The Academy of Korean Studies continues to expand Its Support for Overseas Korean Studies program

• ◇ The AKS has carried out its Support for Overseas Korean Studies program every year since 2006.
• ◇ The program has supported over 1,000 research outcomes at 450 institutions in more than 60 countries.
• ◇ AKS President Ahn Byung Woo has reiterated the institution’s commitment to continue expanding the program in order to deepen and broaden Korean Studies abroad.

An increasing number of overseas institutions are undertaking research on Korean culture and history amidst growing popularity of South Korean popular culture led by South Korean shows and films (Squid Game, Parasite, and Minari) and the K-pop band BTS.

This is partly the result of the longstanding efforts by the South Korean government and the private sector, including the AKS, to expand the base for Korean Studies over the past decades.

With a goal to promote the status of Korean Studies both at home and abroad, in 2006 the AKS (President Ahn Byung Woo) launched its Support for Overseas Korean Studies program to encourage Korean Studies scholars in overseas universities and research institutes.

Over the past 16 years, the AKS has invested 24 billion won (about USD 20 million) in the program and obtained more than 1,000 research outcomes from some 450 institutions in over 60 countries.

This year, the AKS received a total of 149 project applications in five areas (academic research, academic conferences, publication of academic journals or monographs, and translation of overseas Korean Studies books) from 116 institutions in 34 countries. Among them, 94 projects were selected and are currently in progress.

An increasing number of overseas institutions are undertaking research on Korean culture and history amidst growing popularity of South Korean popular culture led by South Korean shows and films (Squid Game, Parasite, and Minari) and the K-pop band BTS.

This is partly the result of the longstanding efforts by the South Korean government and the private sector, including the AKS, to expand the base for Korean Studies over the past decades.

With a goal to promote the status of Korean Studies both at home and abroad, in 2006 the AKS (President Ahn Byung Woo) launched its Support for Overseas Korean Studies program to encourage Korean Studies scholars in overseas universities and research institutes.

Over the past 16 years, the AKS has invested 24 billion won (about USD 20 million) in the program and obtained more than 1,000 research outcomes from some 450 institutions in over 60 countries.

This year, the AKS received a total of 149 project applications in five areas (academic research, academic conferences, publication of academic journals or monographs, and translation of overseas Korean Studies books) from 116 institutions in 34 countries. Among them, 94 projects were selected and are currently in progress.

As a result of this program, the AKS has supported a number of outstanding academic outcomes. In 2019, an AKS-sponsored monograph by Katherine In-Young Lee, Associate Professor in Ethnomusicology at the UCLA Herb Albert School of Music, received the Béla Bartok Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. In 2020, a research paper by Kim Hoe-eun, Associate Professor at the Department of History at Texas A&M, received the Philip Scranton Best Article Prize at the Business History Conference.

As in previous years, many of the outcomes of this year’s Support for Overseas Korean Studies program have been published by renowned international outlets.

As part of the efforts to promote some of the outstanding achievements in overseas Korean Studies, the AKS has distributed five publications published this year to about 50 organizations, including prominent universities at home and abroad such as the Seoul National University Library, the Central Library of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Oxford University, and George Washington University.

“Quality research in Korean Studies is essential if “K-content” is going to continue to expand,” said President Ahn Byung Woo. “The AKS will continue to develop this program in order to further broaden and deepen research in Korean Studies around the world.”

(Source)

https://www.aks.ac.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=317223&bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000046