Collaboratories

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Aesthetics of the Male Body in Korea and Japan Collaboratory

Korea Research & Engagement Centre

Curtin University

23-24th November 2023, Bentley campus

Event Summary

The aim of this research collaboratory was to bring together academics working on Japanese and Korean masculinities to examine and analyse male aesthetics in the two countries in comparative focus. Grounded in recent developments in masculinity theory in ways that seeks to build on existing work of global masculinity studies, this exciting research collaboration sought to focus specifically on the social and symbolic meanings attached to aesthetic practices in local Japanese and Korean contexts.

The Roundtable brought together leading scholars in the field of Korean and Japanese masculinity studies, to examine how beauty aesthetics, fashion and grooming intersect with gender and masculinities in Japan and Korea. Following an invitation-only research collaboratory in Perth on November 23, the speakers presented short reflections on their research on masculinity studies in dialogue with each other's work the following day. The papers presented as part of the collaboratory will appear in an upcoming volume, so do keep an eye out for future developments.

2021 Korea Research Collaboratory

Beyond han: New interpretations of Korean emotions

4-5 February 2021

The Korea Research Centre at the University of Western Australia organised an Online Research Collaboratory in 4-5th February 2021. This innovative format explored emotions as a lens to examine aspects of Korean culture, society and history. Terms such as han, jeong, heung and perceived practices such as injeong juui, yeongo juui and inmaek have been claimed (by some) as distinctly Korean experiences of attachment and connection that have created a dynamic sense of self that is relational, interdependent, and interconnected. Most often these terms have been studied in psychological, therapeutic, pastoral and sociological contexts. With this collaboratory, we sought to broaden the analysis of such concepts and their lived experiences to analysis within the arts, literature, media, historical and contemporary social practice, by focusing particularly on their expressive forms.