Sharing the lecture held on May 23, 2023.

Why Preserve Hanoks? A Brief History of the Idea Since the 1960s

SPEAKER: Robert J. Fouser

SUMMARY:

In this lecture, I discuss tensions and contradictions in the history of hanok preservation since the 1960s. For my research, I searched online newspaper databases to find relevant articles and opinion pieces related to hanok preservation. A close reading of selected articles showed that interest in hanok preservation began in the late 1960s as rapid industrialization swept the country. During this time, hanoks were defined as “traditional” and thus worthy of preservation as part of broader efforts to preserve cultural heritage. Policy makers implemented plans for historic districts in Seoul and Jeonju that sought to ban new construction. As Korea democratized and lifestyles changed, however, residents grew increasingly unhappy with the restrictions. In the 1990s, policy makers developed a new approach that encouraged renovations and even new hanok constructions, which ended up causing controversy. Throughout the discussion, I refer to various international examples to place the history of hanok preservation in a broader context.

BIO:

Robert J. Fouser holds a B.A. in Japanese language and literature, and M.A. in applied linguistics, both from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Trinity College Dublin. He studied Korean language at Seoul National University in the 1980s. He lived in Japan from 1995 to 2008 where he taught foreign language education at Kyoto University and developed the Korean language program in Kagoshima University. From 2008 to 2014, he taught Korean as a second/foreign language education at Seoul National University. He is currently an independent scholar based in Providence, Rhode Island.

He is the author of five books in Korean, including Oegugeo Jeonpadam [The Spread of Foreign Languages] (2018), Robeoteu Paujeo ui Dosi Tamgugi [Exploring Cities with Robert Fouser] (2019), and Oegugeo Hakseupdam [Thoughts on Learning Foreign Languages] (2021). He is currently finishing a book on the history of historic preservation in cities around the world, which will be published in fall 2023. He also is the translator of Understanding Korean Literature (1997) by Kim Heunggyu and a co-author of Hanok: The Korean House (2015). He writes regular columns for various media outlets in Korea.