Japan in Korea, Korea in Japan

The modern histories of Japan and Korea cannot be understood without close attention to the other. This seminar explores major events, starting with the fall of the Choson Dynasty, the Japanese colonial period, the creation of two Koreas, the wars in Korea and Vietnam, and decolonization and social revolutions. Students will read primary texts, including memoirs, autobiographies, and novels, and engage with major works and debates on modern Japan and Korea. By adopting a comparative and transnational perspective, the course aims to reveal new ways and approaches to understanding the fraught histories of Japan in Korea, and Korea in Japan.