Yellow Sea Studies: Toward a cross-cultural and transboundary approach

Abstract

This introductory essay for the special issue “Yellow Sea” proposes the establishment of Yellow Sea Studies as a collaborative and interdisciplinary field of research in the humanities and social sciences that explores the interactions and entanglements of things, bodies, ideas, knowledges, and practices about the sea and via the sea. Due to geopolitical tensions, the Yellow Sea has received little attention as a shared body of water, while the unruly movements of non-humans and humans crossing the borders of China, North Korea, and South Korea increasingly demand integrative approaches to understanding them. Amid such circumstances, we imagine the Yellow Sea as a maritime region. By recovering the rich histories of cultural formations, exchanges, and transformations and by unpacking the evolving dynamics of more-than-human geographies, we envision Yellow Sea Studies fostering regionwide conversations transcending the conventional scales of the state or the nation. These endeavours, we believe, can help make the Yellow Sea a fertile space where mutual understanding, sustainability, and peace are promoted.