Elisabeth Chabanol

Élisabeth Chabanol directs a programme on the history, art history and archaeology of the Kaesong site in the DPRK, capital of the Koryô Kingdom (918-1392) and early Chosôn, as part of a scientific cooperation initiative launched in 2003 with the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (NAPCH) North Korea.

This program focuses on two areas of research. The first concerns the process of heritage preservation at the Kaesong site, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013. Using archives scattered throughout Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and the United States, as well as surveys conducted on the site, É. Chabanol studies the history of archaeological excavations and museum institutions in Kaesong and analyses the process of ‘heritage designation’ for the site.

The second component consists of the ‘Archaeological Mission in Kaesong,’ created in 2011 under the auspices of the Advisory Committee for Archaeological Research Abroad and directed by É. Chabanol. The historical and urban issues relate to the walls of the city of Kaesong, a major reference point for understanding the evolution of urban history on the peninsula. The research focuses on the wall structures, with two main areas of investigation: a descriptive inventory of the five remaining walls and the excavation of significant elements of the fortress. This inventory provides the necessary reference point for developing an overview of the city’s boundaries and their evolution, as well as establishing a constructive typology and chronology of the walled enclosure system, supplemented by a study of the royal tombs of Koryo. Two tombs, located south of the outer fortress near Konam Gate, have been selected for excavation. This work is being continued in South Korea with the study of the site of the temporary capital of Koryô during its transfer from Kaesong to Kanghwa Island and the fortified sites established by the Sambyôlch’o, who resisted the Mongol invasions.

É. Chabanol also directs a programme of studies on Franco-Korean cultural relations since 1886. Her personal research focuses on the study of Korean ceramics preserved in French collections.

• 1984, former student, École du Louvre, specialising in “Far Eastern Arts”
• 1985, Certificate in Museology, École du Louvre
• 1988, Master’s Degree in Art and Archaeology, Paris-Sorbonne University
• 1990, DEA (Postgraduate Diploma) in History of Religions and Religious Anthropology, Paris-Sorbonne University
• 1998, Doctorate under the new system in Art History, Paris-Sorbonne University

• Researcher, 2001 to 2004
• Head of the Seoul Centre, since 2002
• Senior Lecturer, since 2004

• Visiting Professor, Chungnam National University, then Hannam University, Daejeon, South Korea, 1986 to 1996
• Researcher, Gyeongju National Museum, South Korea, 1997 to 1998
• Culture editor, Korea Herald, South Korea, 1998 to 2001
• Lecturer, Department of Interpreting, Ewha Women’s University, South Korea, 1998 to 2001
• Director of the Archaeological Mission in Kaesong, MEAE, since 2011

• Oriane Durand-Poussin, Funeral systems in the royal tombs of Koryô (918-1398): before and after the Mongol invasions, thesis supervised by Jean-Sébastien Cluzel and Élisabeth Chabanol. Doctorate from Sorbonne University, commenced in 2025.

• France-Korea Cultural Award, Embassy of South Korea in France (2006)
• Knight of the National Order of Merit (2009)
• Honorary Citizen of the City of Seoul (2016)

Translated with DeepL.com