Critical Geographies of the Unending Korean War: From Pyongyang to Vieques

[Audio from mic board comes in at minute 9:00.]

April 4th, 2024

Rather than viewing the unresolved Korean War as a historical event isolated to Korea and its people, this session aims to explore it as a broader structural outcome across the Pacific. Through a multifaceted lens, this symposium, which launches the “Critical Geographies of the Korean War” module of our public syllabus, offers fresh insights into the enduring biopolitical ramifications of the ongoing Korean War. These include family separation, the international adoption industry, militarized prostitution, queer diasporas, and race relations in the United States. Furthermore, our discussions will delve into the shadow geographies influenced by the Korean War, spanning regions such as South Korea, Guåhan, Hawai'i, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. We will also examine its infrastructural significance, encompassing topics such as the military-industrial complex, the national security state, the U.S. empire of bases, and the role of the imperial university.

Participants: Patrick Chung (Assistant Professor, History, University of Maryland); Christine Hong (Professor, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and Literature, University of California Santa Cruz); Junyoung Verónica Kim (Assistant Professor, Film and Media Studies, Latin American Culture and Literature, University of Pittsburgh); Sung Eun Kim (Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Korean Studies, George Washington University)