The Establishment of the Concept and the Settlement of Contemporary Archaeology in South Korea

Contemporary Archaeology has become more active globally since the mid 20th century. As of 2010, archeological investigation into contemporary archaeology material culture has rapidly grown in South Korea as well. However, in South Korea, contemporary data that are only under the surface were investigated, and except for Seoul, a very small part of the regions in South Korea was investigated. Under these circumstances, this study was conducted to establish the concept of Contemporary Archeology in accordance with the domestic situation of South Korea and to settle it in the academic world. Subdivisions of Contemporary Archeology include Industrial Archaeology, Digital Archaeology, Media Archaeology, Battlefield Archaeology, Conflict Archaeology, Religious Archaeology, Settlement Archaeology, and so forth. The beginning of Contemporary Archaeology is based on the data formed since the opening of the port in 1876, and its periodization can be set up depending on the historical events or rapid changes in material culture. The spacial scope of Contemporary Archaeology should not be limited to the Korean peninsula, but its surrounding areas should also be reviewed based on the cases related to the Korean peninsula. Contemporary Archaeology significantly differs from other general prehistoric and historical archeology in research methods or research processes. Especially, since the current typology, dating methods, the use of artifacts and remains, and intercultural relations have been the ones typically considered as archeology in most of East Asia, it may not seem like archeology research to research just the other parts of the study than the ones mentioned above. Due to this situation, a clear direction is needed when it comes to Contemporary Archaeology. Some of the suggestions are as follows: (1) research on industrialization process, (2) investigation and research on Japanese Colonial Rule, (3) problems in system improvement, (4) research on investigation methods, (5) approach as to contemporary archeology in religion, battlefield, media, etc. (6) research on exhibition and preservation, and (7) the release of archaeological data for interdisciplinary research. In conclusion, through these attempts, domestic academia of South Korea will be aware of Contemporary Archaeology in a deeper level, and the concept of Contemporary Archaeology will be settled in the domestic academia after the establishment of the concept in Contemporary Archaeology.