What constitutes "experience" in the experience of war continues to be a subject of debate in the social and cultural studies of modern warfare, especially with reference to the 1914-1918 war, a foundational episode of modern Europe and in the history of decolonization. In this talk, Dr. Kwon will extend this debate to the theatre of the Korean War, a pivotal episode of modern Koreas and in the history of the postcolonial Cold War. The focus will be on the non-combatant experience of the 1950-1953 war and on the interplay between traditional and modern political subjectivities in the constitution of this historical experience. The talk will also briefly consider this war experience in the broad context of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War in 2020 and in the diverging public memories of this war in the two Koreas as well as between the United States and China.

If you are interested in attending this webinar, please click here. 

Professor Heonik Kwon
Department of Anthropology
Cambridge University

Dr. Heonik Kwon is Senior Research Fellow in Social Science and Professor of Social Anthropology at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. He is author of several prize-winning books on the Vietnam War and Cold War social histories, including After the Korean War: An Intimate History (Cambridge University Press, 2020), his forthcoming book, American Power in Korean Religion, which considers the long American Century in the context of Korea's religious culture and politics. 

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Duration: 01:20:37

koreanstudies@international.ucla.edu

Sponsor(s): Center for Korean Studies, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles