INCHEON — A humanities lecture series will examine Korea's changing eras and art history through the dabang, the coffee house that once served as a center of daily life and youth culture in modern Korea.
The Incheon Urban History Museum will run "2026 City Academy," a general-interest course for adults, from Nov. 6 to 25. Held under the theme "Dabang: Capturing an Era, Connecting Art," the series will take place in four sessions in the third-floor auditorium of the museum, each running from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. weekly.
Experts from history, film, architecture and the arts will lead the lectures, approaching the humanistic significance of the dabang from multiple angles.
The opening lecture on Nov. 6 will be given by Lee Gil-sang, honorary professor at the Academy of Korean Studies, on the theme "A Cup of Coffee, the Age of the Dabang." The talk will trace the cultural history from the arrival of coffee in Korea to music cafes and modern coffee shops. On Nov. 13, Moon Kwan-kyu, a professor at Pusan National University, will analyze depictions of dabang and youth culture in Korean cinema.
In the third session on Nov. 18, Hong Yoon-ju, director of the Life Architecture Research Institute, will examine how interior design in dabang — furniture, lighting and signage — changed over time. On the final day, Nov. 25, Kim Yoon-shik, former chief executive of the Incheon Foundation for Arts and Culture, will recount exchanges among artists and the region's cultural history, centering on Eunseong Dabang, an Incheon landmark that served as a hangout for local writers and artists.
The lectures are free of charge and open to any adult living in Incheon. Registration opens at 10 a.m. on the 20th through the Incheon Metropolitan Government's online integrated reservation website, with 80 spots available on a first-come, first-served basis. Details on the schedule and registration are available from the Incheon Urban History Museum.