Incheon National University Academy of Chinese Studies Poster for “The China We Need to Understand, The China We Misunderstand”

The Academy of Chinese Studies (Director: Jeong-a Jang, Professor at Incheon National University) and the Association for Contemporary Chinese Studies (President: Chi-young Ahn, Professor at Incheon National University) will hold the 2026 Spring Joint Academic Conference on May 15 at the College of Humanities on the Songdo Campus of Incheon National University under the theme, “The China We Need to Understand, The China We Misunderstand.”

The conference is jointly organized with the Global China Research Institute of Pukyong National University and the China Research Center of Seoul National University, with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Education.

Amid intensifying U.S.–China competition and structural changes under the Xi Jinping administration, fragmented information and distorted perceptions about China have increasingly spread. This joint academic conference was planned to promote a more objective and balanced understanding of China while academically examining rapidly changing developments in East Asia.

The conference will consist of a keynote session and five thematic sessions, including:

△ Analysis of China’s 15.5 Five-Year Plan

△ Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Cultural Revolution

△ Memory, Narrative, and Practice Among East Asian Youth

△ Open-call research presentations

The keynote session will feature presentations by In-gap Jeon (Sogang University), Young-nam Cho (Seoul National University), Man-soo Ji (Korea Institute of Finance), and Ja-sun Koo (Incheon National University), who will provide multidimensional analyses of China’s evolving domestic and foreign policies as well as the changing security landscape of East Asia.

The joint conference involving four institutions is expected to bring together experts across politics, economics, society, and culture to discuss the future direction of practical China studies amid a changing international order. The Academy of Chinese Studies at Incheon National University also plans to use this conference as an opportunity to strengthen collaborative networks among major academic societies and research institutions while enhancing policy capabilities that can contribute to strategic external policymaking.