Feminist Politics in Korea & The Korean Diaspora

These conversations with social activists and film makers are a public-facing component of a UCLA undergraduate course. With topics ranging from queer and transgender politics to disability and reproductive justice, from transnational adoption and anti-violence to prison abolition and migrant justice, the conversations emphasizes intersectional feminist praxis and the transformative power of solidarity.

Wednesday, June 2, 2021
3:45 PM - 4:45 PM (Pacific Time)

This event is the very first of a series of public-facing conversations with social justice activists and filmmakers invited to a UCLA undergraduate course (Gender Studies 131, Feminist Politics in Korea and the Korean Diaspora). With topics ranging from queer and transgender politics to reproductive justice, from transnational adoption and anti-violence activism to prison abolition and migrant justice, the conversations emphasize intersectional feminist praxis and the transformative power of solidarity. For more information about the series and other speakers, please visit otherwise.net/feminist.

In solidarity with the call by the Cops off Campus Coalition, and in honor of Abolition May which begins with a call for nationwide day of refusal and work stoppage on May 3, this event has been cancelled.    

Our next conversation is on Wednesday, June 2 with Il Rhan Kim.

To join the talk, please click here. 

Il Rhan Kim is an influential documentary filmmaker and the co-founder of PINKS, an activist documentary collective that centers projects with queer feminist narratives. She directed MAMASANG: REMEMBER ME THIS WAY (2005) about sex work in US military base camp towns and 3xFTM (2008) about three transgender lives in transition. Kim also produced THE TIME PF OUR LIVES (2009) about the out lesbian activist and writer Choi Hyun-suk's campaign for political office and NORA NOH (dir Kim Seong-hee, 2013) about the legendary fashion designer. Kim is perhaps best known for her two films about the 2009 Yongsan tragedy in which five evictees and a police officer were killed during a violent police action. TWO DOORS (두 개의 문, dirs Kim Il-rhan and Hong Ji-you, 2012) painstakingly traces the escalation of events through court recordings, news footage, and eyewitness testimonies. THE REMNANTS (공동정범, dirs Lee Hyuk-sang, 2017) lays bare the heart-rending attempts to heal and reconcile among survivors and protestors including several who served time in prison for their role in the tragedy. The film won the Grand Prize at the Busan Film Critics Awards.  

 Ju Hui Judy Han is a cultural geographer and Assistant Professor in Gender Studies at UCLA, where she teaches classes on gender and sexuality, Korean studies, (im)mobilities, and comics. Her research and publications concern conservative religious formations, queer activism, and protest cultures. Judy grew up in Seoul and has lived and worked in Los Angeles, Berkeley/Oakland, Vancouver, and Toronto.

Sponsor(s): Center for Korean Studies, Department of Gender Studies, Asian American Studies Center, UCLA Center for the Study of WomenGYOPO

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