[Sheffield] Digital Korea: Stories, systems and spaces of connection

The Centre for Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield is pleased to be hosting a conference titled Digital Korea: Stories, systems and spaces of connection, funded by the AKS Core Grant Programme.

This conference explores the diverse ways that Korean social, political and cultural relations at all levels, on both sides of the DMZ, are mediated by and through digital media. Alongside state-led narratives of national progress or industrial development that often benchmark digital achievements, Koreans use digital media in ways that do not always align with these broader state narratives. This conference brings attention to these stories, systems and spaces of connection to show how both North and South Korean cases can be in conversation with each other and cases of digital sociality around the world. We aim to highlight research that addresses diverse, hidden, or underexplored aspects of digital connections, from the micro-interactions of friendship on chat apps to the commercialisation of whole neighbourhoods into digital valleys. We welcome papers that discuss topics as diverse as bureaucracy, medicine, religion, international politics, friendship, popular media, parenting, science and engineering, office life, old age, and others.

Draft programme