SOAS Lecture: Ancient Korean Culture & Architecture

About this event

You Hong-june, Director of the National Museum of Korea, delivers a lunchtime lecture at SOAS on 1 October 2026 (12-1pm) surveying ancient Korean culture and architecture from the prehistoric and Three Kingdoms periods (Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla, Gaya) through Korean Buddhist art and architecture, including Seokguram Grotto, Bulguksa Temple and stone pagodas. The talk covers material culture such as tomb murals, pottery, gold crowns and Buddhist reliquaries, and examines the aesthetic principles - described as "humble yet dignified, splendid yet not extravagant" - underlying Korean architecture's relationship to its natural setting.

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