International Conference at the Department of Chinese and Korean Studies, University of Tübingen.

October 6th – 8th 2011

Venue: Schloss Hohentübingen, Fürstenzimmer, Germany

Co-organized by the National Institute of Korean History, Republic of Korea, and the Department of Chinese and Korean Studies, University of Tübingen

Conference language: English/Korean

The border-crossing exchange and mobility of people is an integral part in the history of the modern world. A focus on transnational flows of migration and constructions of diaspora communities highlights prevalent challenges of today’s nation states. It further enables us to inquire the political, social, economic, and cultural demands, and to raise questions of integration, solidarity, and conflict in the formation of heterogeneous societies.

Experiences and practices of migration and diaspora constructions highly pervade the history of modern Korea. Furthermore, they are closely connected to global orders of modernity, colonialism, the cold war, and globalization. The histories of Korean migration and diaspora thereby highlight the influx of Korean workforce and goods throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas, and furthermore illustrate the global connections between the Koreas and the world.

The conference assembles historians, political scientists, sociologists, and Korean Studies specialists, thus tackling the issue of Korean migration and diaspora from a trans-disciplinary perspective. Case studies of Korean Diasporas in Japan, China, Northeast and Central Asia, Germany, the United States, and the Koreas will be combined with theoretical reflections on migration and diaspora beyond the meta-narratives of colonialism and cold war.

Guests are very welcome but should get in touch with Robert Kramm-Masaoka (robert.kramm-masaoka@uni-tuebingen.de).

PROGRAM

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6

10:00 Opening:

1) You Jae Lee, Head of Korean Studies, University of Tübingen

2) Taejin Yi, President of the National Institute of Korean History

10:15 Welcome:

3) Bernd Engler, President of the University of Tübingen

4) Won-Jung Han, Consul General of the Republic of Korea

10:30 - 13:30 I. Colonialism and Migration Chair: Klaus Antoni (University of Tübingen)

1) Soon Won Park (Sungkyunkwan University, ROK)
Forced Labour to Japan

2) Byung Yool Ban (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, ROK)
(Re)Migration of Koreans to Russia and to Central Asia

3) Wayne Patterson (St. Norbert College, USA)
Korean Immigration to Hawaii and Japanese Imperialism: A New Look at the Imposition of the Protectorate in 1905

4) Michael Kim (Yonsei University, ROK)
The Issue of Citizenship and Family Register of Korean Migrants in Manchuria

13:30- 15:00 Lunch

15:00 - 18:00h

II. Cold War and Migration I
Chair: Gunter Schubert (University of Tübingen)

1) Deug-Joong Kim (National Institute of Korean History, ROK)
Diaspora in Korean Peninsula in the Period of State-Building
– 'Displaced Persons to North and South Korea', 'Refugees' and their Political Impacts

2) Valeriy Khan (Academy of Science, Uzbekistan)
Life, Identity and Achievements of Koryo Saram in Central Asia

3) Jean Young Lee, (Inha University, ROK)
Cold War and its Effect to the Korean-Chinese Society in China (1945-1957)

4) Young Hwan Chong (Meiji Gakuin University, Japan)
The Legal Situation of Koreans in Japan and Colonialism after the World War II (1945-1952)

18:30 Reception

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7

09:30 - 12:30

III. Cold War and Migration II / 냉전과 이주 II
Chair: Sun-ju Choi (University of Tübingen)

1) You Jae Lee (University of Tübingen, Germany)
Development and Solidarity: Korean Migration to East and West Germany

2) Yonson Ahn (University of Frankfurt, Germany)
“Yellow Engels”: Gender and ethnic Identities of former Korean nurses in Germany

3) Nadia Kim (Loyola Marymount University, USA)
Finding our Way Home: Korean Americans, “Homeland Trips,” and Cultural Foreignness

12:30 - 14:30 Lunch

14:30 - 17:30

IV. Diaspora Formation and Life World
Chair: Kien Nghi Ha (University of Tübingen)

1) J. Yeon Yuh (Northwestern University, USA)
Lives at the Crossroads: Koreans in China, Japan, and the United States

2) Erin Aeran Chung (Johns Hopkins University, USA)
Korean Diasporic Citizenship: Two Tales of Political
Incorporation in Japan and the United States

3) Daniel Schwekendiek (Sungkyunkwan University, ROK)
The History of Korean Adoption 1950-2000

18:00 Dinner

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8

9.30 - 11:30

V. Final Discussion
Chair: You Jae Lee (University of Tübingen)

Chances and Pitfalls of Korean Diaspora Studies