Beyond Pachinko: Japan's Korea and Korea's Japan

Catalog description

Japan has had a long and important relationship with Korea. War, colonialism, migration, and rich cultural exchange has left a deep mark on both countries. This course will locate Japan-Korea relations historically through the lens of culture, including literature, film, art, popular culture, and food. We will ask: what historical events shaped Japan-Korea relations? What brought Koreans to the archipelago in the twentieth century, and what has kept Koreans in Japan since then? How do third-generation Koreans in Japan define their identity, and how have they carved out a unique space for themselves? What is the connection between J-pop and K-pop, and how has Japan consumed Korean popular culture - and food - since the millennium? The course will explore Kyoto, Osaka, and its surroundings to better understand Japan-Korea relations, and it will interrogate the complexity of these relations through diverse cultural expressions.