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The Evolution and Status of Korean Studies in India

It was during the early 1970s when Korean Studies was introduced on a regular basis in India by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Prior to that, there was an Indian School of International Studies1 constituted in 1955 under the auspices of the Indian Council of World Affairs for the promotion of international and area studies in the country. It did provide an opportunity for its students and research scholars to opt for Korean topics as the main field of their research projects. But in the absence of any facilities for learning the Korean language as well as sufficient research material, they had to depend on government support (in the form of exchange scholarships) for visiting Korea to learn the Korean language and conduct the required fieldwork. Consequently, hitherto, very few Indian scholars were able to avail of such rare opportunities to learn Korean language, culture and sociopolitical affairs. Nevertheless, some of them became the pioneers of Korean Studies in India.
    With the establishment of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Indian School of International Studies was merged with this university in June 1970, and was renamed the School of International Studies (SIS). Thereafter, the expansion of the horizons of area studies to include Northeast Asia, took place in this school through the creation of various Centres of Studies. One of them is the Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS), which incorporates an elaborate curriculum of Korean Studies. Presently, the M.A. programme of this center contains courses on the "Korean Peninsula in International Affairs since 1945," and the M.Phil programme carries courses on the "Political & Economic Development of the Korean Peninsula since 1945,""Modern History of Korea from 1876 to 1945,""Korean Peninsula in International Affairs since 1945," and Korean language.
    Closely associated with the School of International Studies in disseminating knowledge about different regions and countries of the world is the School of Language, Literature, and Culture Studies of the same university. Established in 1969, it provides for the most comprehensive and elaborate programme of Korean linguistic, literary, and cultural learning through its Centre for Northeast Asian Studies. In the beginning, there was only a one-year Diploma course for Korean language available at this school. After some years, another one-year Advanced Diploma course was added. During the 1980s, it was extended to a three-year programme of B.A. in Korean language and literature. Recently, it has reached the stage of an integrated five-year programme of B.A. and M.A. in Korean language, literature, and culture. At the B.A. level, its syllabus includes: Oral , Hangul, Text in Hangul, Hanja, Mixed Script, Basic Structure, Comprehension and Composition, Conversation Ability, Reading Ability, Text and Grammar, Applied Grammar, Translation and Composition, Inter-pretation, Specialized Terminology, Themes in Korean Literature, Geography and Culture of Korea, Contem-porary Korea: Social, Economic and Political Dimensions, Modern History of Korea, and Indo-Korean Relations.
    At the M.A. level, it offers the following subjects related to Korean Studies: Comparative and Contrastive Linguistics, Translation & Interpretation, Trends and Themes in Korean Literature, Translation & Interpretation, Hanja, Advanced Language Studies, Social and Cultural Heritage of Korea, Analysis on Current Affairs, Dialectics of Korean Studies, and others.
    Another institute of higher learning engaged in the development of a comprehensive curriculum of Korean Studies in India is the University of Delhi. Although the University of Delhi, established in 1922, is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities of the country, it was not until the beginning of the 21st century when the commencement of Korean Studies took place there.2 In 2001, a Korean Division came into being in the Department of East Asian Studies (DEAS) at Delhi University (DU). Presently, this department offers Certificate of Proficiency, Pre-degree Diploma, and Advance Diploma programmes of study in the Korean language. Some courses pertaining to Korean history, culture and politics are prescribed for M.Phil students of this department opting Korea as the major field of their academic pursuit. Some students, belonging to the Department of East Asian Studies also choose Korean topics for their doctoral dissertations. There is also a plan to introduce an M.A. programme in Korean Studies in near future in the DEAS.
    Apart from the above two national universities, there is yet another institution situated in Madhya Pradesh (central province of India), which is associated with Korean Studies to a certain extent. It is the Maharani Luxmi Bai (MLB) Government Autonomous College affiliated with the Jiwaji University located at Gwalior city, about 320 kilometers away from Delhi to the south. Although there are no arrangements for learning Korean language or a separate department of Korean Studies in this college, even then it has contributed to the promotion of Korean/East Asian studies in the central region of India and acted as a feedback for the CEAS, SIS, and JNU. A syllabus related to the Northeast Asian studies was incorporated in the curriculum of area studies under the Department of International Relations of this college in 1987, and the students were encouraged to select Korea as their specialization. Some of them gained a good knowledge of Korean affairs through a series of special lectures and seminars. After obtaining an M.A. in International Relations (with specialization in Korean affairs), a few of them joined the M.Phil progamme of Korean Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and were even selected for exchange scholarships for further studies at Seoul National University. Likewise, some of them have engaged themselves in doctoral research works in the field of Korean Studies and have obtained Ph.D. degrees from the Jiwaji University, Gwalior. Efforts are underway to establish separate departments of Central Asian and East Asian studies at this university under the auspices of the University Grants Commission of India.
    As such, within a span of three decades or so, Korean Studies has reached a very high stage of development in India. Different courses right from the Certificate of Proficiency and Diploma to the levels of B.A. and M.A. in Korean Language,3 and M.Phil in Korean Studies are available according to the choice, caliber, and means of the students and scholars. The syllabi of these courses contain the scope of almost all-inclusive training in Korean language, literature, culture, history, economy, and politics. Moreover, for those who are interested in further studies and research on Korean subjects, they can avail of the facilities for doctoral projects available in different universities of India.
    However, as is obvious from the above description, full-fledged facilities for Korean Studies in India are by and large concentrated in the capital city of Delhi. Consequently, only a microscopic minority of Indian students and scholars get an opportunity to devote themselves in this field. In some cases, scholars belonging to far away places are unable to afford expensive sojourns in Delhi in spite of having deep interest in Korean issues and affairs. Therefore, there is a need for a horizontal expansion of the facilities for Korean Studies in India.
    Yet another hurdle in the path of expansion of Korean Studies in India is the lack of an extensive interest in this realm of knowledge among the Indian intellectuals. As a matter of fact, common peoples of India and Korea do not possess much awareness of each other in spite of long-time historical, cultural, and philosophic links between these two ancient civilizations of Asia. Recently, an even more paradoxical situation has emerged in this respect. Nowadays, several Korean enterprises and their products have become quite popular in India. But the people behind those enterprises and goods are still strangers to the general public of this country. As such, far-reaching literary, cultural, and artistic exchanges are needed between the both nations at the grass-roots level in order to inculcate and enhance interest in Korean Studies among the vast majority of Indian intellectuals.

1. The need for an institution of this type was first felt in years immediately following Independence. The Indian Council of World Affairs, which was then the only institution in the country concerned with foreign affairs, realized that to promote study of international affairs in India effectively, it was important to train young men and women in interpreting current global developments in economic, social, and political spheres. This led to the creation of the Indian School of International Studies as well as the establishment of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, somewhat akin to the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
2. The reason for such an ironical situation is that in the beginning, the Indian School of International Studies was affiliated with the University of Delhi from 1961 to 1970. But with the constitution of the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1969, the thrust of international and area studies in India was shifted from the former to the latter.
3. Due to the prevalence of the British system, B.A. is regarded as an undergraduate and M.A. as a postgraduate level of education in India. Generally speaking, graduation means obtaining a B.A. degree in this country.

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