Abstract

This article is based on a lively scholarly discussion that sought to expand the scope of Korean Studies, traditionally centered on the humanities and social sciences, to include modern and contemporary history of science and technology while also exploring the possibilities for organic connections among these disciplines. Recent studies in the history of science and technology studies have moved beyond Western-centered narratives of “universal science” and Nobel Prize-oriented heroic accounts, focusing instead on how knowledge and practice are co-produced within specific historical and social contexts. Against this backdrop, the roundtable proposed a redefinition of Korean Studies not merely as a “case” illustrating universal theories but as “Korean Studies as a task”—aimed at addressing the distinctive issues confronting Korean society. In particular, the discussion sought to decenter Korean Studies by tracing the continuity and transnational circulation of knowledge from the perspectives of trans-Asia and transwar history, rather than limiting the identity of “Korean science” to ethnic subjects or the geographical boundaries of the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, the participants critically examined how the rigid disciplinary division between the humanities and the sciences in Korean academia has constrained the expansion of Korean Studies. The discussion also emphasized that “audience-oriented” research integrating scientific and technological expertise with humanistic reflection can provide an essential foundation for addressing contemporary challenges such as the Anthropocene and the age of artificial intelligence. In conclusion, the incorporation of the modern and contemporary history of science and technology into Korean Studies suggests not only a reconstruction of disciplinary boundaries but also an intellectual practice that rearticulates narratives of “the Korean” within broader and more global contexts.