한국국제교류재단

Thanks in part to its remarkable economic development, Korea-related research and educational activities, as well as Korean studies, have been gaining momentum in Southeast Asia since the late 1990s. Korean studies in this region, however, are currently beset with problems due to their uncertain future and the absence of long-term goals for courses and related education, as well as the lack of a systematic support formula.

In a bid to address these problems, the Korea-Australasia Research Centre (KAREC), based in Sydney, sponsored the first KAREC Korean Studies Workshop in Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, where Korea studies are still in their infancy. The Korea Foundation's Park Kyoung-chul, director of the Korean Studies Support Team, and I participated in the event and discussed the Foundation's programs and how they are designed to advance Korean studies overseas. We also had the opportunity to review the current status of Korean studies in the region.

KAREC came into being through the support of Korea Research Foundation and the University of New South Wales in Australia. Its prime ives are the promotion of Korean studies, as well as related research on future relationships between Korea, South-east Asia and the Oceania region.

The workshops in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia took place over two days in each country, from June 27th through to July the 5th. Eight Korean scholars and Korean studies-related personnel, including Dr. Suh Chung-Sok, director of KAREC, and professor Yoon Hi-won of the Korean Language Education Department at Seoul National University, traveled to each of the three countries for the workshop. Korean studies scholars discussed the status of Korean studies in each of the three countries, as well as its future prospects and the promotional steps required. They presented main topics relating to Korean language, politics, economy, literature, and then held discussions with participants about these subjects. I believe that the debate on subjects of common interest between Korean and overseas academic circles served to encourage scholars and students in each of the three countries.

Vietnam

The first workshop, held at Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, attracted some 40 Korean studies scholars from all over Vietnam, as well as students from the university. Currently, four Vietnamese universities offer Korean studies courses and one university has a Korean language department. Although Korean studies and Korean language courses are gaining popularity in Vietnam, they also have some problems. Since Korean studies and Korean language courses began only recently (mostly since 1994), they are now experiencing an acute shortage of faculty members specializing in Korean language and Korean studies. Korean language textbooks written inVietnamese are also in short supply.

Thailand

The workshop in Thailand took place at Burapha University. What struck me here was the keen interest that Korean studies scholars take in their field. All universities which have established Korean language or Korean studies courses were represented at the two-day forum. Thailand has recently begun to show more interest in Korean studies. The most serious problem for an academic field in its infancy is a shortage of qualified teachers, and this was no exception in Thailand. Reflecting the growing interest in Korea in Thailand, several Thai colleges and universities expressed an interest in establishing Korean language courses. Regrettably, however, two universities with established Korean language programs are short of qualified teachers. Burapha University, however, has managed to recruit three Korean studies professors, two of whom are currently in Korea for advanced studies. The school presently has one teacher devoted to Korean studies.

Malaysia

Malaysia was the last leg of the workshop tour. The University of Malaya is the only institution that has opened a Korean studies department. The "Look East Policy," in which Malaysia wanted to emulate Japan and Korea in the 1980s after viewing them as its development model, helped to stimulate interest in Korea among Malaysians. It was in the mid-80s that Malaysian institutes of higher learning began to establish Korean language courses. Only the University of Malaya has a Korean studies department, while the other Malaysian universities have adopted Korean language studies as one course in their general education curriculum. This is the main reason that Malaysian universities now suffer from a lack of qualified Korean studies professors.

In my opinion, the recent Korean Studies Workshop played a very positive role in Southeast Asia. First of all, it was significant that Korean studies scholars and students had an opportunity to get together and discuss problems facing Korean studies programs and how best to address them. Also noteworthy was the fact that Southeast Asian scholars encountered Korean scholars who are active in and out of Korea, allowing for an exchange of views on a number of topics relating to Korean studies.