspect of K-Pop that it is becoming more and more dependent upon global popular music scene but still cannot be separated from its locality as being Korean.
● Paper Title (3): Reimagining Decolonized Futures: The South Korean Mediascape of Science Fiction and Fantasy
● Presenter: Yoo Sang Keun (New York Marist College)
● Bio: Dr. Sang-Keun Yoo is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Marist College in New York. He completed his Ph.D. in English at the University of California, Riverside, specializing in Speculative Fiction and Cultures of Science. In addition to his academic role, Dr. Yoo is the Submissions Editor for Asia and its Diaspora at The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts and the Korea Representative for the Science Fiction Research Association. Dr. Yoo’s research has been published in various international journals, including Science Fiction Film and Television and the International Journal of Korean History. He has received numerous accolades for his work, such as Fulbright scholarship and the Jamie Bishop Award.
● Abstract: Over the past decade, science fiction and fantasy have experienced a remarkable surge in popularity within the South Korean mediascape. This shift is noteworthy, given that these genres have historically been regarded as non-serious and degraded forms of literature in South Korea, often associated with children’s science education rather than serious fiction. With the proliferation of global streaming platforms, webtoons, and web-novels, science fiction and fantasy have now come to occupy a prominent position in the country’s cultural landscape.
This paper examines three key characteristics of South Korean science fiction and fantasy (SFF) films and television dramas, focusing on three notable absences that have shaped the evolution of these genres: (1) the absence of science fiction due to past genre categorization issues and techno-nationalistic policies; (2) the absence of imagined futures within science fiction and fantasy narratives; and (3) the absence of decolonized future visions. The analysis reveals that South Korean SFF often employs time-travel narratives that return to the past rather than envisioning the future. Moreover, when future scenarios are imagined, they frequently depict South Korea as remaining under the control of Western or other neo-imperial powers. In this regard, this paper argues for the importance of fostering a decolonized and non-techno-nationalistic vision of the future within South Korean SFF. By reimagining the future, these genres can contribute to the ongoing cultural and political discourse in South Korea and offer new perspectives on the nation’s history and identity.
● Paper Title (4): The Rise of Webtoons: The Impact of Digital Mega-Platforms on Korean Comics Culture
● Presenter: Kim Eun Joung (Gachon University)
● Bio: Kim Eun Joung is a Research Professor at the Institute of Culture, Contents, and Technology at Gachon University. Her primary research interests include technology, gender, science fiction feminism, virtual bodies, and posthumanism. She is currently focusing on the critical analysis of female narratives in digital media and is actively involved in several research projects related to serious gaming and the Metaverse, with a particular interest in human interactions with AI-powered virtual humans. Kim has authored the publication, Comic Webtoon Criticism, and has contributed to the development of the tactical role-playing game Before Saying Good-bye, as well as the interactive fiction project Proctor B: The New World.
● Abstract: “Webtoon,” a term coined in South Korea during the early 2000s by amalgamating "web" and "cartoon," represents a unique category of digital comics. They are set apart from "digital comics" or "webcomics" by their distinguishing features, which include a vertical scrolling format and optimization for mobile devices. As a significant part of the Korean Wave, they have contributed to the growth of digital media in both local and global creative industries.
This paper seeks to understand the emergence of Webtoons as a mainstream popular culture phenomenon in Korea, despite the traditionally limited influence of comics in comparison to Japan and the United States. To this end, this paper examines the role of digital webtoon platforms such as Naver Webtoon and Kakaopage in shaping the Korean comics culture and broader media ecology. These platforms have introduced transformative features including partial free distribution, enhanced communication between readers and artists, artist incubation systems, agile profit policies, and transmedia production. As a result, Webtoon platforms and creators are developing innovative content tailored for online and mobile consumption, adapting to various visual media formats such as movies and TV dramas, and generating significant revenue through intellectual property rights. This presentation offers a critical analysis of the birth and continuous evolution of Webtoons within the context of media structural administration, emphasizing the significance of platform-driven societies in shaping contemporary popular culture.
● Paper Title (5): Science Fiction Literature in Korea: Progressive Thought, Gender Dynamics, and Expanding Horizons
● Presenter: Kim Bo Young (Writer, Grand Prize Winner at the Annual Korean SF Novel Award, National Book Award Nominee)
● Bio: Kim Bo Young is a leading South Korean science fiction writer whose works have significantly influenced numerous emerging authors since the early 2000s. Kim made her debut with “The Experience of Touch,” which won the inaugural Science Technology Creative Fiction Novella Award of Korea in 2004. Kim’s literary accomplishments include numerous accolades, such as the Grand Prize at the first Annual Korean SF Novel Award for “The Seven Executioners” and the fifth Grand Prize at the first Annual Korean SF Novella Award for “How Alike Are We.”
Kim’s short story “Evolutionary Myths” was featured in the American science fiction magazine Clarkesworld, while her short story collection I’m Waiting For You and Other Stories was published in English by HarperCollins in the US and UK. Additionally, Kim’s translated short story collection On the Origin of Species and Other Stories, published by Kaya Press, was nominated for a National Book Award, and her work Whale Snows Down was nominated for the SFF Rosetta Award. Prior to her literary debut, Kim worked as a video game scenario writer and producer for the game developer team Garam and Baram.
● Abstract: Rooted in a strong secular pragmatic culture, South Korean literature has historically prioritized accurate representation of historical remains and facts, while deemphasizing fantastical elements. As a result, science fiction has traditionally been viewed as a tool for popularizing science, rather than as a literary genre. This tendency to downplay fantasticity and fictionality is exemplified by the recent publication of Ursula K. Le Guin and Joanna Russ's essays and interviews, with a notable absence of their fictional works. This trend highlights a prevailing understanding and consumption of science fiction as a vehicle for progressive thought, rather than as a literary genre for social critique and imagination.
Nevertheless, given the historical marginalization of science fiction in Korean literary history, the genre holds the potential to become a platform for minority voices and social issues. Recent developments in the Korean literary landscape have seen a growing appreciation for female science fiction writers, including not only international figures like Le Guin and Margaret Atwood, but also domestic writers such as Djuna, Choyeop Kim, Bora Chung, and Serang Chung. This trend has led to a rising number of young, predominantly female, readers engaging with the genre as a progressive, feminist form of literature, although this should not be considered its exclusive purpose.
Another factor shaping the Korean science fiction literary landscape is the limitations of the Korean language market, which has traditionally pressured writers to avoid niche markets and standardize literary ideas for wider appeal. However, the emergence of global streaming services and the growing global status of Korean literature offer new opportunities for Korean science fiction writers to reach broader audiences in the world thus explore diverse themes. In this regard, this paper will examine the current trends and future prospects for the genre in Korea, taking into account the cultural, historical, and market forces at play.
