About us

The Center for Korean Studies (CKS) is a unit of the International Institute within the University of Michigan. As a program devoted to the study of Korea, our goal is to foster teaching and research across disciplines and to use the academic resources of the university to promote an economic, political, and cultural understanding of Korea.

The CKS provides funding for public programs (art exhibitions, film festivals, lectures, and conferences), individual faculty research, development of new courses, and the expansion of the Asia Library's Korea collection. It maintains an active colloquium series, bringing eminent Korean Studies scholars from around the world to lecture on a diverse set of issues. The program also sponsors Korean events on campus including undergraduate and graduate initiatives and cultural activities. Major financial support from the Korea Foundation helped establish a senior professorship in Korean Studies. These activities and programs have raised awareness and appreciation of Korean culture across U-M and in the surrounding community.

HISTORY

The history of the Center for Korean Studies can be traced back to 1984 with efforts made by students, faculty, and members of the Korean American community to establish a Center for Korean Studies at the University of Michigan. Through their efforts, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan established a series of Korean language courses in 1990 as the first step in the development of Korean Studies.

The Center for Korean Studies was officially founded in 1995 with the help of faculty members in the school of Literature, Science, and the Arts, especially the late Harold K. Jacobson, with efforts from the International Institute, Ann Arbor area Korean American alums, and with financial support from the Korea Foundation. Since its inception, the CKS has grown into an active program, consisting of 6 core faculty and 13 affiliate faculty members. It conducts research in collaboration with various departments within the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, as well as different schools and academic units including various area centers within International Institute.

GOALS

The Korean Studies Program has become a Center for Korean studies, which means increasing the number of faculty, expanding the depth and breadth of resources devoted to Korea, and creating a concentration program at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The University of Michigan, as one of the nation's leading research institutions, is in a unique position to develop and sustain a leading center for Korean studies.

Seeking to hit new peaks in the development of Korean studies, the program has been actively working on expanding faculty resources, initiating innovative new projects like the Archive of Diasporic Korea, an interdisciplinary initiative that will recast modern Korean history through the six million Koreans who are scattered outside their homeland, and securing a new home for the Korean art collection in the new wing planned for the University of Michigan Museum of Art.