The Conference “Korean Wave(s)? Global Itineraries of Korean Art and Culture”, organized by the Chair in East Asian Art History, University of Zurich in cooperation with the Museum Rietberg, is held in conjunction with the special exhibition “Hallyu – The Korean Wave”. The Conference seeks to engage with the exhibition by examining the global entanglements of Korean art and culture in a broader historical framework. It builds on the notion of “object itinerary” (Joyce 2015) as a tool for analysis of transcultural exchange, which offers a constructive framework for discussing the production, dissemination, and reception of art in a global perspective. This way the Conference conceptualizes the phenomenon of the Korean Wave as part of a continuum of regional and global cultural exchange that has been ongoing throughout Korean history from its earliest days, while critically reflecting on the notion of the 'wave,' as an analytical instrument used in the context of transcultural study of art.

The conference is free and open to the public.
A registration for the event at Museum Rietberg is required:
https://shop.e-guma.ch/museum-rietberg/en/events

// Conference Program

DAY 1: Friday, 16 May, 2025
Venue: Lecture Hall, Park-Villa Rieter, Museum Rietberg, Seestrasse 110, 8002 Zürich

14:00 – 14:10
Opening addresses by Dr. Annette Bhagwati, Director of Museum Rietberg, and Prof. Dr. Michael Schaepman, President of the University of Zurich

14:10 – 14:15
Welcome address by His Excellency Keum Chang-rok, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Swiss Confederation

14:15 – 14:20
Introduction by the Conference organizers, Prof. Dr. Ewa Machotka, Chair for East Asian Art History, University of Zurich, and Dr. Khanh Trinh, Curator for Japanese and Korean Art, Museum Rietberg

14:20 – 15:20
Keynote Address, Prof. Dr. J.P. Park, University of Oxford (broadcasted online)
Conflicted Realities: The Politics of Desire and Identity in Korean Art and History

15:20 – 15:50
Exhibition Introduction, Dr. Rosalie Kim, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

15:50 – 17:00
Viewing of the exhibition “Hallyu – The Korean Wave”

17:00 – 18:30
Reception

DAY 2: Saturday, 17 May, 2025
Venue: University of Zurich, Aula RAA-G-01, Rämistrasse 59, 8001 Zürich

09:00 – 09:30
Registration

09:30 – 09:45
Welcome and opening remarks by Prof. Dr. Ewa Machotka (University of Zurich)

09:45 – 10:45
Keynote Address, Prof. Dr. Charlotte Horlyck (SOAS, University of London) (broadcasted online)

10:45 – 12:00
Panel 1: Transcultural Mobility of Art Objects: Production and Circulation
- Dr. Ariane Perrin (Ca'Foscari University): New insights on early Buddhist artefacts from the northern region of the Korean peninsula, 5th-6th centuries AD
- Prof. Dr. Namwon Jang (Ewha Womans University): The Journey of Joseon White Porcelain in the 19th Century from Seoul to Hamburg

14:00 – 15:15
Panel 2: Transcultural Reception of Art Objects: Transformation and Adaptation
- Prof. Dr. Jeong-hee Lee-Kalisch (Freie Universität Berlin)
Transcultural Reception of the Tiger Image: The Hanging Scroll by Yi Wonchan in the Berlin Collection, as Example
- Prof. Dr. Yoonjung Seo (Myongji University)
The Legacy of An Gyeon: Attributions, Forgeries, and the Northern Song Landscape Tradition in East Asian Visual Culture

16:00 – 17:15
Panel 3: Art Historiography in Motion: Tracing Korean Art Across Time and Space
- Prof. Dr. Burglind Jungmann (UCLA/Heidelberg University)
Revisiting Prince Anpyeong’s Dream of the ‘Peach Blossom Land’ in Early Joseon Korea
- Prof. Dr. Youngsook Pak (SOAS, University of London)
From Han to Paekche. An Extraordinary Transformation

17:15
Closing Discussion