This was the March 2026 session of the Korea Peace Study Group, which occurs virtually, on the second Friday evening of the month, USA time.
Merose Hwang led discussion on some of her past research, including a 2020 article entitled, “Ritual Specialists in Colonial Drag: Shamanic Interventions in 1920s Korea.” [As a disclaimer, this article was published as part of a larger project (Queer Korea) that Merose has dissociated herself from because of ethical violations that some scholars committed against LGBTQ interviewees on the project. She shared her article with us, but she does not promote the book where it was originally published.]
The second article was Merose’s latest work from a 2025 edited volume, entitled, “New Mourning Spaces: Historical Reflections on Recent Youth Deaths in South Korea”.
Merose sent ahead the following questions to consider:
“I employ José Esteban Muñoz’s concept of “disidentification” in my ‘Colonial Drag’ article. We could start there to talk about these two different manuscripts:
- Why should we problematize the polarity between empire and nation?
- How does South Korea’s post-1945 period mirror the Japanese colonial period?
- In what ways do subjects in both manuscripts present a “queer futurity” as forms of liberation?
- How might a-politicized communities like the Spirit Worshippers Guild and Itaewon clubbers be displaying everyday forms of resistance?
- What is the relationship between losing a child or classmate, losing a stranger and losing a country?
- Korean shamanic rituals offer a space to interact with the ghosts of the wrongfully killed. How is that a form of grief therapy?
- I’m involved in a GIS project right now so this is one of those questions: can we locate any meta and micro geopolitical patterns of disenfranchisement between the Korean colony, Ansan, and Seoul’s Itaewon?
- What extra-judicial reasons might there be for victim communities in Korea to remain hidden or silent?”
United States’ citizens can urge their government to end the Korean War and return sovereignty to the Korean people. One way to do this is by supporting the “Peace on the Korean Peninsula” bill in Congress (H.R. 1841). Contact your member of Congress today about the Peace on the Korean Peninsula bill HERE.
PAST KOREA PEACE STUDY GROUP VIDEOS
Donroe Doctrine: Pivot to the Americas?
In the February 2026 session of Korea Peace Study Group, learn about the US’ new National Security Strategy and its implications for our unended work for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Join us in 2026 for Korea peace studies?
Would you join us for Korea peace studies in 2026? You could choose an interesting book to read with friends – OR, review original sources and literature to build out a presentation on any topic related to Korea peace.
Dangerous Women: Gender & Korean Nationalism, part 2
In the December 2025 session of the Korea Peace Study Group, j. eunsun and June Nho Ivers presented on a book titled Dangerous Women: Gender & Korean Nationalism, edited by Elaine H. Kim and Chungmoo Choi. Watch the recording here.
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Seeds Will Grow 
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