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Korean Studies in China

China and Korea are very close neighbors and have a several thousand-year-long history of exchange. China's classics, such as Shijing (the Book of Songs), Chunqiu (the Spring and Autumn Annals), Lunyu (the Analects of Confucius), and Mengzi (the Book of Mencius), were introduced to the Korean peninsula long ago. Many Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, as well as philosophical theories such as Neo-Confucianism, also followed suit. On the other hand, the music and dance of the Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje periods were transmitted to China during the time of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Later, Korea's Toegyehak and Dosanhak opened a new stage in research on Neo-Confucianism and consequently contributed to the development of Confucianism in Northeast Asia. All of these instances show that exchanges between China and Korea have a long history.

History of Sino-Korean Exchange
The long tradition of exchange between the two countries was severed for some period of time in the mid-twentieth century. In 1981, the Xinhua Publishing House in China published a book on the South Korean economy called Elements of Rapid Economic Growth in South Korea, and in 1985, the World Knowledge Publishing House published South Korea, introducing Korean society in general. After that, many books introducing Korea's history, culture and economy were published.

The exchange activities or visits of scholars were hardly evident before 1992 when China and South Korea opened diplomatic relations. Dr. Kim Jun-yeop, Chairman of the Institute of Social Sciences in Korea, is one of the Korean scholars who visited China in relatively early days. China's Professor Yang Tongfang, of Peking University, was a student of Dr. Kim and studied Korea earlier than any other Chinese scholars.

In China, there was almost no institution to conduct research on Korea, nor was there any university offering Korean language courses until the 1980s. The Institute for Korean Studies at the Jilin Academy of Social Sciences was the only research center for Korean Studies, and the few universities that offered Korean language courses included: Peking University, the University of International Business and Economics, Luoyang Foreign Languages University, Beijing Second Foreign Language University and Yanbian University. After the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, however, dozens of universities and institutions, including Fudan University, Shandong University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, started to establish centers for Korean Studies. There were only three universities in China that had a Korean department before 1992. After the opening of diplomatic relations, however, about thirty universities, including the Beijing Foreign Studies University and the Shanghai International Studies University, established new Korean departments. These Korean Studies institutions aimed at researching the civilization of the East with a long history by strengthening academic and cultural exchange, improving friendly ties and widening the scope of cooperation between China and Korea.

Center for Korean Studies at Peking University
Peking University's Center for Korean Studies was established in April 1991. It was originally named "Institute of History and Culture of Chosun" before the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, and took its current name in September 1993. Led by Professor Ji Xianlin and the late Professor Zhou Yiliang, distinguished scholars in China's academic and cultural circles, the center has carried out major research, academic and exchange activities. Dr. Kim Jun-yeop also provided support as an advisor to the center. Affiliated with the center are professors from Peking University's departments of history, economics, philosophy, international relations, sociology, Korean language and other various disciplines, and those from other research institutions and universities including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Nankai University and the Central University for Nationalities. They conduct research on Korean history, culture, politics, economy, literature, language and other Korea-related topics with an emphasis on traditional Korean culture.

Publication, Research and Exchange Activities
The professors at the Center for Korean Studies have written many books on Korea, including History of Sino-Korean Relations and Basic Grammar of Korean. They also translated many books, such as History of Korean Philosophy,Globalization and Management Strategies of South Korean Enterprises, and Culture and Origin of the Korean Nation. The number of Korea-related books published by the Center from 1991 to 2002 amounts to about forty. The center annually publishes Collected Papers on Korean Studies, which has now issued its eleventh volume.

Peking University's Center for Korean Studies conducts exchanges with other Korean Studies centers at Chinese and Korean universities, including Seoul National University, Korea University, and Ewha Womans University, and with Koreanists in the United States, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and European countries. A professor of history from Peking University has been giving lectures on Chinese history at Korea University since 1993, while a professor of history from Korea University has been invited to Peking University to offer Korean history courses since 1998. The Peking University Library's exchange with the Gyujanggak Archives at Seoul National University dates back to the center's opening.

The Center also supports exchanges among Korean Studies scholars in China and worldwide through academic conferences. It provides support for professors to participate in Korean Studies meetings in China and other countries, and organizes many conferences independently or jointly with other institutions. The International Conference on Traditional Korean Culture, organized by Peking University in October 1995 and attended by scholars from China, South Korea, the United States and Japan, was the first international meeting on Korean Studies held in China in its true sense. The center held a conference in 1996 jointly with the South Korean embassy in China in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea, and an international conference on Sino-Korean culture and modernization with Myongji University in 1998. The Fifth Pacific Asia Conference on Korea Studies (PACKS) held by the Center in September 2000 was attended by about one hundred and ten scholars from China, South Korea, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. This conference, at which one hundred and six papers were presented, was very significant meeting on Korean Studies in terms of its size and academic quality. Providing the participants with an opportunity to present and discuss their research results and exchange their opinions on the trends and direction of Korean Studies in the twenty-first century, the Fifth PACKS had a positive impact on the development of Korean Studies in China.

A Bright Prospect for Korean Studies in China
The Center for Korean Studies at Peking University, along with Korean Studies centers at various universities and institutions (Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Shandong University, Liaoning University, and the Jilin Academy of Social Sciences) have been actively engaged in research on Korea with great success and have introduced Korea to the Chinese people. It is amazing that the field of Korean Studies has made such remarkable achievements over the ten years since the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea. I think that Korean Studies in China in the twenty-first century will continue to develop because of the following factors:

First, China and South Korea will further strengthen exchanges in culture, economy, politics and other fields in the twenty-first century. Their economic relations will get especially close because of complementary nature of their economies and regional economic cooperation. When the two countries have more exchanges and cooperation, Korean Studies in China will be further developed.

Secondly, literature from each country, such as ancient books and old s, contain much information about each other due to their long history of exchange. Therefore, if such books and s are scrutinized, there will be many new topics worthy of research.

Third, the Chinese will continue to develop their country through reform and open-door policy with an emphasis on economic growth. In the meantime, China needs to conduct a great deal of research on the South Korean economy in order to learn from South Korea's economic development.

Fourth, the number of Chinese students who study Korean has been increasing for years. The increase in the number of Korean language students will consequently result in the increase in the number of scholars who research Korean Studies in the future.


Editor's Note: This article is a summary of Professor Shen Dingchang's paper with a focus on the Center for Korean Studies at Peking University. The original paper, written in Korean, is available in full text on the Foundation's homepage(www.kf.or.kr).

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