Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts is pleased announce its 2024 Korean Asian Studies International Conference on Confucian Humanism: Korean, Comparative, Contemporary, and Interdisciplinary Perspectives,”  June 27–28 (Thursday and Friday), SDU Main Building, Faculty Lounge, UPEI.

2024 Korean Asian Studies International Conference | University of Prince Edward Island (upei.ca)

The conference is hosted by UPEI, funded by its international Korean Studies Lab Program project, and organized by UPEI’s Asian Studies and Korean Studies in consultation with the North American Korean Philosophy Association, American Philosophical Association (APA), American Academy of Religion (AAR).

The conference will open on Thursday, June 27 with a morning reception at 9:00 am and the opening ceremony from 9:15 to 9:35.  The opening ceremony includes an opening musical performance (two popular traditional Korean folk songs) by Dr. Sung-Ha Shin-Bouey, Music, UPEI; a welcome and opening address by Dr. Marva Sweeney-Nixon, Associate Vice-President Research, UPEI; a congratulatory message by Director of Korean Studies Promotion Service (KSPS), the Academy of Korean Studies, Korea; and then a thank-you address by Dr. Sharon Myers, Dean of Arts, UPEI.

From 9:35 to 10:25, Dr. Philip J. Ivanhoe, Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., will give the keynote speech, titled “Chinese and Korean Neo-Confucian Views on Not Transferring One’s Anger.”

This international conference features six fascinating panels with eighteen prominent and established scholars from Canada, USA, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Europe who will present and discuss their scholarly papers.

Thursday, June 27:

PANEL 1 (10:35 am–12:10 pm):  Korean Confucian Humanism 1: Metaphysical and Ethical Perspectives and  Practical Implications  (3 presenters from USA and Korea)

PANEL 2 (1:40–3:15 pm): Korean Confucian Humanism 2: Moral Practice and Confucian Influence on Buddhist Thought and K. Alphabet  (3 presenters from USA, Korea, and the Netherlands)

PANEL 3 (3:30–5:05 pm): Confucian Ideas, Virtue Politics, Ethics of AI, and Critique of Racism

(Three presenters from USA and Republic of China (Taiwan) (Three presenters from USA and Taiwan)

Friday, June 28:

Reception with refreshments (9:00–9:15 am)

Keynote Speech 2 (9:20–10:00 am): “Mencius and Confucian Humanism: Korean and Global Perspectives” by Chun-chieh Huang, Distinguished Chair and formerly the Dean (2008–2017) of  Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan)

PANEL 4 (10:00–11:35 am): Korean Confucian Ethics: Humanistic, Comparative, and Contemporary Perspectives (3 presenters from Canada and Korea)

PANEL 5 (11:45 am–12:20 pm): Korean Confucian Humanism, Feminine Ideal, and Feminist erspective  (one presenter from China)

PANEL 6 (1:30–2:35 pm): Korean Buddhism and Christianity and Western Thought in Interaction with Confucian Humanism (3 presenters from USA and Korea)

Everyone is invited. 

For more details on all aspects of this conference, visit

2024 Korean Asian Studies International Conference | University of Prince Edward Island (upei.ca)

For further information, contact Jill Blaquiere (Administrative Assistant of Asian Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Religious Studies, and DSJS), SDU Main building 512 jnblaquiere@upei.ca  902-566-0331 or Dr. Edward Chung, Asian Studies and Korean Studies Project Director, SDU Main 413, chung@upei.ca, 902-566-0324.

Special acknowledgment: 

This conference is supported by UPEI’s international Lab Program for Korean Studies grant (AKS-2022-LAB-2230002) through the Ministry of Education, Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service (KSPS), the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS).