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The 42nd IVSA Conference in 2025 will be set against the vibrant backdrop of Suwon, South Korea. The conference will be hosted at Ajou University, a premier institution renowned for its commitment to academic excellence and innovative research. From June 25-28, 2025, scholars, practitioners, and enthusiasts of visual sociology will converge for an unparalleled opportunity to explore the latest advancements in the field, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and collaborate with peers from around the globe.
The 42nd IVSA Conference in 2025 will be set against the vibrant backdrop of Suwon, South Korea. The conference will be hosted at Ajou University, a premier institution renowned for its commitment to academic excellence and innovative research. From June 25-28, 2025, scholars, practitioners, and enthusiasts of visual sociology will converge for an unparalleled opportunity to explore the latest advancements in the field, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and collaborate with peers from around the globe.
The 2025 Conference especially sheds light on the following dynamics of visual scholarship in three aspects:
The 2025 Conference especially sheds light on the following dynamics of visual scholarship in three aspects:
Decentering Power in Visual Studies
In/Visible Asia
Refocusing the Lens of Filmic Sociology – South Korea’s Legacy
The Venue: Suwon
The Venue: Suwon
Ajou University
Ajou University
206 Worldcup-ro, Yeongtong-gu
Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 16499
South Korea
Suwon, located about half an hour’s drive south of Seoul, is an incredibly diverse and stunningly beautiful city. Its cityscape blends sophisticated castle walls, modern minimalist coffeehouses, traditional shaman’s homes, and high-tech research complexes. As a fusion of tradition and cutting-edge technology, Suwon boasts the UNESCO World Heritage site, Hwaseong Fortress, and Samsung’s Digital Valley, both within a 20-minute drive.
Suwon and its neighboring suburban cities in Gyeonggi Province have attracted a significant number of migrant workers from various parts of the world, including China, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Among these cities, Suwon has the most diverse foreign resident population, with residents holding a wide range of visas. As a result, Suwon is home to several migrant communities and is becoming increasingly multiracial, multi-ethnic, and multicultural.
Suwon is also known for its rich history in arts, culture, and education. It is the birthplace of Korea’s first female professional painter and feminist, Na Hye-sŏk (1896–1948), and is home to renowned orchestras, performance troupes, and choirs. The city has a strong passion for education, with several universities and colleges. If you walk through old downtown Suwon, you will encounter a multi-temporal, hybrid urban landscape that is sure to catch your eye.
Media Content on IVSA 2025
Teaser Trailer Video
Teaser Trailer Video
Why South Korea?
What can we expect from the venue as visual scholars and sociologists?
Here is a teaser trailer video that gives a glimpse of South Korea.
IVSA Instagram
IVSA Instagram
Photo: Taryn Elliott
https://www.instagram.com/_ivsa_
TRAVELING TO SOUTH KOREA FOR THE 2025 IVSA CONFERENCE
Thinking about submitting to the #Suwon2025 Call for Papers? To ease any concerns that you may have regarding political and civil unrest at the location of the 2025 IVSA Conference, we'd like to point out the following:
• Traveling to South Korea is safe and has been safe even during the recent peaceful rallies.
• In Suwon specifically, you will hardly encounter such big-sized rallies you might have seen in the media, which are usually the images of Yeouido and Gwanghwamun areas in the center of Seoul.
[...]
• The recent rallies have shown some interesting, positive aspects of Korean young protestors with their colorful and energetic protesting accessories that demonstrated their tastes formed in K-Pop fandom and peer cultures on social media.
[To read more: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEEzDpQiH8l/]
IVSA 2025 Official Posters
IVSA 2025 Official Posters
Curious about the main calligraphy in the poster? Have you ever thought that it could be related to the so-called "chop suey letterform" that has a racist history in the West, especially in North America? Actually, the calligraphy in the poster has been taken from a 19th-century Korean document introducing the English alphabet, and our poster designer did some archival research to generate this one. More discussions will follow via our conference director's blog posting soon.
Trailer for the film @Plenary Panel 1
Trailer for the film @Plenary Panel 1
The Pregnant Tree and the Goblin 임신한 나무와 도깨비 (2019) by KIM Dong-ryung and PARK Kyoung-tae
The longtime duo filmmakers, Kim and Park, made this ethnofiction film after years of an ethnographic relationship with a US military comfort woman, PARK In-sun.
We will show the entire film at a plenary screening session.
Take a peek at the performance of the speakers @Plenary Panel 2
Take a peek at the performance of the speakers @Plenary Panel 2
Bloodless 동두천 (2017) by Gina Kim
The first of the "Comfortless Trilogy" that traced the places of US military comfort women in South Korea's camp towns in 360° virtual reality (VR) film format, including Tearless 소요산 (2021) and Comfortless 아메리칸 타운 (2023).
You will be able to experience the entire trilogy at the conference venue.
Pansori artist AHN Yi-ho performs a PAN-Drama titled "Yard" to illustrate the labor conditions of shipbuilding yards. As a vocalist of traditional Korean music, pansori, he creatively relates sonic elements to other diverse sensory expressions, such as lights and shadows, senses of distance, senses of space, and bodily gestures.
[5'14" - 9'15"]
Media artist Baruch Gottlieb collaborated with Jin Ran Kim for a media facade titled Digital Dancheong at the Suwon Hwaseong Media Art Show 2021. They "implemented the digital Dancheong in a historical narrative projection mapped onto a UNESCO heritage treasure the Suwon Hwaseong fortress gate." (See detailed explanations: https://kimgottlieb.com/)
Opening Keynote Speaker's Interview
Opening Keynote Speaker's Interview
The opening keynote speaker, CHO Uhn, discussed her ethnographic film essay, Daldongne 33 UP 사당동 더하기 33, in a featured interview for the 21st Jeonju International Film Festival. The video is in Korean, but you can use YouTube's auto-translate caption function.
We will show the entire film at the opening ceremony of the conference.
Closing Keynote Speaker's Lecture
Closing Keynote Speaker's Lecture
The closing keynote and the Golding Address speaker, Graeme Gilloch, gave a lecture titled "Haunts: A Eulogy to Phantasmagoria" at the Architecture, Phantasmagoria, and the Culture of Contemporary Capitalism Symposium in March 2017.
View more information about the local organizer for IVSA 2025
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