Elisabeth Chabanol

Élisabeth Chabanol directs a program on the history, art history, and archaeology of the Kaesong site in the DPRK, capital of the Koryo Kingdom (918-1392) and early Choson, as part of a scientific cooperation initiative launched in 2003 with the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (NAPCH) in North Korea. 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 analyzes the process of “heritage designation” for the site.

The second component consists of the “Kaesong Archaeological Mission,” created in 2011 under the auspices of the Advisory Committee for Archaeological Research Abroad and directed by É. Chabanol. Historical and urban issues concern the ramparts of the city of Kaesong, a major reference point for understanding the evolution of the peninsula’s urban history. Research focuses on the wall systems, with two main areas of focus: a descriptive inventory of the five remaining walls and the excavation of significant elements of the fortress. This inventory provides the necessary reference points for establishing an overview of the city’s boundaries and their evolution, as well as for establishing a constructive typology and chronology of the rampart systems, supplemented by a study of the royal tombs of Koryo. Two tombs, located south of the outer fortress near the Konam Gate, were selected for excavation. This work is continuing in South Korea with the study of the site of the temporary capital of Koryo 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 program of study on Franco-Korean cultural relations since 1886. His personal research focuses on the study of Korean ceramics preserved in French collections.

• 1984, alumna, École du Louvre, specializing 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 Center, since 2002
• 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, started 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