Seoul National University

This course considers the interactive relationship between English literature and popular culture that has developed in a wide range of forms and media such as films, TV shows, performances, graphic novels, music, video games, and the Internet. By reading selected texts from English literature and examining relevant popular culture examples, it investigates the process by which literature and popular culture mutually influence each other.

This course studies important theoretical progresses made in game theory and the asymmetric information theory, and then applies these theories to policy issues including privatization, deregulation, and quasi-market. It includes an introduction of basic concepts and models of game theory and their policy applications. Topics include Nash equilibrium, mixed strategy, subgame perfect Nash equilibrium, perfect Bayesian equilibrium, and principal-agent model.

This course offers a comprehensive survey of psychological research and methodologies, helping students to possess a profound and objective understanding of human behavior.

This course analyzes contemporary Korean politics from the four perspectives: international politics, political economy, political culture and political processes. From the perspective of international politics, it analyzes how Korean politics has been influenced by international politics surrounding the Korean peninsula. From the political economy perspective, the course introduces how Korean politics has influenced our economic development and vice versa. From the perspective of political culture, students learn to compare contemporary Korean culture with traditional political culture to find out what continuities and discontinuities there are between them. From the political process perspective. the course examines characteristics of Korean political process in comparison with other democratic countries.

This course examines the relationship between art and philosophy. Art is the fruit of practical life and the object of philosophical reflection. We gain insight into ourselves and our world through philosophical thought. The course discovers the historical origin and context of the major concepts regarding art, the background and meaning of philosophical discourses around art, and the process of formation and transfiguration of the definition of art and its critical categories.

This seminar provides an overview on the various national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic from public health measures (masking, social distancing, lockdown restrictions, vaccines, medicines) to recurring national and global dilemmas and controversies. 

This course provides students with an understanding of important issues that have shaped contemporary Korean culture and society since the late 20th century. Students examine the country's historical background before attempting to get an overall picture of everyday life in contemporary Korea. The course discusses Korean life as diversely manifest in literature, movies, television, newspapers, magazines, advertising, sports, shopping centers, theme parks, and other forms of popular culture. It emphasizes discovering the ways in which Koreans have responded and adapted to the rapidly changing world. As a part of the course, students visit cultural sites and events relevant to the course content.

Korean sign language is completely different in structure and grammar from the Korean language per se. Korean society is noticeable for linguistic and racial homogeneity, which has led to a low tolerance for the users of foreign languages. Also widespread in Korean society is the pathological approach that recognizes hearing impairment as an abnormal condition requiring medical rehabilitation and normalization. These add to the numerous handicaps and exclusions that the hearing-impaired have to live through in all stages of their life. Learning and sharing sign language is a step towards eliminating the causes of the discrimination and alienation to which the hearing-impaired are exposed. In other words, it helps us better understand the language, lifestyle, and cultures of the specific minority group whose presence in society is otherwise not easily visible. By learning a manual-visual language, students familiar with oral-aural languages obtain a new understanding of human communication systems. They also have an opportunity to appreciate the values and possibilities of Korean sign language by exploring its historical development and methods of word formation, along with diverse subcultures of hearing-impaired communities.

This course enables students to develop nuanced understandings of human/non-human “rights” and how they work, as well as their “responsibilities” as global citizens in their respective societies. It offers interdisciplinary explorations of how rights and responsibilities are relevant in helping to understand and solve some of our contemporary world’s most pressing problems. 

This seminar addresses how specific historical events are commemorated in Southeast Asia and beyond (China, Japan, Korea). Students learn how historical memory is shaped by textbooks, museums, memorial sites, and debated in film, television and other forms of cultural production. This courses offers a n overview of the country's history at the beginning of each session.