From February 8 to April 19, the East Asian Studies Department held a seminar, in 5 sessions, that provided a critical approach to the main studies on slavery in the Joseon dynasty, along with a review of the documentary typology used in the different studies.

This seminar aimed to introduced participants to the fundamental literature on slavery in Korea during the transitional period between the Joseon dynasty and the 20^th century, but it was necessary to include the previous periods for understanding the evolution of this institution in Korean society and culture.

Principal Investigators (PIs): Dr. Luis A. Botella, Dr. Antonio J. Doménech and Dr. Aurelia Martín Casares.

Sessions:

• Introductory session (8th February): Slavery in Korea, introduction and key debates.
• Session 1 (22th February): Slavery, society and economy. The social structure in Joseon and the place of nobi in the society and economy. Social censuses of the Joseon dynasty and Reconstruction of slave markets in perspective.
• Session 3 (5^th April): Liberation attempts and abolitionist discourses in Joseon: from ideas to emotions. Commemorations, emancipations and political discourses.
• Session 4 (19^th April): The daily life of slaves and cultural discourses about them. It was discussed some cases of slaves who wrote and mainly the diaries of yangban lords, along with court documents as sources to approach this reality.