From October 24 to October 25, 2014, the Centre for the Study of Korea at the University of Toronto will be hosting a symposium on the Afterlives of the Korean War. Co-sponsored by the Dr.David Chu Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, Asian Institute, at the Munk School of Global Affairs, this symposium aims to bring together scholars, artists, filmmakers and students to explore the multifaceted ways that unfinished wars are lived, experienced, imagined and transformed.

Last year marked the 60th anniversary of the signing of the July 27, 1953 armistice. However, one of the most indelible features of the world’s first Cold War conflict is its unfinished nature. The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), intended to be a temporary cease-fire line at the 38th parallel, is one of the most militarily fortified borders on earth. Continued hostility and mistrust between the two Koreas keep hundreds of thousands of families displaced and separated. And the ebbs and flows of military tension on the Korean peninsula justify on-going social, economic, political, and ecological repression in the name of national security, not only between the North and South but also in many countries around the world.

This symposium will feature a keynote address by Prof. Dong Choon Kim (Sung Kong Hoe University) on the process of seeking truth and reconciliation for Korean War victims. There will be a panel discussion on the intersections between the military and geopolitics with the dynamics of race, nation, diaspora, gender, and sexuality, which will feature Dr. John Price, Dr. Monica Kim, Dr. Christine Hong and Dr. Hosu Kim.

On the opening night, a world-renowned artist Ms. Dohee Lee will be collaborating with SKIM (a hip-hop artist) for a cultural performance called the “Ara Gut of Jeju” at the George Ignatieff Theatre. Participants will be invited to an opening night reception at the Buttery, Trinity College, for some reflections and refreshments. The symposium will conclude at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema with the screening of Jiseul (2012, 108 mins), which won the World Cinema Dramatic World Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, followed by post-film comments by award-winning Toronto-based filmmaker, Min Sook Lee.

All students, faculty members, and members of general public interested on the Afterlives of the Korean War are welcome to attend. All events hosted at the University of Toronto are free, and tickets to the film screening are $11.

Register here