Lecture series to foster cultural understanding

YEOL, a non-profit organization formed to promote and preserve Korea’s cultural heritage, is holding its third annual series of lectures in cooperation with the Seoul Museum of History for foreigners and locals who want to learn more about Korean culture. This year’s talks will focus on Buddhism and Confucianism.
Six lectures will take place, on the first Tuesday of the month from March to May and October to December, at the museum in Jongno, central Seoul. All lectures are in English.
The first series of lectures, which begins on Tuesday, will focus on Korean Buddhism, and Buddhist sculpture and paintings in Korea. From October to December, Confucianism will be the subject, including the origins of Korean Confucianism in China, and Confucianism depicted in late Joseon Dynasty paintings.
At the end of the series, a workshop on Korean paintings and a field trip to a Buddhist temple are scheduled. Participants will learn the basics of traditional painting, and have an opportunity to view a temple compound, the arrangement of its buildings and the hierarchies of space based on Buddhist doctrine.
Speakers include Seoul National University professors Cho Eun-su, Rhi Ju-hyung and Chung Hyung-min, Louis Morrison of Dongguk University and Lew Young-ick of Yonsei University.

by Choi Sun-young

The fee is 30,000 won ($30). Applications are due by Sunday. For information, visit www.yeol.org, or www.museum.seoul.kr.