Royal Asiatic Society Korea

[Cultural Excursion] Exploring Ogin-dong Beneath Inwangsan

2026년 5월 30일 13:30 KST

Gyeongbokgung palace station exit no.2, Seoul, KR

TITLE:
'Colonial Scars, Ruins, and Mountain Legends: Exploring Ogin-dong Beneath Inwangsan'

LEADER: Bart van Genugten

DATE: Saturday, May 30, 2026, 1:30PM to 5:00PM

DESTINATION: Ogin-dong, Inwangsan

COST: W25,000 for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W30,000 for Non-members

MEETING POINT: At the top of Exit 2 of Gyeongbokgung Station (경복궁역, Subway Line 3) at 1:30PM

DESCRIPTION:

Seoul is a city most people think they already know. Travel YouTuber Bart, AKA iGoBart, thought so too until he started his “Welcome to My Dong” project on YouTube, in which he explores and uncovers all 467 neighborhoods of Seoul. While it’s still an ongoing project, Ogin-dong has already earned a spot in his personal top 10 neighborhoods, and now he wants to bring others along with him.

Ogin-dong is part of the very touristy Seochon area; thousands of people pass through every day, yet most walk straight past layers of history and stories almost nobody notices anymore: Lost gateposts from the giant estate of one of Korea’s most infamous Japanese collaborators; a remaining Western-style house and hanok once tied to that estate; a beautiful valley with a turbulent history of destruction, urbanization, and restoration, connected to one of the most renowned painters of the Joseon Dynasty; apartment ruins that remind us of a much uglier past; rocks on Inwangsan tied to urban legends while still carrying visible colonial scars at the same time.

And then things get stranger: An abandoned mountain swimming pool, yes seriously; an obscure hermitage overlooking endless layers of Seoul; and hidden somewhere deeper in the mountain, a mysterious mannequin that some visitors find genuinely creepy. Reaching it requires a short but difficult climb using both arms and legs, so this final section is only for the brave; the rest of the group can relax at the hermitage before everyone reunites and walks back together toward Tongin Market.

This isn’t the Seoul from guidebooks. It’s Seoul through the eyes of iGoBart and the historical traces he uncovers while filming his videos. Ogin-dong has a little bit of everything, enough to leave almost anyone hooked.

The excursion will begin at 1:30 at Exit 2 of Gyeongbokgung Station (경복궁역, Subway Line 3). The tour will end near Tongin Market (north of the same subway station), where participants can decide to stay for food or drinks afterward.
Please note that parts of the route involve uphill hiking. With temperatures rising, it is highly recommended to wear comfortable clothing, bring enough water, apply sunscreen, and prepare for the sun. Think of this less as a lecture with a professor, and more as a scenic urban hike through hidden Seoul with a travel YouTuber.

REGISTRATION:

RSVP by May 28 (Thursday) with payment of the fee via bank transfer. Please register one RSVP at a time.

RSVP: https://forms.gle/BfquqsZjJXR5ns3q6

☞Payment (W25,000 for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W30,000 for Non-members ) to be remitted to the following account:
SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)

*Reservation is not confirmed until payment has been received by RAS Korea in advance of the event.

[Lecture] Defense Industry & Building of Modern Korea under Park Chung Hee

2026년 6월 05일 19:20 KST

패스트파이브 시청1호점, 24, Namdamunro 9-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, KR

LECTURE TITLE:
'Cornerstone of the Nation: The Defense Industry and the Building of Modern Korea under Park Chung Hee'

SPEAKER: Peter Banseok Kwon

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DATE: Friday. June 5, 2026. 7:20PM (Seoul)

VENUE: Fifth floor (Conference Room) of FASTFIVE Tower (Namdaemun-ro 9-gil 24, Jung-gu, Seoul), a short walk from Exit 1 of Euljiro-1-ga Station (을지로입구역, Metro Line 2)
SUMMARY:

Cornerstone of the Nation (Harvard University Asia Center, 2024) is the first historical account of the complex alliance of military and civilian forces that catapulted South Korea’s conjoined militarization and industrialization under Park Chung Hee (1961–1979). Kwon reveals how Park’s secret program to build an independent defense industry spurred a total mobilization of business, science, labor, and citizenry, all of which converged in military-civilian forces that propelled an unprecedented model of modernization in Korea.
Drawing on largely untapped declassified materials from Korea and personal interviews with contemporaneous participants in the nascent defense industry, as well as declassified US documents and other external sources, Kwon weaves together oral histories and documentary evidence in an empirically rich narrative that details how militarization shaped the nation’s rapid economic, technological, political, and social transformation. Cornerstone of the Nation makes the case that South Korea’s arms development under Park may be the most durable and yet least acknowledged factor behind the country’s rise to economic prominence in the late twentieth century.
BIO:

Peter Banseok Kwon is Associate Professor of Korean Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He received his Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University. A historian with interdisciplinary training, Kwon examines the interplay of militarization, modernization, state-building, nationalism, and civil-military relations in Korea, East Asia, and in comparative global perspective. His work focuses especially on how states mobilize institutions, industry, and political authority in pursuit of security, development, and sovereign capacity. Kwon has served as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar and Visiting Professor at Korea National Defense University, a Soon Young Kim Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, and a Visiting Scholar at Yonsei University, Seoul National University, and the Academy of Korean Studies.
ADMISSION (Online & In-person):
Free for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W10,000 for Non-members; W5,000 for Non-member students (Student ID requested)

• If you would like to attend online Zoom,
• RSVP by June 4 (Thursday). Zoom Link Request ☞ CLICK
• We will email you the link on the morning of the lecture day.
• For Non-member, payment to be remitted to the following account:
  SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)
• To attend in-person, RSVP is not required.

[Cultural Excursion] 'Exploring Urban Regeneration in the Seoul Station Area'

2026년 6월 06일 13:00 KST

Chungjeongno Station, 17, Seosomun-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, KR

TITLE: 'Exploring Urban Regeneration in the Seoul Station Area'

LEADER: Robert J. Fouser

DATE: Saturday, June 6, 2026, 1:00-5:00PM

DESTINATION: Seoul Station Area

COST: W25,000 for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W30,000 for Non-members

MEETING POINT: At the top of Exit 3 of Chungjeongno Station (충정로역, Line 2 and Line 5) at 1:00 PM

DESCRIPTION:

In 2017, the city of Seoul completed a controversial project to turn the high overpass near Seoul Station into a green walkway featuring potted plants. Called Seoullo 7017, the project drew renewed attention to long-overlooked areas around the station. During this excursion, we will explore the area in detail, focusing on the effects of urban regeneration efforts in the 2010s. Throughout the walk, we stop to look at various types of residential architecture that reflect the changes in Seoul since the early 20th century.

We will begin our walk at Chungjeongno Station (Line 2) and explore nearby neighborhoods that contain a mixture of hanoks, 20th-century Western-style houses, and some of the earliest apartment buildings in Korea. Most of the area is slated for redevelopment into apartments. As we head in the direction of Seoul Station, we will stop at the historic Yakhyeon Catholic Church (founded 1891), the oldest Western-style brick building in Korea. The current building is a restoration of the 1892 church.
Our walk will then take us to Sohn Kee-chung Park on the former site of Yangjeong High School. Sohn Kee-chung (1912–2002) won a gold medal for the marathon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and became a hero to Koreans for bowing his head in protest rather than face the Japanese flag during the playing of the Japanese national anthem. He was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch into the stadium at the opening of the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

Next, we wind our way through narrow alleys and end up at the Malli Market, an example of a market moved indoors during the 1970s that became a site for an urban regeneration project in the late 2010s. From here, we will follow the neighborhood commercial street leading toward Hyochang Park and Sookmyung Women’s University. Kim Koo and the “Three Martyrs” of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, Lee Bong-chang, Yoon Bong-gil, and Baek Jeong-gi, are interred in the park.

The last area on the walk is Huam-dong on the other side of Hangang-daero, the main street that passes in front of Seoul Station. The area has many houses from the Japanese occupation period in Seoul because hills and narrow alleys have made new construction difficult. Cafés, bars, and shops began to open in the Japanese-style houses in the 2010s, which helped revitalize the area without excessive gentrification. At the end of our walk, we will visit the thriving Huam Market. From there, we will walk to Seoul Station where the excursion will end.

We will meet at the top of Exit 3 of Chungjeongno Station (Line 2 and Line 5) at 1:00 p.m. The excursion will end at Seoul Station around 5:00 p.m. The course has a number of inclines, so comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Participants are invited to join Robert for coffee or an early dinner (not included in the excursion fee) after the walk.

REGISTRATION: RSVP by June 4 (Thursday) with payment of the fee via bank transfer. Please register one RSVP at a time.
RSVP: https://forms.gle/cAaQNc7gWjpkkRGF7

☞Payment to be remitted to the following account:
SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)

*Reservation is not confirmed until payment has been received by RAS Korea in advance of the event.

[Lecture] 'Hangeul in Historical and Linguistic Context: Points of Contention'

2026년 6월 09일 19:20 KST

서울시공익활동지원센터 Seoul Public Activities Center, 용산베르디움프렌즈 101동 지하1층 (삼각지역 도보3분), Seoul, KR

LECTURE TITLE:
'Hangeul in Historical and Linguistic Context: Points of Contention'

SPEAKER: Robert J. Fouser

DATE: Tuesday. June 9, 2026. 7:20PM (Seoul)

VENUE: Seoul Public Activities Center (SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터). ‘다목적홀’ (For more information, see below.)

SUMMARY:

Hangeul is one of the best-known, but also one of the youngest scripts in the world. It is a rare example of a writing system created for a language that had long used a script borrowed from another language. Linguists have praised Hangeul for its efficient design that reflects phonological features of Korean. Koreans take pride in Hangeul as one of Korea’s greatest cultural achievements and as a symbol of independence from hegemonic neighbors.

In this lecture, I examine three points of contention in discussions of Hangeul’s creation, spread, and eventual dominance. The first point is the question of who developed Hangeul. The majority opinion holds that King Sejong (r. 1418–1450) created Hangeul by himself beginning in 1443 and promulgated it in 1446. A minority opinion, however, argues that King Sejong received significant help and that he should not be considered the sole creator. The second point is the question of which, if any, scripts influenced the development of Hangeul. Standard history presents Hangeul as a unique creation free of influence from other writing systems. Some scholars, such as the late Gari Ledyard, however, have suggested that the ʼPhags-pa script—a Tibetan-derived unified writing system for the languages of the Yuan Dynasty commissioned by Kublai Khan (r. 1260–1294)—influenced the shape of some Hangeul letters. Other scholars have speculated about possible influence from Indian scripts through Buddhist manuscripts. The third point is the question of the dissemination of Hangeul during the Joseon Dynasty. Established views cast Hangeul as peripheral to classical Chinese (Hanmun) until nationalists and Christian missionaries revived it at the end of the 19th century. More recent interpretations have focused on the steady spread of Hangeul through women’s writing and the popularity of novels written in Hangeul in the later Joseon period. I close by offering my own views on these questions and reflecting on their significance for a fuller understanding of Hangeul.

BIO:

Robert J. Fouser holds a B.A. in Japanese language and literature, and an M.A. in applied linguistics, both from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Trinity College Dublin. He studied Korean language at Seoul National University in the 1980s. He lived in Japan from 1995 to 2008 where he taught foreign language education at Kyoto University and developed the Korean language program at Kagoshima University. From 2008 to 2014, he taught in the field of Korean as a second/foreign language at Seoul National University. He is currently an independent scholar based in Providence, Rhode Island.

He is the author of six books in Korean, including Oegugeo jeonpadam [The Spread of Foreign Languages] (2018, revised 2021), Robeoteu paujeo ui dosi tamgugi [Exploring Cities with Robert Fouser] (2019, revised and expanded as Tosi dokbeop [How to Read Cities] 2024), Oegugeo hakseupdam [Thoughts on Learning Foreign Languages] (2021), and Tosi neun wae yeoksa reul bojonhaneunga [Why Do Cities Preserve History?] (2024). His next book in Korean, Munja jeonpadam [The Spread of Writing Systems], will be published in June 2026. He is also the translator of Understanding Korean Literature (1997) by Kim Heunggyu and a co-author of Hanok: The Korean House (2015, revised 2024). He writes regular columns in English and Korean for various media outlets in Korea.

ADMISSION (Online & In-person):
Free for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W10,000 for Non-members; W5,000 for Non-member students (Student ID requested)

• If you would like to attend online Zoom,
• RSVP by June 8 (Monday). Zoom Link Request ☞ CLICK
• We will email you the link on the morning of the lecture day.
• For Non-member, payment to be emitted to the following account:
  SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)
• To attend in-person, RSVP is not required.

VENUE:

Seoul Public Activities Center (SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터) is located at Yongsan Verdium Friends #101 (용산베르디움프렌즈 101동) B1, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
Walk 2-3 minutes from ‘Exit 8’ of Samgakji Station (LINE 6 & 4) and take the elevator down to the B1 Floor.