Lunch Forum

We would like to invite everyone who is interested to the East Asian Studies Lunch Forum during the summer semester of 2026.

The Lunch Forum will be held in hybrid form on Wednesdays from 12 to 1 pm (sharp). The lectures will take place on the campus of the Ruhr-University in building MB room 3/126 and will also be broadcast via Zoom. To receive a notification with the Zoom access link, please send a short email with the subject 'Anmeldung zum Mittagsforum', the text 'Teilnahme' and your name to ostasienwissenschaftliches-mittagsforum@ruhr-uni-bochum.de. As usual, food and drinks are allowed due to the lunch time.

Join Zoom-Meeting
https://ruhr-uni-bochum.zoom-x.de/j/62345416570?pwd=GvBifWmNOeUUNjcP57PL8EHNfN8QqN.1

Meeting-ID: 623 4541 6570
Passwort: 298162

Lunch Forum programme

29. April

Thomas Kalinowski (Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul): The Political Economy of Korea’s Rise as an Arms Exporter

South Korea’s rapid emergence as a major global arms exporter (often dubbed “K-Defense” in Korea) is the latest success story of Korean industrial development. Korean arms exporters have been able to benefit substantially from the increase in defense spending since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While often framed as a triumph of private-sector competitiveness in a globalized market, this paper argues that the sector’s success can be more persuasively explained as part of a path dependency of the Korean developmental state. This paper situates the South Korean defense industry within broader debates on the evolution of the developmental state (Johnson, Amsden, Evans) and the continuity of the chaebol-state nexus. We contend that the institutional architectures forged during the Heavy and Chemical Industrialization (HCI) drive of the 1970s created institutions and practices that continue to shape industrial strategy today. Specifically, we identify three mechanisms of path dependence that define the K-Defense model, challenging the "disappearance" of the developmental state.

13. Mai

Jongwon Lee (History, Seoul): The Discourse of Ruling with Filial Piety (Hyoch’i) in the Chosŏn Dynasty

This presentation examines the discourse of ruling with filial piety (hyoch’i), in the Chosŏn dynasty. Focusing on the Xiaojing (Hyogyŏng) and the related term hyori, it asks how filial piety was connected to loyalty, rulership, ritual, and dynastic legitimacy. While previous studies have often interpreted hyoch’i as a non-Neo-Confucian discourse aimed at strengthening royal authority, this presentation reconsiders that view. Drawing on official records such as the Annals of the Chosŏn Dynasty and the Sŭngjŏngwŏn ilgi, it shows how hyoch’i was repeatedly reinterpreted within Chosŏn’s Neo-Confucian political and ritual order.

3. Juni

Yun Xie (History, Ghent): Why Chinese Characters? The Materiality of Printed Chinese Script in the Nineteenth-Century Dutch Context

Printing Chinese characters in nineteenth-century Europe was difficult, costly, and technically uncertain, especially when compared with romanization. This presentation situates the materiality of printed Chinese characters within a Dutch setting. Focusing on early Dutch Sinology and Japanology, especially the printed works, practical experiments, and correspondence of Johann Joseph Hoffmann—Leiden’s first titular professor of Japanese and Chinese—and his network, it examines the practical steps through which Chinese characters were made printable in the nineteenth-century Dutch context.  The presentation reconstructs Hoffmann’s view that character printing was necessary across fields that relied on Chinese and Japanese textual sources, from language studies to botanical and ethnographic research. It suggests that this view helped drive his efforts to experiment with different printing techniques, mobilize collaborators, and secure institutional support for Chinese character printing in the Netherlands. The presentation thus treats character printing as part of the making of text-based knowledge about East Asia, rather than as a merely technical matter.

10. Juni

In Young Min (Zentrum für Ostasienwissenschaften, Heidelberg): New Southern Policy vs. Indo-Pacific Strategy: South Korea’s Competing Visions of Regional Order

South Korea’s transition from the Moon Jae-in’s New Southern Policy to Yoon Seok-yeol’s Indo-Pacific Strategy reflects two fundamentally different conceptions of regional order. This paper examines the contrasting regional visions embodied in NSP and IPS, highlighting some fundamental differences—one centered on partnership-based regional engagement and the other grounded in a strategic, value-oriented geopolitical framework. Launched in 2017, the NSP conceptualizes the region primarily through closer ties with ASEAN and India, emphasizing people-centered cooperation, shared prosperity, and non-politicized connectivity. Its vision is fundamentally inclusive and development-oriented, reflecting South Korea’s desire to diversify economic relationships, expand cultural exchange, and mitigate vulnerabilities associated with overdependence on major powers. Security cooperation under the NSP is modest, carefully calibrated to avoid entanglement in great-power rivalry. In contrast, the IPS, introduced in 2022, adopts a much broader and more strategic understanding of the Indo-Pacific as an interconnected maritime and geopolitical space linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It articulates a normative commitment to a rules-based order, freedom of navigation, and universal values. The strategy incorporates stronger security dimensions such as maritime security, cyber resilience, non-proliferation, and defense cooperation. This paper sheds light on the ways in which these competing visions reflect not only divergent strategic imaginations, but also the deeper processes through which a non-great power like South Korea seeks to define its identity amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry and domestic political polarization.

24. Juni

Kevin Bockholt (Geschichte Chinas, Bochum): China’s First Foreign Correspondent: Hu Lin’s Reporting on the Paris Peace Conference in 1919

This paper examines the emergence of journalist Hu Lin 胡霖(1889–1949) as China’s first foreign correspondent at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and investigates the conditions under which he assumed this role and how his reporting contributed to contemporary Chinese coverage of the event. The first section analyzes Hu Lin’s commentary as editor-in-chief of the Tianjin-based daily Dagongbao 大公報(Impartial Daily) from 1916 onward. It demonstrates that his strong commitment to first-hand reporting, his sustained interest in international affairs, and his political connections were key factors in his decision to travel to Europe in 1919. The paper then examines Hu Lin’s activities in Paris, showing how, through direct observation, close interaction with the Chinese delegation, and on-site information gathering, he provided Chinese readers with timely news, detailed reports, and interpretive commentary on the aspects of the negotiations most relevant to China. As the only accredited Chinese journalist at the conference, Hu Lin also served in a representative capacity at the signing ceremony in June 1919 and within the international journalistic community. Moreover, his reporting foregrounded authorial presence, departing from the largely anonymous foreign news commonly supplied to the Chinese press by international news agencies. Hu Lin’s pioneering efforts thus help explain a significant shift in Chinese foreign reporting: from reliance on foreign news agencies to the first-hand observation and interpretation of international events by Chinese correspondents.

1. Juli

Lena Wassermann (Chair for China Bussiness and Economics, Würzburg): Governed by Scores? The Impact of China's Social Credit System on German Firms

China’s Social Credit System has attracted considerable international attention, yet its implications for foreign businesses remain insufficiently understood. In her doctoral research, Lena Wassermann has examined how the Social Credit System has reshaped the institutional environment for German firms operating in China. In her talk New Rules for the Game? The Impact of China’s Social Credit System on German Firms she will discuss  how German companies have responded to these changes. Drawing on a mixed-methods research design combining web-scraped data, interviews with company representatives, and survey evidence, the presentation offers new insights into the impact of the Social Credit System on firms’ transaction costs, compliance strategies, and business operations.

8. Juli 

Jing Hu (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Berlin): Linguistic Landscapes and the Development of Interpreters after the Imjin War

This presentation introduces the impact of the Imjin War on the development of foreign language talent in Chosŏn, with an emphasis on the role of captives. According to scholarly estimates, over one hundred thousand Koreans were abducted and taken to Japan during the war or sold throughout networks in East and Southeast Asia. Although some were able to escape, it was not until 1607, when the Japanese government officially permitted Chosŏn to repatriate them, that some were able to return. Their prolonged stay in Japan enabled these captives to acquire proficiency in the Japanese language. The return of the captives marked a turning point in foreign language education within Chosŏn, which had previously experienced a period of stagnation and talent shortage. Individuals like Kang Usŏng 康遇聖 (1581–?), Yun Taesŏn 尹大銑 (n.d.), and Pak Ŏnhwang 朴彦璜 (1577–?), who had all endured captivity in Japan, filled this gap with their linguistic capabilities. Kang Usŏng, in particular, played a pivotal role in diplomatic interactions between Chosŏn and Japan after the war and became a pioneer in the reform of language training.

22. Juli (in cooperation with AREA RUHR)

Ludovica Fonsato (INEAST, Duisburg-Essen): Rethinking Interdependence: Vulnerability, Agency, and Foreign Brand Responses to Chinese Economic Coercion

            This lecture builds on the traditional theory of complex interdependence, shaped by asymmetric economic interdependence within state-state dynamics, and introduces the concept of “market interdependence,” a new brand-state framework defined by two elements: external vulnerability and internal agency. Applied to foreign brands operating in Mainland China, this framework explains how multinational corporations navigate and respond to China’s coercive episodes. Using an original vulnerability-agency matrix, brands are categorized according to their degree of economic vulnerability as well as brand autonomy and resilience, which in turn dictate their strategic corporate responses during such episodes. Through this framework and case study matrix, attendees will explore the complexity of corporate behavior and decision-making in China, along with implications for international business amid rising geopolitical and supply chain uncertainties.