Korean Studies at Goethe University is one of what are
known as “rare disciplines" (subjects with a small number of professors taught
in only a few locations), so it is all the more impressive that it has now
secured €
700,000 in third-party funding. The money is being invested in the project “Cultivating
diversity: The global in Korea, Korea in the global" and should contribute to advancing teaching, research and regional collaboration in the field of Korean Studies.
FRANKFURT. Since
2010, there has been an area studies section at Goethe University dedicated to
Korean Studies, hosted by the
Institute of East Asian Philology. The number of students has risen from 20 at
the outset to 400 today – and interest is continuing to grow, says Yonson Ahn, who,
as the only professor for this subject, teaches Korean culture and society at
the university. With the support of third-party funding, she can now better
meet the growing demand for courses in this subject. The Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) has
pledged around €
700,000 in funding for the next five years, which will be invested in research,
teaching and outreach.
“I'm very pleased about this successful
acquisition of third-party funds. Korean Studies is a rare discipline with
considerable appeal. Thanks to Professor Ahn, Goethe University has made a name
for itself in this field beyond geographical borders," says Professor Bernhard
Brüne, Goethe University's vice president for research. The funds, provided by
the South Korean Ministry of Education, are intended to boost Korean Studies
abroad (from a Korean perspective – “Empowering Korean Studies through
innovative education, research and regional cooperation in Germany"). Apart from Goethe University, the University
of Oxford was the only other European beneficiary awarded funding in 2021. The
Frankfurt research project deals with ethnic and cultural diversity in Korea
and in Korean populations in other countries. The title is: “Cultivating
diversity: The global in Korea, Korea in the global".
Funding approval was preceded by two
successfully completed projects financed with third-party funds within the Seed
Programme for Korean Studies, which each ran for three years – from 2015 to
2021. Their purpose too was research and the further development of the Korean
Studies programme. Within the framework of the Korean Studies Promotion
Programme of the AKS, Korean Studies at Goethe University has now qualified for
the follow-up project “Core University Programme for Korean Studies", which
will last five years – from June 2021 to May 2026.
In this project, Korean Studies in
Frankfurt, headed by Professor Ahn, is working closely together with Korean
Studies at the University of Hamburg under Professor Yvonne Schulz Zinda and
Korean Studies at the University of Bonn under Junior Professor Nadeschda
Bachem. The aim, in particular, is to establish a comprehensive
cross-university network between the institutes in order to further develop
teaching, support for early career researchers, public relations work and joint
research projects, and in so doing also boost Korean Studies within the
Interdisciplinary Centre for East Asian Studies (IZO) at Goethe University.
In the area of teaching, new seminars are
to be designed and implemented within the framework of the project and digital
teaching expanded. To support young students, the intention is to jointly
supervise their master's theses and doctoral dissertations. In addition, there
are plans to work together more closely with secondary school pupils. In order
to make Korean Studies more visible, special attention will be given to public
relations work. Low-threshold offers should facilitate access to topics in the
field of Korean Studies.
A total of nine further researchers are
working on a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary, transnational and
intersectional topics in the framework of the project “Cultivating diversity:
The global in Korea, Korea in the global" led by Yonson Ahn. Migration, gender,
art and media, among others, are featured topics.
Goethe University remains Hessen's only
university with a focus on area studies in Asian studies. After other
Asia-related institutes were transferred to Frankfurt in 2008, the Interdisciplinary Centre for East
Asian Studies (IZO) was established at the university. Since then, Korean Studies
has grown in significance both qualitatively and quantitatively. Students can
start the Korean Studies programme without any previous knowledge. Apart from the
language itself, the programme also covers the country's
politics, culture and literature. Professor Yonson Ahn attributes its great
popularity to the success of Korean film and pop culture, such as the boy band
BTS or the films Parasites and Minari, which have won Oscars as
well as prizes in Cannes. Graduates definitely have good future prospects:
Frankfurt is home to
the second largest number of Korean
expatriates in Europe, while a large number of Korean companies, a Korean trade
agency (KOTRA) and a Korean consulate are located in the city.
A
photograph of Professor
Yonson Ahn can be downloaded from: www.uni-frankfurt.de/103380737
Caption:
Professor Yonson Ahn teaches Korean
culture and society
at Goethe University Frankfurt.
Further Information
Professor Yonson Ahn
Korean Studies
Goethe University
Email: Y.Ahn@em.uni-frankfurt.de
Phone: +49 (0)69 798-23769 / -22872
Fax:
+49 (0)69 798-24969
www.korea.uni-frankfurt.de