Art Sonje Center presents the Humanities Talk program with Dr. Sung Hoon Han, a research fellow at the Institute for Social Development at Yonsei University, and Minouk Lim, a Seoul-based artist. This program is organized in conjunction with the REAL DMZ PROJECT 2013.

Having researched structures, changes, and interrelationships of the North and South Korean societies through the lens of the Korean political history, Dr. Han presents a new perspective towards the Korean War and North Korea. Lim has explored the Korean modern and contemporary history, a period of great changes, in her works that encompass various genres, including performance, video, and installation. Her works capture the unique characteristics of the Korean society that rapidly changes amid globalization. Inr. Han and Lim will expand the discussion about the Korean War – what and how to remember; how to approach issues about the concealed truth and reconciliation.

Defining the war as “a violent teacher,” Dr. Han explains that the unthinkable happens on the battlefield and that the consequential disorder easily leads to the death of people. During war, anyone can be an inflictor, and anyone can be a victim. Dr. Han emphasizes that the Korean War, transcending time and space, is repeated here and now. How is the tragedy reiterated? The war does not cease with memories but returns again and again through commemorations and condolences. The Humanities Talk program will provide the audience an opportunity to think about the significance of the war.

Dr. Sung Hoon Han currently works as a research fellow at the Institute for Social Development at Yonsei University. After receiving a sociology Ph.D. from Yonsei University, he had postdoctoral training at Tübingen University in Germany from 2012 to 2013. He has written many articles, including “A Study on the Migration of the Korean-Chinese in Germany” (2013), “War Society and Cold War Recognition of DPR Korea: Class Idea Education of Sincheon Museum” (2011), and “Transitional Justice and Realization of Democracy” (2010). Dr. Han served the Korean government as an investigator of the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths from 2003 to 2004. He also directed the investigation of civilian massacres during the Korean War while working for

the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea (TRCK) from 2006 to 2010. His upcoming publication, Korean War and Gross Violation of Human Rights (working title), will be released in February, 2014.

Minouk Lim, born in Daejeon, Korea in 1968, currently lives and works in Seoul, Korea. She received her Felicitation DNSAP from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 1994. In addition to her first solo exhibition at Art Sonje Center in 2008, her solo shows include Minouk Lim: Heat of Shadows (2012) at Walker Art Center, Perspective at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, and Minouk Lim: Liquide Commune at PKM Gallery. Lim also did various performances such as S.O.S. – Adoptive Dissensus for Festival BOM. Her works have been widely presented in group exhibitions, such as Oh, My Complex (2012) at Wuttembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Morality – Remembering Humanity (2010) at Witte de With, and Your Bright Future_12 Contemporary Artists from Korea (2009-2010) at LACMA.

The REAL DMZ PROJECT is a contemporary art project that examines significances and issues related to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) and the border area. It took shape as an exhibition in 2012 by engaging a number of sites that are part of the so-called “Cheorwon Security Tour Course.” Focusing on the keyword “borderline,” the REAL DMZ PROJECT 2013 presented two exhibitions in both Cheorwon and Seoul and held a monthly humanities forum series on the DMZ. The REAL DMZ PROJECT encourages the audience to approach the historical and geopolitical situations of the areas adjacent to the DMZ from the perspective of art, humanities, and social science. www.realdmz.org ((http://www.realdmz.org)