The 29th quarterly issue of our open-access e‑journal Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review(link is external) is now online.
This special issue on “Diasporic Art and Korean Identity,” guest edited by Hijoo Son and Jooyeon Rhee, brings together three research articles, a visual essay by photographer Michael Vince Kim, and an interview with visual artist, filmmaker, and professor Y. David Chung to explore new delineations of the political, social, cultural, and emotional landscapes inhabited by those living in the Korean diaspora. The articles by Ji-yoon An (University of Tübingen), Iain Sands (Stockholm University), and Hijoo Son analyze films, a live performance, and paintings, respectively. Their analyses present new grounds that “formulate a reading of art that unpacks multiple and multisite narratives beyond the binary of master and counter narratives.” This issue also includes a review essay by Robert Stolz covering three new publications about Japanese imperialism by David R. Ambaras, Paul D. Barclay, and Kate McDonald. There is also a second photo essay, “Resurrection City: The Scale of Seoul’s Urban Renewal Process,” created by Jon Dunbar. Dunbar’s images and accompanying artist’s statement take us on an unusual tour of the rooftops, abandoned neighborhoods, and construction zones of Seoul and highlight how South Korea’s social problems manifest themselves in unique urban phenomena. An accompanying essay by Mihye Cho provides greater context for the images by tracing the history of the cycle of urban demolition and renewal that has been Seoul’s “development formula” for the past century.