The Power of the Clan: Contesting Kinship and the Making of South Korea’s Fifteenth President
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
- Venue
- Russell Square: College Buildings
- Room
- RG01
- Event type
- Seminar
About this event
Clans have played a significant role in Korean society for centuries. Even in contemporary times, they maintain their relevance by affording people social, political, and economic capital.
Despite their emphasis on legitimate bloodlines, however, clans are also imagined communities as kinship in Korea is more often than not based on claims of spurious nature. Thus, questions over who is a legitimate member of a clan and who is not lead to frequent conflicts within kinship groups.
This talk will offer insight into the culture of clans in contemporary South Korea, the drama that unfolds within them, and their relevance in electing the highest political office in the country. At the centre of this is Kim Dae Jung—President of South Korea between 1998 and 2003, Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 2000, as well as a contested member of Korea’s largest clan.
Registration
This event is free, open to the public, and held in person only.
Organiser
This event has been organised by the SOAS Centre of Korean Studies.
About the speaker
Dr Nuri Kim is Associate Professor in Korean Studies at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. He teaches modern Korean history and has written on mythology, family history, and religious history.
Contact
Contact email: centres@soas.ac.uk
Image credit: Bundo Kim via Unsplash
