KSAA Second Keynote Speech

Visibility and Academic Impact of Korean Studies in the Global Academic Community

Do Hyun Han, Academy of Korean Studies

Korean Studies has grown substantially during the last several decades. For example, about two weeks ago I was at the biennial conference of the Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE), which was held in Leiden, the Netherlands, from 18 to 21 June. At this AKSE Conference, about 150 papers were presented. At the annual meetings of the Association of Asian Studies (AAS) in the USA, the number of papers presented on Korea also has substantially increased. There has also been an increasing number of participants at these events.

Despite this promising growth, Korean Studies has a long way to go to enhance its visibility and impact among the global academic community. Up to now, the Korea Foundation has done an excellent job establishing Korean Studies professors and chairs at distinguished international universities. Such efforts are the most important driver in developing and growing Korean Studies worldwide. Other programs supporting scholars, graduate students, conferences, and small research have been supported by the Korea Foundation and Center for Information on Korean Culture in the Academy of Korean Studies.

These efforts are invaluable for the continuing development of Korean Studies. They, however, must be supplemented. In 2006, the Academy of Korean Studies introduced state-sponsored scholarship programs and the program of Korean Studies Institution Grants (KSIG) to improve Korean Studies abroad. Currently, 14 universities worldwide have received KSIG grants, and this number will increase over the next few years. For state-sponsored scholarships, recipients receive monthly stipends and tuition when they are admitted to the Graduate School of Korean Studies in the Academy of Korean Studies. In 2007, the Academy of Korean Studies launched a new initiative, the Strategic Initiative for Korean Studies (SIKS).

SIKS aims to improve the visibility and impact of Korean Studies among the global academic community. As a result, SIKS has committed to long-term and stable support of recipients for periods ranging from three years to a maximum of ten years. SIKS will welcome comparative studies and participation from European Studies, Asian Studies including Chinese, Japanese, Indian Studies, etc. if their participation enhances the visibility and academic impact of Korean Studies among the global academic community. SIKS is open to both scholars in Korea and abroad. In the past, scholars in Korea and abroad did not compete for the same grants. SIKS changed this practice by introducing global competition. Selected scholars in Korea and abroad by global competition have participated in such projects as the Modern Korea Project, the Korean Classic Library Project, the Asia and the Korean Wave Project, the Curriculum and Teaching Materials Development for Global Korean Studies, and the Oral History on Modern Korea Project.

As we see from Professor Buswell’s academic scope and efforts, Korean studies may be linked to East Asian Studies and India Studies. Professor Buswell is the President 11 of AAS as well as a distinguished professor of Korean Buddhism at UCLA. Recently Professor Buswell became the Director of the Academy of Buddhist Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. SIKS greatly values his contribution to the international growth of Korean Studies. In May 2007, when the SIKS was established, its annual budget was about 3.4 million USD. In 2009, its annual budget is more than ten million USD. We are negotiating with the Korean Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology to set the annual budget for 2010, which will be finally decided by the National Assembly in December 2009. We are hopeful that the 2010 annual budget of the SIKS will be increased substantially.

SIKS wants to be different from traditional funding agencies such as the Korea Foundation and the Center for Information on Korean Culture in the Academy of Korean Studies. Since November 2008, with the support of scholars in Korea and abroad, SIKS has worked to get new funding for a Program for Global Korean Studies Labs, which aims to substantially improve the global academic impact and visibility of Korean Studies. Labs will be small research units under the strong academic leadership of a director who has an excellent publication record in major journals or distinguished academic presses. These labs will support the publication of academically distinguished papers in top journals or distinguished academic presses. SIKS will support a lab for maximum of ten years, depending on annual reviews. Financial support for one lab will range from 150,000 to 400,000 USD annually, depending on the research type and budget requirements. This new innovative program is open both to scholars in Korea and abroad.

Recipients will be selected through a global competition. SIKS will hopefully launch either on a small or large scale in 2010.

To sum up, SIKS is looking for additional programs or initiatives to improve the visibility and impact of Korean Studies among the global academic community, and is especially interested in programs that can be integrated or linked to other advanced area studies through comparative research in various disciplinary areas. I would appreciate your ideas in developing Korean Studies overseas. Thank you for your support and we will keep you informed.