Professor Choi Woo-Ik Delivers Lecture at 2025 “Guibigo Mythology Academy” Hosted by Pohang Cultural Foundation

Professor Choi Woo-Ik, Director of the Institute (hereafter “the Institute”), delivered a lecture on the evening of December 4 at 7 p.m. as part of the “2025 Guibigo Mythology Academy: Mythology of Providence” organized by the Pohang Cultural Foundation. The academy is a humanities education program that begins with the myth of the Great Goddess (Taemo), who governs cosmic providence, and expands its perspective to global mythologies connected through the medium of the sea.

The program ran from November 12 to December 4 and consisted of two overarching themes—“The Great Goddess of Providence (Taemo)” and “The Sea of Providence”—with four sessions dedicated to each topic. Professor Choi delivered the fourth and final lecture in the “Sea of Providence” series, titled “Polar Mythologies and the Northern Sea Route.” His talk examined Russia’s development of the Northern Sea Route as well as the lives and future of Arctic Indigenous peoples.

Professor Choi highlighted that while the Northern Sea Route offers strategic and economic opportunities as a new maritime corridor, it is also a region long inhabited by Indigenous communities. He emphasized the importance of ensuring sustainable development through global cooperation so that the livelihoods of these longstanding communities are respected and protected.