On 20 April 2016, under the sponsorship of One Asia Foundation, Dr Bai Genxeng（ 拜根兴）,  a celebrated epigraphist in China and Professor of Shaanxi Normal University, held a seminar on Existing Epigraphs in Korean Peninsula and Ancient Sino-Korean Relations at IEAS. 

Professor Bai Genxeng's main scholarly interest is in documentary history and epigraphy. In the process of conducting his original research on Korean epigraphs , Professor Bai had visited various regions in Korea for his fieldwork. Regarding the epigraphs currently preserved in Korea, he used seventh century as a watershed for dividing the historical period into ancient and medieval Chosen.

As epigraphy is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing, Professor Bai has to identify the historical significance of each epigraph as an original historical data and decipher ancient Hangul, which is composed of graphemes of characters in Korean palaeography. The academic wealth of original Korean epigraphs, together with formally recorded history, has helped Professor Bai reconstruct the authentic picture of ancient Sino-Korean relations - one that, while an impressive academic research topic, is still fuzzy in many aspects today. With Professor Bai’s research on the chronology and political implications of these epigraphs, integration of old and new historical evidence becomes possible, thereby leading to a through re-investigation of many historical questions and new discoveries in ancient Sino-Korean relations.