[Deadline Extended] Call for Papers: International Conference on Semiosis of Koreanness and Beyond

International Conference on

Semiosis of Koreanness and Beyond: Language, Culture, and Identity

November 7, 2026

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Korea

The Semiosis Research Center and the Language Research Institute at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies are pleased to announce the international conference “Semiosis of Koreanness and Beyond: Language, Culture, and Identity.”

This conference brings together scholars from linguistics, semiotics, discourse studies, anthropology, literary studies, media studies, and related disciplines to explore how identities are semiotically constructed, negotiated, and transformed across diverse social and cultural contexts.

While the conference takes Koreanness as an important point of departure, the term “Beyond” signals a broader intellectual commitment. We aim to move beyond essentialist and nation-bound conceptions of identity and to investigate the dynamic semiotic processes through which identities are formed, indexed, performed, and reconfigured in linguistic and cultural practice. Koreanness serves not as a fixed object of study but as an analytical lens through which broader processes of identity construction may be examined.

We welcome comparative and cross-cultural perspectives that examine how identities—national, cultural, transnational, digital, or diasporic—are semiotically produced and negotiated both within and beyond Korea.

Suggested Themes (including but not limited to)
  • Linguistic and semiotic constructions of Koreanness in discourse, interaction, literature, and media
  • Stance, indexicality, and the performance of identity
  • Semiotic theory and cross-cultural meaning-making
  • Literary representations of nationhood, memory, and belonging
  • Ethnographic and anthropological approaches to identity and community
  • Language ideologies and cultural practices
  • Multimodality, digital communication, and identity construction
  • Comparative and cross-cultural perspectives on cultural and national identity
  • Identity beyond the nation-state: transnational, diasporic, and hybrid formations
Invited Speakers
  • Lucien Brown (Monash University, Australia)
  • Seongha Rhee (Mahidol University, Thailand)
  • Hongbing Yu (Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada)
Instructions for Abstract Submission

We invite submissions of abstracts (maximum 300 words in length) for one of the following two categories:

  • Oral presentations (20-minute presentation + 5-minute discussion)
  • Posters (for a dedicated poster session)

Abstracts should be written in English or Korean (An abstract written in Korean should include an English abstract).

The abstract must be submitted electronically, using the electronic submission website accessible from: https://forms.gle/cUpYcJCqtMWxdFRWA

Submissions are limited to one individual and one joint abstract per author, or two joint abstracts per author.

Important Dates
  • Abstract submission deadline: July 15, 2026
  • Notification of acceptance: July 30, 2026
  • Registration deadline: October 1, 2026
  • Conference date: November 7, 2026
Contact Information