When I was invited to give a talk at a physics workshop in Okinawa in late November 2023, I immediately thought about flying through Seoul for my first visit to South Korea. I only had three days on the ground there but I hit as many museums as I could. I originally thought my goal should be to get a better sense for traditional Korean material culture, but I also found the museums a great way to quickly take in some history. It was really interesting to learn something about the Joseon Kingdom and its demise intersecting with the advent of Japanese militarism.

I arrived thinking about gold-ink calligraphy on indigo paper and the Battle of Baekgang; I left thinking about Joseon seals, Tongsinsa, Tsushima, neo-Confucianism, and the assassination of Empress Myeongseong …