Since 2003, YÉOL, the Society for Korean Cultural Heritage has presented a monthly English seminar series that features prominent scholars, experts and intellectuals in the field of Korean art, culture and history to discuss new insights into Korean society. This year’s series will touch upon a wide range of subject areas including Korean architecture, music, art and more.

The first lecture to kick off the series will be conducted by architect Hwang Doo-jin, who will discuss “Modernism in Asia” in which he will share his thoughts and experiences in working at the frontline of Korea’s contemporary architecture scene.

Hwang, a graduate of Seoul National University and the Yale School of Architecture, previously worked at the Connecticut firm Tai Soo Kim Partners for 7 years before opening his own practice, Doojin Hwang Architects, in 2000. Hwang’s talk will focus on the topic of modernism in Asia. According to the lecturer, modernism tends to have two faces for many Koreans and other Asians ― on one hand, it gives democracy and industrialization to Asia, while on the other hand it undermines the Asian sense of cultural identity.

“The situation is changing. Many Asians now believe that they no longer have to feel ‘indebted’ to the West,” he wrote. “Instead, they turn to their own culture, tradition and history, once considered either dead or outdated, and see them as a source of new inspiration and awareness that will help Asians develop a newer and more refined version of global modernism.”

Hwang’s lecture will be held on March 5 at the second floor seminar room in Seoul Museum of History at 10:30 a.m. To register for the seminar, send your name and contact details to yeol400@hanmail.net.

■ Upcoming lectures

● “The Preservation of Bukchon: Historical Background and Contemporary Influence”

Dr. Robert J. Fouser (Professor, Seoul National University)

April 2, 10:30 a.m. to noon

● “The Way of Pungnyu: the Historic and Social Contexts of Pungnyu Music”

Hilary Vanessa Finchum-Sung (Professor, Seoul National University)

May 7, 10:30 a.m. to noon

● “Women Artists of Modern Korea”

Chung Hyung-min (Director, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea)

Sept. 3, 10:30 a.m. to noon

● “The Texts of Early 20th-century Korea”

Wayne de Fremery (Professor, Sogang University)

Oct. 8, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

● “Walking-tour: “Seoul’s Inwang-san ― the Mystical Benevolent-King Mountain”

David A. Mason (Professor of Korean cultural tourism at Kyung Hee University)

Nov. 5, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)