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How to Support Korean Studies Overseas
By Kim Dong-taek (金東澤)
Assistant Research Professor
Academy of East Asian Studies
SungKyunKwan University (成均館大學校)

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1. Phenomenon of Hallyu and Korean studies

“Hallyu” refers to the feverish popularity Korean entertainment celebrities enjoy overseas. The Korean media has thoroughly reported the spread of Korean pop culture into Asia and the rest of the world. Furthermore, in many parts of the world there has been a significant demand for learning the Korean language, apparently in response to “Hallyu.”

Hallyu in Asia has largely been about Korean drama and popular songs starting with “Winter Sonata” that swept across Japan, followed by “Daejanggeum” that captivated TV audiences in China and Southeast Asia. The “Yonsama tour” around the Chuncheon area to trace the location sites of the TV mini series and the Korean food boom in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China are some of notable Hallyu products. While Hallyu in Japan has been popular mostly among middle-aged women, it is young people in China, Vietnam and Mongolia who have been the major consumers.

In these countries, Korean movie stars, TV celebrities and singers enjoy explosive popularity, and everything they do, such as the food they like, the clothes they wear, their beauty care, and lifestyle choices is fervently admired. In the meantime, there have been various moves to check the over-expansion of Hallyu. China, Japan, Vietnam and other countries are working toward restricting imports of Korean dramas, and some Japanese writers have published anti-Hallyu books in a move to curb the Hallyu fever among the general public.

There are several causes behind the proliferation of Hallyu, with the Korean government playing a significant role. They have viewed Hallyu products as a means of promoting the culture industry and systematically developed the concept of “Han (Korea) brand.” Within the government it is the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MOCT) that has been charged with the task of supporting Hallyu. The ministry established the Korean Language and National Culture Division in January 2005, and developed the “Han brand” strategy for international promotion of the Korean language, Korean studies, Korean clothes, Korean food, Korean housing, and Korean paper.

On December 15, 2005, the MOCT, the Gyeongsangbuk-do government, the East Asia Academy of SungKyunKwan University, and the Korean Studies Advancement Center jointly held an academic symposium on “Promotion Plan for Asian Culture and Han Brandizing.” The Korea Cultural Contents Agency under the MOCT launched some culture restoration programs along with Hallyu-related projects, while some local governments established independent “cultural contents promotion centers” or hosted culture festivals of their own. As such, various systematic support policies by the government have been making a substantial influence in the dispersion of Hallyu. One particular point of interest is that they think of the propagation of the Korean language and promotion of Korean studies in connection with Hallyu. Namely, in government policies, the Korean language and Korean studies have been integrated into the Hallyu projects.

In the background of such a government policy was the phenomenon that demand for the Korean language has been growing overseas. The influence of Hallyu overseas and the import of a large number of foreign labor forces have vastly increased demand for the Korean language overseas. In the meantime, there have been official and private-level meetings to study how the spread of Hallyu can be linked to the development of Korean studies. Various academic circles have been formed or are being organized for this purpose, and universities have newly established Korean studies-related research centers.

The Korean Language Globalization Foundation held a “Grand Forum for Establishing the Korean Language Education Policy” on Oct. 7-8 last year. Also, the Academy for Korean Studies held “the World Koreanists Forum 2005” from Oct. 17 to Oct. 19, while Korea University, together with the Institute of Korean Culture (IKC) and the International Center for Korean Studies (ICKS), hosted “the International Forum on Korean Studies: Current Trends and Future Objectives of Korean Studies.” In celebration of Korea University`s 100th anniversary, the IKC also sponsored an academic conference on Dec. 8 on “the Identity of Korean Studies.”

And the Korea Culture Research Center at Seoul National University held “Hallyu Phenomenon and Korean Studies, Search for Expansion and Improvement” in December for the 100th academic presentation of the research center. The International Korean Literature/Culture Society hosted an inaugural academic conference on Dec. 16-17 with the theme “Proposal for Globalization of Korean Literature beyond National Boundary.” Hallym University in Chuncheon put together the discussions at these and other seminars on Korean studies to publish a booklet, titled "The 21st Century Korean Studies, What Next?"

Internationally, the Korean Studies Society was launched in Vietnam last year, the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian region following the Asia Studies Society in the U.S. and the Korean Studies Society in Europe. The Korea Culture Research Center at Seoul National University made an academic presentation with the theme of the Hallyu phenomenon and Korean studies.

Thus, academic circles are positively responding to the Korean government attempt to combine the Korean language and Korean studies together as part of the “Han brand” strategy. This indicates the government and private sectors whether consciously or unconsciously consider Korean studies as a medium for Hallyu and Hallyu as a medium for promoting Korean studies and the Korean language overseas.

In fact, the Hallyu phenomenon has been in existence for some time. However, what is new is that official and academic circles have acknowledged possible linkage between Hallyu and Korean studies and have begun to measure the status of each other.

However, while Hallyu, the Korean language, and Korean studies were being vitalized, the University of Washington, one of the central places of Korean studies in the U.S., announced it would abolish the faculty position in Korean studies. It is also reported that Oxford University decided to close Korean studies courses. The faculty position and lectures on Korean studies had been barely maintained in the U.S. and some of the European countries, and they are being closed in these days of Hallyu, quite ironically.

Under these complex developments of expanding Hallyu, increased demand for the Korean language and Korean studies abroad, and the decline of some Korean studies courses in major Western academic institutions, this paper seeks to clarify where Korean studies is situated within the Hallyu phenomenon, and find out what is desirable to establish its academic status, and what is the required for doing so.

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