The workshop brings together scholars working on modern Korean thinkers from the late nineteenth century to 1945 — a period in which Korean thought responded to colonial rule, religious reform movements and the encounter with European philosophy.

Each contribution presents one representative thinker on the basis of a key primary text in English translation, so that the texts themselves can be read and discussed together.

The guiding question is the concept of “philosophy” itself: how far can the framework of a Western-centred history of philosophy be applied to modern Korean thought, and what has to change when it is?

The workshop is the second event of the Hildesheim “Korean Philosophy Week”, following directly after the 11th Annual Conference of the North American Korean Philosophy Association (5–6 October 2026) at the same university. It is open to conference participants and to colleagues and students from Hildesheim.

Organizers:

• Sool Park (Hildesheim)
• Dobin Choi (Leiden)
• Hyojin Lee Fromell (Ca’ Foscari, Venice)