Leading scholars of "K-Art, Korean Wave" to present at international conference
By HancaTimes -March 11, 2024

"Rediscovering the Korean Wave as a force that opens doors and connects the world, "How far can the Korean Wave go?"
The Asian Arts Publishing Lab (AAPLab) in Montreal, Canada, held an international conference on "The Korean Wave and K-Arts" on February 22-24, analyzing the history of the Korean Wave and its development.

This article analyzes the international conference on "Korean Wave and K-Arts" held on February 22-24 at the Asian Arts Publishing Lab (AAPLab) in Montreal, Canada, with comments from Dr. Jiyoung Lee and Jehee Ahn. Dr. Lee Ji-young (professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, author of BTS Art Revolution, 2019), a panelist at the conference, described the conference as follows. "My expectation that the conference would be dominated by analyses of K-pop and K-dramas was beautifully misplaced; it was just a gateway. Scholars have gone on to study colonial-era Korean cinema, painters like Kim Hwan-ki and Yoon Hyung-geun, documentaries on the development of Saemangeum, and the historical trauma of colonization in Korean dramas... If the meaning of the Korean Wave is considered only as a commodity... it will be nothing more than a flash in the pan and a passing fad. This conference showed us the true power of the Korean Wave: its ability to open us up to people from other cultures, to connect us with them, to explore our common interests with them, and to dream of a better world together..." Ji-Young Lee, Professor of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Authorship of BTS, Art Revolution, 2019)

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In addition to this, a comment from artist Heeje Ahn (MFA candidate, books: Hesitant Love, 2023, The Time of Plants, 2021, etc. I think the three-day conference 'Surface Tension - Korean Art and the Korean Wave' answered this question... Often, the Korean Wave is reduced to a few popular Korean works and their influence on the cultural field, which is interpreted as the "soft power" of the Korean government... The content of the conference itself shows that the Korean Wave can and should be a starting point for intercultural exchange. Hallyu is a combination of the words 'han' (Korea) and 'ryu' (wave), which has always meant cross-cultural interaction and the changes that come with it... It is the unintended consequences of Hallyu that we should pay attention to." "I've been to small conferences and congresses in Korea, or even international conferences, where the discussions are more in Korean because they're hosted by Korean universities, but this is the first time I've been exposed to so much research from overseas researchers in English, so it was challenging but really meaningful." - Heejeh Ahn, author of Authour of Love Hesitates (2023), Time of Plants (2021)

"It was the most groundbreaking conference I've ever been a part of." - Soonyoung Lee, Professor of Bard College, Chicago, Illinois.

In addition to the above comments, this international conference, organized at the University of Montreal by the Montreal-based Asian Publishing Lab (AAPlab) on the theme of the Korean Wave and Korean art, featured a number of papers that were studied from new perspectives and perspectives, with a total of 21 papers presented in four panels. In addition, "Time of Seeds" (2022) by South Korean director Seol Suan was screened online across Canada, and on Saturday afternoon, the conference concluded with three screenings of media art and film by Canadian Korean and Chinese writers and directors, all of which were held at Montreal's venerable Dazibao gallery, which was packed to capacity, and was buzzing with questions from the artists, scholars, artists, university students, and audience members. Hotly anticipated screenings: "Mulmaeum Mulmaeum" (2023, by Jin-me Yoon), "Adoptees, 70 Years of History ibyangin: 70 years of Korean international adoption" (2023, by Kimura Byol Lemoine), and "Big Fight in Little Chinatown Big Fight in Little Chinatown" (2022, by Karen Cho).

The international conference is organized under the theme "Can arts speak up? Can arts speak up?" The conference consisted of research presentations, discussions, workshops, and media and film screenings that examined the present and future of Korean popular and fine arts, referred to as "Korean Wave K," in the context of the Korean Wave. It was also evaluated as a convergence conference in which scholars, researchers, artists, university students, and general audiences freely participated and discussed without any boundaries between presenters and attendees, and in which organic and spontaneous cooperation was achieved. AAPlab Director Im Jung (media artist, representative of the Canadian Korean Film Festival, and lecturer of Korean Art at the University of Montreal) said, "As mentioned earlier by Professor Lee Ji-young, this conference attempted to break down, re-break down, and open new doors to break down, re-break down, and re-break down the mutual boundaries that are fixed in various perspectives. Boundaries refer to all the boundaries we talk about. Korean Wave-Non-Korean Wave, Popular Art-Pure Art, Writer-Writer, Profession, Age, Country, Race, Student-Professor, Organizer-Participant, etc., we tried to scatter the boundaries that we have drawn and start the conversation after dividing our minds. As an academic conference that tried a new format, we are all happy that a ray of light, a ray of hope, found its place and shone with us. Even now that the conference is over, presenters and attendees are still sharing their experiences with us with encouraging and open support, and in fact, proposals for various new projects are constantly coming in. We are looking forward to a bright future for the new Korean Wave." Finally, he expressed his gratitude. "With many of the panelists visiting Montreal for the first time, it was very important to create an environment where academic theory and creative arts collide in an intimate setting, and where all participants were focused on presenting and engaging with their research topics. The mutually beneficial collaboration and participation made this a warm and inspiring conference. I would like to thank everyone for sharing such a fascinating time and experience, and as a participant as well as an organizer, this conference was a wonderful and amazing experience, and I would like to thank the University of Montreal professor Victoria-Oana Lupascu for serving as the general moderator, Professor Livia Monnet for participating as a discussant, Professors Soyoung Kim and Shin Dong Kim for anchoring the conference as keynote speakers, and Mr. Jungbong Choi for suggesting the theme of the conference, the members of the "Hallyu K-Camp", a group of Montreal university students, the entire staff of the Asian Arts Publishing Lab (AAPlab) (Soobin Amber Shin, John Nong, Tiffany Jiazhen Wu), the Université de Montréal and the gallery Dazibao for providing a wonderful venue, and the Academy of Korean Studies for their financial support. We would also like to thank Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Lee Jae-wan (Consulate General of Korea in Montreal), Mr. Ra Yoon (Octa), Mr. Jung Jung-chae, and the Korean newspapers in Montreal (Hanka Times, Korean Newswiss) for their gracious hospitality, "I would also like to thank all of them." - Mi-Jeong Lee, media artist, director of the Asian Arts Publishing Institute, director of AAPlab, Korean Film Festival Canada, Arts East-West, and Lecturer of Korean arts at the University of Montreal.

For reference, the current Asian Arts Lab (AAPlab) is the only private Korean arts organization in Canada that has been independently organized by "Arts East-West" in conjunction with the Korean Film Festival of Canada (KFCC) for nearly 30 years, focusing on the introduction, research and expansion of Korean arts, and has recently expanded to include Southeast Asian arts as well as Pan-Asian and Canadian Korean arts. It specializes in introducing Korean art in Canada. The beginning of its development was "East-West Art" (formerly Ciné-Asie), founded in 1996 in Montreal, Quebec. In 1997, "Three Masters of Korean Cinema: Yoo Hyun-mok. Shin Sang-ok. Lim Kwon-taek", a total of 15 Korean films were screened for the first time as part of a tour of cinematheques in four major Canadian cities. The two-month long project was a collaboration between the Korean Cultural Center in New York and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), and was funded by the Korean Ministry of Culture (formerly the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) and Canada (as a "Team Canada" project by Prime Minister Jean Chretien). In addition, the project was actively supported by the local Korean community in Canada (Consulates General in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver, as well as local Korean associations and media outlets such as Hankook Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and the Montreal area) and received a lot of support. In addition, the retrospective exhibition "Director Jeon Soo-il" (2008), which was acclaimed in Europe, toured seven states in North America to introduce the uniqueness and creativity of Korean independent cinema (in addition to four major cities in Canada, the exhibition was shown at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, New York University Museum (NYU), and University of California Museum (UCLA). In addition, we continue to introduce Korean cinema, including exhibitions on Hong Sang-soo, Kim Ki-duk, and Lee Chang-dong, and Contemporary Korean Cinema, while simultaneously supporting the work and creative activities of Korean and Asian Canadian artistic directors. Arts East-West, a private, not-for-profit corporation led by Korean artists in Canada, has been in existence for nearly 30 years with a focus on Korean media arts, and in 2022, Heritage Canada, a Canadian federal government agency, recognized and encouraged the organization of the annual "Korean Film Festival Canada (KFFC)" as the longest continuously running Korean film festival in Canada. The 11th edition will be held from May 23, 2024.

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