KoreanLegacy Initiative

Where artistry meets technology.

Won Lee

Hats were once essential components of every Korean's wardrobe. During the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), hats marked the wearer's social status, cultural identity, and more. Today, as popular Korean dramas reach global audiences through streaming services, Korean men’s hats – gats – are receiving new and increased attention. In this in person program, curators and art historians Drs. Jinyoung A. Jin, Jiyeon Kim, and Vicki Sung-yeon Kwon explore the history and diversity of Korean men's hat styles, their interconnection with the social classes, identities, cultures, and masculinities within

In Korean folk culture, people believed that epidemic disease was caused by a visitation of spirits, and they therefore hosted shamanist rituals to appease these guests in the hope that they would leave the household alone. Created to be hung in a shamanistic shrine for a ritual ceremony, this painting shows Korean belief and practice related to epidemic disease during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), when large-scale epidemics of cholera and smallpox frequently broke out.

How can BIPOC immigrants, with histories of colonization in their homelands, and with lived experiences of racism in their new homes, situate themselves within Canadian conversations around decolonization and social justice? In this thought-provoking conversation moderated by ROM curator Vicki Kwon, literature and Korean diaspora studies scholar Christine Kim and visual artist Diana Yoo discuss the nuances of Korean experiences in Canada within the context of national identity and contemporary discussions around Indigenous experiences.