KF뉴스레터-Corporate Support Critical to Promote Korean Studies Overseas

Corporate Support Critical to Promote Korean Studies Overseas

In March, there was much concern in Korea when Oxford University in the U.K. announced that it planned to discontinue its Korean Studies program. The controversy continued when it was disclosed that the quality of the Korean Studies program was found to be significantly lacking, in comparison to other East Asian programs, such as Chinese Studies or Japanese Studies. Indeed, it was a shock that the Korean Studies program included only one assistant professor and one lecturer, while the Japanese and Chinese Studies programs retained 14 full-time professors.
There was an added shock when it was found that Japan's funding for Japanese Studies abroad might be up to 100 times greater than that of Korea, when the contributions extended by Japanese corporations and individuals are taken into account. In addition, this serious imbalance was cited as a factor contributed to the Dokdo dispute and distortion of history issues, since the West would tend to view Korea from a Japanese or Chinese perspective. In light of this, in an effort to better promote Korean Studies, a bill was introduced at the National Assembly under which tax incentives would be provided to encourage corporate contributions to overseas Korean Studies programs. We are now monitoring the progress of this proposal and making known the significance of corporate support for promoting Korean Studies abroad.

Tax Incentives for Corporate Contributions
Under the proposed legislation, specified tax incentives would be extended for contributions made to a Korean Studies program operated by a university, museum, or library overseas. Tax benefits for donations made to the Foundation's Korean Studies programs overseas are nothing new. Private contributions to the Foundation for the five years from 1994 to 1998 had been regarded as public donations, and therefore involved tax benefits far greater than that in the currently proposed legislation. During this period, contributions made through the Foundation to international organizations for such efforts as Korea-related research and the introduction of Korean culture at universities abroad amounted to $24.73 million, which was equivalent to about 40 percent of the Foundation's total operational budget during the same period.
However, after the 1998 financial crisis, tax incentives were no longer available for donations to support such programs overseas, which resulted in a sharp decrease in corporate donations amounting to only $1.87 million from 1999 to 2004. The reason for this situation was that private businesses shifted their support to short-term events that produced immediate publicity results rather than Korean Studies research activities being conducted abroad. Thereafter, assistance for Korean Studies overseas became the sole responsibility of the Korea Foundation. On account of the limitations of the Foundation's budget, however, this decrease in corporate funding meant a direct reduction in the assistance available for Korean Studies overseas. In the case of Oxford University, for example, when its Korean Studies program was first established with the assistance of the Foundation, there were expectations that the program would be continued and expanded with the assistance of Korean businesses. But now that this support has failed to materialize, it has been increasingly difficult to secure even a minimum budget to continue the program, which led to the decision to announce its discontinuance.

Critical Need to Encourage Corporate Support
Today, Korea ranks as one of the top ten economies of the world, while Korean enterprises have established themselves as major ps in the global economy. In relation to this, they are now making social contributions in various fields all over the world. However, their social contributions are still minimal when it comes to the support of Korean Studies. An important factor involves the lack of legal and institutional mechanisms that encourage corporate assistance in this area, such as the tax incentives that had previously served as a catalyst for corporate funding. Unlike overseas Chinese capital or Japanese corporations, Korean enterprises lack the experience in donating to nonprofit endeavors, such as academic or cultural activities abroad. The sudden suspension of tax benefits due to the financial crisis greatly worsened the situation, since corporate donors lost interest in these efforts before they even had a chance to gain experience and develop a long-term interest. There are two axes to increasing corporate interest in social contributions; one is the effect it has on publicity and the other is related to tax incentives. Therefore, the resulting loss of interest was natural since the publicity effect is indirect and intangible, along with no tax benefits being involved.
Since the suspension of the previous tax incentives, the Korea Foundation's legal and institutional support mechanisms are highly unfavorable in comparison to other countries. The Japan Foundation provides tax incentives for certain contributions it receives, while in the United States corporate donations to nonprofit organizations are entitled to tax benefits in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code (section 501).
In this context, maintaining a system that encourages corporate support is critical to promoting Korean Studies overseas. Since the Foundation has limited ability to support overseas Korean Studies on its own, increasing corporate assistance through the resumption of an institutional support system would be the most practical solution to increase the available resources, and thus promote Korean Studies with minimal intervention by the state or government.

Corporate Assistance Vital to Korean Studies Abroad
It would be meaningful and timely to reflect upon the significance of corporate support in promoting Korean Studies overseas at this time when legislation is being considered to provide tax incentives to encourage private business contributions. The significance of corporate contributions can be summarized by the following points.
First, corporate donations to Korean Studies would, above all, contribute to a more balanced academic perspective by reducing the excessive focus on China and Japan by the academia overseas, in particular regard to the study of Northeast Asia. It is imperative to view Korea, China, and Japan from a balanced perspective according to their individual significance to properly understand Northeast Asian civilization, but in reality it is questionable that such a balance is being maintained. For example, people like Samuel Huntington tend to divide East Asia into Chinese civilization and Japanese civilization, but any person living in East Asia, except the Japanese, would take issue with such an approach. There is no way of ascertaining whether this has been the result of using religion for such classification or an overrating of Shinto, which has the same roots as Korea's Seonangdang, but had been fostered after the Meiji Restoration. But it is certain that this result is a reflection of Western intellectuals' perceptions of Japanese culture. In other words, this is a kind of premium that Japan enjoys by having achieved modernization and gained access to the Western world generations earlier. To rectify this imbalance, we must an environment in which foreigners can have convenient access to academic and cultural aspects of Korea in their respective countries. And this can be realized through the contributions of Korean enterprises.
Second, the need for corporate assistance comes at a time when the current situation is especially critical, but also offers opportunities for the development of Korean Studies abroad. Under the education sector reforms of the Bolongne Process, currently underway in the EU, regional studies are on the agenda for restructuring. And, of course, with Korean Studies being a relative latecomer, it has become a prime target for restructuring. In light of this, corporate interest in and support for Korean Studies will play an even more important role in determining the extent to which it can be developed hereafter.
Third, a more balanced development of Northeast Asian regional studies would provide Korea's national identity with the respect it deserves, which in turn would have a positive influence on Korean enterprises. It is natural to think that, in today's globally competitive world, Korean industry's competitiveness will be associated with Korea's national image. Enhancement of national image results from an awareness of a country's academia and culture, which comes about through international exchanges and authoritative academic research.
Fourth, as for the Korea Foundation, an increase of available resources through corporate contributions, as a result of tax incentives, would mean an expansion in program funding as well as a confirmation of its fundamental ives and functions. Through corporate contributions, the Foundation would not only be allowed to play its role of introducing Korea to the world on behalf of the Korean government, but also function as an intermediary for nongovernmental contributions to support relevant academia and cultural efforts worldwide. Such a role is fully consistent with the Foundation's basic purpose of serving as a medium to promote private-sector participation based on government-private enterprise collaboration. In this way, the Foundation will be in a position to promote a sound perception and understanding of Korea and foster positive relations with the international community while shifting the focus of corporate donors from short-term publicity to support for academic research, thereby contributing to academic advancement of cultural diversity and the universality of human civilization.

Summary
Oxford University's Korean Studies program enjoyed a reversal of fortune when its administrative officials agreed to its restoration, following a visit by Foundation President Kwon In Hyuk on July 5. However, this is not a solution to the overall problem. Oxford University's Korean Studies program will need to maintain at least four university lectureships in order to be sustained in a proper manner, let alone offer 14 to 18 lectureships like the Chinese Studies or Japanese Studies programs. It would be extremely difficult for the Foundation alone to secure the substantial funding needed for a program of this level. Although Oxford University agreed to operate one Korean Studies lectureship by sacrificing one of its Japanese Studies lectureships, in an effort to attain a better balance in its East Asian regional studies, there is a desperate need for additional support from Korea for the three other lectureships. In this regard, university administrators displayed good faith efforts, so it is now our duty to contribute to the balanced development of East Asian regional studies and assure Korean Studies' standing in academia that matches Korea's position in the world. We look forward to the pending legislation becoming an "institutional catalyst" that boosts corporate support for promoting Korean Studies abroad, and thus enables Korean Studies programs overseas to proceed along a stable development path.

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Corporate Support Critical to Promote Korean Studies Overseas

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Corporate Support Critical to Promote Korean Studies Overseas

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