As a leading center for Korean Studies, KSI annually hosts an interdisciplinary research conference named New Directions in Korean Studies. The mission of the New Directions program is to support and advance Korean Studies both within and beyond North America by organizing a highly visible, field-defining event. The program’s outcomes include promoting interdisciplinary research, expanding professional development and networking opportunities for scholars, and elevating the profile of Korean Studies on both national and international stages.
Reimagining Feminist Korean Studies Workshop
April 24, 2026
Ahn Family House
We hosted this one-day workshop to bring together emerging scholars and established voices to reimagine the epistemic foundations of Korean Studies through feminist, queer, indigenous, decolonial, and transnational frameworks. Responding to the rise of right-wing authoritarianism, intensified anti-feminist backlash in South Korea, and the persistent marginalization of feminist discourse in Anglophone Korean Studies, the workshop created space for collaborative dialogue and methodological innovation.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Feminist Research, the East Asian Studies Center, the Center for Transpacific Studies and the USC Libraries Korean Heritage Library.
KF-USC Korean Studies Forum
USC KSI hosted an annual all-day regional forum that presented the current trends of the field of Korean studies on Thursday, October 16. A select multidisciplinary group of leading scholars from the universities in the Southern California region came to discuss their research agendas. The event is sponsored by the Korea Foundation. See the full program and participants’ bios. KSI also hosted the 2025 Korea Foundation Fellows Mentoring Workshop on October 17.
