[Lecture] 'Mapping Western Knowledge of Korea: The RAS Korea Bibliography in Transactions 1931'

LECTURE TITLE:
'Mapping Western Knowledge of Korea:
The RAS Korea Bibliography in Transactions 1931 (Vol. 20)'

SPEAKER: Bae Minjae


DATE: Tuesday. October 14, 2025. 7:20PM (Seoul)

VENUE: Seoul Public Activities Center (SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터). ‘다목적홀’

(ADDRESS: Basement Floor, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan Verdium Friends(용산베르디움프렌즈) #101, Yongsan-gu, Seoul), 2-3 minutes walking from Exit 8 of Samgakji-Station (Line 6 & Line 4)


ADMISSION (Online & In-person): Free for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W10,000 for Non-members; W5,000 for Non-member students (Student ID requested)

If you would like to attend online Zoom,
RSVP by October 13 (Monday). Zoom Link Request
☞ RSVP: https://forms.gle/xZpvfWVW6VWcTJ3S8

We will email you the link on the morning of the lecture day.
For Non-member, payment to be remitted to the following account:
SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)

To attend in-person, RSVP is not required.


SUMMARY:

This lecture surveys how Western knowledge about Korea was collected, classified, and perceived in the early 20th century, focusing on the Bibliography of Western Literature on Korea published in Transactions Vol. 20 (1931) by the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch.

It analyzes:

- How the bibliography was organized (by Horace Horton Underwood, a missionary’s son, listing over 2,800 works).
- What the classification system reveals about the compilers’ worldview and intellectual framework.
- How Westerners in Korea shaped and circulated knowledge about the country for Western audiences who had never visited it.

In short, the paper explores the Western construction of knowledge about Korea through bibliographic practices, showing how these works reflected and reinforced the Western perception of Korea at that time.



BIO:

Dr. Bae Minjae (배민재) is a historian specializing in the intellectual and cultural exchanges between Korea and the West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her research explores how Western scholars and missionaries constructed and classified knowledge about Korea, and how these representations shaped early Western perceptions of Korean society. Her doctoral dissertation includes a dedicated chapter on the role of RAS and Transactions in shaping scholarly discourse in the Korean context.



VENUE:

The Seoul Public Activities Center(SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터) is located at Yongsan Verdium Friends #101 (용산베르디움프렌즈 101동) B1, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Walk 2-3 minutes from ‘Exit 8’ of Samgakji Station (LINE 6 & 4) and take the elevator down to the B1 Floor.

You may also like the following events from Royal Asiatic Society Korea:

• This Saturday, 11th October, 02:00 pm, [Cultural Excursion] 'Fortress Amid Markets: Exploring East (and West) of Dongdaemun' in Seoul
• Next Thursday, 16th October, 07:30 pm, [Korean Literature Club] 'Beasts of a Little Land' by Juhae Kim in Seoul
• This month, 25th October, 02:00 pm, [Cultural Excursion] 'Exploring Itaewon's History' with Matt VanVolkenburg in Seoul

Also check out other Arts events in Seoul, Literary Art events in Seoul.