Portrait of East Asia and Monogatari was the theme of the annual International Symposium on Image Portrayal  held at Ulsan University , Korea from 30 November 2017 to 3 December 2017. It was co-organized by the Japanese Department of Ulsan University, IEAS of Zhejiang Gongshang University and the Institute for Japanese Religions and Cultural History of Waseda University. The symposium was first held in 2006. This year is the thirteenth.   

Scholars from these three institutions made visual and oral presentation, with IEAS students working collaboratively to present their research findings. The symposium was a huge success. The following keynote presentations were made:
Professor NO Sung Hwan of Japanese Department, Ulsan University (The unknown history of Korean pottery craftsman settled in Satsuma )
Professor YOSHIHARA Hiroto of Waseda University (Legend of  Griddhakuta Hill )
Dean WANG Yong of IEAS ( Analysis of diplomatic relations through the bitan records in the Wanli Korean Campaign ) 
Two IEAS students presented their papers on premium Chinese ink stick for calligraphy and brush painting in Japan , and Zhu Shunshui's wine cultural exchange with Japanese literati. Students from Pukyong National University in Korea and Otemae University in Japan also attended and actively participated in discussion. 

The aim of this annual symposium is to give insights into the changing boundaries and concepts of East Asian studies as seen by contemporary scholars and research students of China, Japan and Korea. In particular, the symposium organizer hopes to reconstruct an overall East Asian image portrayal and make a positive impact on East Asian studies. This symposium examined image portrayal as tools for historical research on reconstructing past landscapes of East Asian culture.