This lecture will deal with the process through which Marxian socialism was domesticated and applied in different realms of society, thought and culture in colonial-age Korea. Seen as the alternative modernity, the way out from both premodern backwardness and modern predicaments, Marxian socialism gave life to a distinctively Korean brand of Marxist thought. Korean Marxism tended to focus its critique on such reified concepts as “nation” or “national culture,” while at the same time emphasizing structural inevitability of crises under the capitalist accumulation regime as Korea was being ravaged by consequences of the Great Depression. It enabled Korean intellectuals to criticise contemporary far-right totalitarianism in Europe and search for ways of gender liberation by empowering women and emphasizing their agency. It was predicated on a vision of an interconnected globe, a spatio-temporality in which concurrent developments in Soviet Union, Spanish Civil War or Chinese revolution were just as important as what was happening domestically, or inside the Japanese Imperial borders. While these alternative modernist visions were never fully realized, their impact on both post-colonial Korean states was in many ways decisive.

About the speaker:

Prof. Vladimir Tikhonov is Professor of Korean Studies at the University of Oslo. He received his PhD from Moscow State University in 1996 and is widely recognized for his research on the history of Korean socialism, nationalism, and social and political movements in modern Korea, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. His work explores the intellectual and ideological foundations of modern Korean society and Korea’s place within broader regional and global contexts. He is the author of numerous influential publications, including The Return of a Barbaric Age: The Decline of Pax Americana and the Beginning of Endless Rivalry (2026), The Red Age (2025), and Modern Korea and Its Others: Perceptions of the Neighbouring Countries and Korean Modernity (2015).

Language:

English

Time & Location

Monday, 22 June 2026, 14:00

-1.2009 großer Hörsaal, UG (Fabeckstr. 23/25)

Online participation is available. Please register via the email address: Hojye.kang [at] fu-berlin.de

About the Eurasian Foundation lecture series:

This lecture series is organized by Dr. Hojye Kang and offered within the seminar “Bridging Histories, Forging Futures: Lessons from 150 Years of German-Korean Dialogue for the Eurasia Community,” supported by the Eurasia Foundation (https://www.eurasia.or.jp/). It is an annual program that brings together international experts on Korea’s traditional era, the colonial period, contemporary South and North Korea, and international relations. Each lecture presents key research alongside accessible insights into methodologies, primary sources, and conceptual frameworks, offering a structured perspective on the Korean Peninsula in its broader Eurasian context. The series is open to students and all interested audiences.

Upcoming Lectures:

• Mon, 29 June: “Donghak as the Origin of K-Democracy: Toward the Spread and Establishment of Democracy in the Eurasia Community” by Byung-Sul Jung (Seoul National University, Korea)
• Mon, 6 July: “Looking toward the Europe–Asia Community: One World” by Sato Yoji (Chairman of the Eurasia Foundation, Japan)
• Sat, 11 July: “The Culture of Mathematical Science in Korea and the Eurasia Community” by Jongtae Lim (Seoul National University, Korea)