The Education Ministry announced it will invest 27.3 billion won ($24 million) in the promotion of Korean studies this year.

The project, launched in 2007, aims to foster research on Korea, highlighting the significance of Korean studies at home and abroad as well as continuing to strengthen the basis for research by supporting major institutions and scholars in the field.

Korean studies focus on a broad range of topics related to Korea including its history, culture, anthropology, society, politics and economy.

“The interest in and demand for Korean studies continue to increase amid the rise of Korean culture and the K-pop boom. To meet the growing interest, the government is expanding investment in the studies to raise research quality as well as to broaden its boundaries,” said a ministry official.

The budget for Korean studies has increased significantly since its promotion project was launched in 2007 with 4.5 billion won.

This year, the ministry plans to hold diverse presentations in a bid to attract distinguished scholars in the field of Korean studies.

The presentation sessions are scheduled to take place at six major cities in the country as well as overseas, especially in Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia where the Korean studies haven’t appealed as much as in other countries.

“We plan to provide fund to foreign universities and research institutions that are willing to research Korean studies but lack resources to do so. We will provide support so that they can open Korean studies classes, develop studying materials or nurture instructors, anything related to it based on their request” said a director in charge of the Korean studies promotion projects at the Academy of Korean Studies.

The Academy of Korean Studies is an agency which implements the government’s drive to promote Korean studies.

The ministry also plans to designate two more major universities as focal points for Korean studies to the list of the 18 universities including Harvard University, UC Berkeley in the U.S., Yanbian University in China and Saint Petersburg State University in Russia.

The number of government-funded research projects will also increase from 10 to 12 in a bid to involve more prominent scholars and expand the academic boundaries for the Korean studies.

It will also set aside a fund for new research projects to stimulate Korean studies and open an academic conference for major universities conducting Korean studies programs in July.

“The major universities designated as focal points in Korean studies will gather for a conference in July and share their different programs. It will also be a chance to monitor and provide consulting to them,” said the academy director.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)