[Colloquium] Cultural Reproduction in Koryŏ saram Diaspora in Context of Neoliberal Multicultualism

Name: [Colloquium] Cultural Reproduction in Koryŏ saram Diaspora in Context of Neoliberal Multicultualism
Start: 2026-05-07T18:00:00+09:00
End: 2026-05-07T19:30:00+09:00
Location: ARI - Asiatic Research Institute 고려대학교 아세아문제연구소

Schedule

Thu May 07 2026 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm

UTC+09:00

Location

ARI - Asiatic Research Institute 고려대학교 아세아문제연구소 | Seoul, KG

Seoul Colloquium in Korean Studies
(the Seoul Center of EFEO)
TITLE: Cultural Reproduction in Koryŏ saram Diaspora in the Context of Neoliberal Multiculturalism
SPEAKER: Janna Ballod

DATE: Thursday. May 7, 2026. 6:00PM
VENUE: Grand Conference Room (#310), of the Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University
The May 2026 session of the “Seoul Colloquium in Korean Studies” organized by the Seoul Center of the EFEO will be held as an in-person event on Thursday May 7th in the Grand Conference Room (Room number 310), of the Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University, beginning at 6:00 pm.
All who wish to participate must register in advance by sending an email to [email protected]
[Image: Food stall at the annual “Koryŏ Arirang. Koryŏ in mak’et” festival in Ansan, South Korea. (© Janna Ballod)]

SUMMARY:
Koryŏ saram diaspora in South Korea where 100,000 people live in ethnic enclaves called “Koryŏ maŭl” around major industrial centers found itself in a unique linguistic situation when the Russian language became a significant factor in their cultural reproduction and consolidation.
The paper explores the cultural reproduction and transformation of the heritage language in the diaspora of Koryŏ saram, Russian-speaking ethnic Koreans from former Soviet Union territories, against the neoliberal setting in South Korea by looking at it through the prism of Will Kimlicka’s theory on neoliberal multiculturalism. South Korea had to adopt multiculturalism in the context of neoliberal reforms after the 1997 IMF crisis and a growing number of foreign workers and started to implement multicultural policies based on assimilation as a nation-building concept in 2006.

BIO:
Dr. Janna Ballod is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Business and Languages at Seokyeong University, Seoul. She also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of both the Language and Culture Education Center and the Multicultural Studies Center at the same institution. Dr. Ballod majored in Linguistics and Intercultural Communication and earned an M.A. in Cultural Studies from Moscow State Linguistic University, as well as an M.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Yonsei University. She received her Ph.D. in International Studies from Hanyang University with a dissertation entitled “Russian Public Diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula: Changes and Continuity.

DIRECTIONS TO VENUE: Grand Conference Room (#310), of the Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University
Take Exit 1 from Korea University subway station, turn right onto the footpath leading up onto the campus. Walk straight up the road past LG Posco Hall, the Business School and Main Library (all on the right hand side). The Asiatic Research Institute (ARI) is the building next after the Main Library (Campus Map)
After 6 PM the front door of the Institute may be locked. If the door is locked, phone to the EFEO Seoul Center (02-921-4526) so that we can let you into the building.