Hello,
Seoul National University’s Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies, in collaboration with the BK21 Education Research Group in Anthropology, will host its first colloquium of the first semester of 2025. This presentation will be delivered by Professor Kwan-Wook Kim from the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Duksung Women’s University on the topic: “Rediscovery of Human Labor or New Exploitation? : Anthropological Reflections on Labor After the Introduction of AI.”

The colloquium will take place at Seoul National University’s Asia Center, Room 512 in Building 101, on April 16 (Wednesday) at 4:30 PM and will last for approximately an hour and a half. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

Date: April 16, 2025 (Wednesday), 4:30–6:00 PM

Venue: Medium-sized Seminar Room, Asia Center, Room 512, Building 101, Seoul National University

Lecture: Kwan-Wook Kim, Professor at Duksung Women’s University, Department of Cultural Anthropology

Lecture Summary: Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the world has entered an era of accelerated AI industrialization. South Korea is no exception, with AI technology being rapidly implemented, especially in the financial sector. Customer service centers are at the forefront of this transformation. This presentation will examine the anthropological implications of these technological shifts on human labor, exploring how it is not merely a matter of automation or substitution but a fundamental issue of labor ethics.

The emergence of AI customer service agents has highlighted the emotional and ethical labor capabilities of human customer service agents. Paradoxically, however, this labor has been redefined not as something to be "recognized," but as a new form of "exploitation." Based on field research with customer service agents in the financial sector, this presentation will analyze qualitative changes in service labor after the introduction of AI, the value of human labor revealed within this context, and how this value is commodified.

*The lecture will be conducted in Korean, and light refreshments will be provided.

For inquiries about the colloquium: iccs@snu.ac.kr

Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies
Room 521, Building 220, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul
Email: iccs@snu.ac.kr
Website: iccs.snu.ac.kr