Royal Asiatic Society Korea

[Cultural Excursion] 'Bird's-Eye View of Seoul's Spatial Order'

Sat, May 16 · 1:30 PM KST

BOSINGAK PARK, 54 Jong-ro, Gwancheol-dong Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, Seoul, KR

TITLE:
'Reading the City from Above: A Bird’s-Eye View of Seoul’s Spatial Order'

LEADER: Jun Y.G. SHIN

DATE: Saturday, May 16, 2026, 1:30-5:00PM

DESTINATION: Central Seoul

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

MEETING POINT: In front of Bosingak pavilion (보신각) near Exit 4 of Jonggak Station (Subway Line 1)

REGISTRATION: RSVP by May 14 (Thursday) with payment of the fee via bank transfer. Please register one RSVP at a time.
RSVP: https://forms.gle/u5XV369K9br5og7V9

☞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.

DESCRIPTION:
This excursion will visit four elevated vantage points offering sweeping views across historic downtown Seoul. From these bird’s-eye perspectives, participants will take in a wide range of architectural forms and urban structures from the Joseon Dynasty to the present while considering their spatial organization and aesthetic significance. In particular, the walk will explore how key institutions and sites of the Joseon capital of Hanyang – royal palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and Sajik Altar, Bosingak Pavilion and the Four Main Gates, the Monument for the 40th Anniversary of King Gojong’s Enthronement, and Hwangudan Altar – were shaped by specific principles and philosophies, and how these continue inform the modern city.

The walk will begin at Bosingak Pavilion, which once stood at the center of Hanyang. Here, participants will learn about its function and about the planning of the capital according to Yin–Yang and the Five Elements. En route to the first viewpoint, the group will stop at a lesser-known site marking the city’s central point during the Great Han Empire (1897–1910), introducing the concept of the Five Directions. The first elevated vantage point will be a rooftop café overlooking Jogyesa Temple. While enjoying refreshments, participants can take in the seasonal display of lotus lanterns hung for Buddha’s Birthday, as the guide introduces the history of the temple and its place in central Seoul. The group will then proceed through the temple grounds to the second viewpoint, where they can take in a panoramic view that encompasses Gyeongbokgung Palace, the Blue House, Mount Inwang and Mount Bugak, as well as the neighborhoods of Seochon and Bukchon. From this vantage point, participants will learn about key principles of Joseon spatial planning, including jwamyo-usa (the placement of Jongmyo Shrine and Sajik Altar), baesan-imsu (mountains behind, river in front), and myeong-dang (the selection of auspicious sites).

The walk will continue to the Monument for the 40th Anniversary of King Gojong’s Enthronement, reflecting imperial symbolism and cosmological thought, and then to Seoul Anglican Cathedral, which blends the Romanesque style typical of British Anglican architecture at the time with Korean elements such as tiled roofs and wooden lattice windows. Passing along the rear of Deoksugung Palace and King Gojong’s Road, the group will reach the third viewpoint. At the Jeongdong Observatory, participants will enjoy views of Deoksugung – once the imperial palace of the Great Han Empire – and the surrounding district, which was populated by foreign legations, churches, and schools. Over coffee, the group will reflect on Jeongdong as a center of late Joseon modernization, comparing traditional palace architecture with the neoclassical Seokjojeon and contrasting Korean and Western approaches to nature and space. On the way to the final viewpoint, the group will visit Hwanggung’u Shrine within Hwangudan, where imperial rites to Heaven were once performed, and will consider the cosmological concept of cheonwon jibang (sky is round, earth is square) and the symbolism of the shrine’s octagonal structure. The walk will conclude at a final vantage point overlooking the Bank of Korea, Shinsegae Department Store, and the Myeong-dong area. Here, participants will explore the emergence of colonial-era commercial culture, including early department stores and the “Modern Girl” and “Modern Boy,” and learn about the formation of Myeong-dong’s Chinatown.

This walking excursion will set off at 1:00 pm from Bosingak pavilion near Exit 4 of Jonggak Station (종각역, Subway Line 1). The excursion will last until about 5:00 and end near Hoehyeon Station (회현역, Subway Line 4). There will be a considerable amount of walking, so please wear appropriate footwear. The excursion will proceed as scheduled even if it rains – just put on your rain gear and bring your umbrella!

Jun Y. G. SHIN is a life member of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea and serves on its council.

[Cultural Excursion] Exploring Ogin-dong Beneath Inwangsan

Sat, May 30 · 1:30 PM 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

Fri, Jun 5 · 7:20 PM 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'

Sat, Jun 6 · 1:00 PM 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.