The Holy City

The Holy City examines the peculiar landscape of Christianity in Korea. It explores how Christianity, introduced into Korean society under the historical conditions of colonialism, national division, modernization, and industrialization, has been reshaped through its entanglement with various historical, political, and social forces and become embedded in the cultural landscape. Focusing particularly on the cross as a cultural artifact, the work traces how this once-foreign religious symbol has taken root in Korean society while gradually drifting away from its religious origins, acquiring new meanings through the diverse desires, ideologies, and practices of society. Christian values such as salvation, faith, and enlightenment have been continually transformed and secularized within the ideologies and aspirations of modern society. These transformations, however, are not a completed historical process but one that continues to unfold in the present. Following moments in which memories and experiences from different eras, religious beliefs, and social desires overlap within a single landscape, the work asks what Christianity means in contemporary Korean society and how it continues to be produced and transformed through people’s lives and memories.