Associations

 

 Associations
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Academy of Korean Studies / Han'guk Chôngsin Munhwa Yôn'guwôn
Originally one of Park Chung Hee's projects, the Academy opened in 1978. "In March 1980 the Academy opened its Graduate School of Korean Studies, where faculty specializing in both the humanities and the social sciences offer a wide range of lectures and supervision for students involved in Master's and Doctoral programs." Aside from its educational programs, the Academy organizes national and international conferences and workshops, invites foreign scholars for research stays, published many books and several serials on Korean history and culture (more here). It also has an outstanding Korean studies library open to international researchers. The Academy offers a fastly growing number of databases that make a wide range of data and documents accessible via the Web: Visit their Electronic Korean Studies Library.

Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea (ASCK)
In Spring of 2003 scholars of Korea in the United States and elsewhere, concerned about current US policies toward the Korean peninsula, joined to form ASCK. ASCK aims to promote problem solving between the US and both Koreas through means of dialogue, cooperation, and the active pursuit of peace. ASCK scholars "feel the responsibility to speak out against policies that increase tensions in the Northeast Asian region and may lead to another disastrous war in Korea." You may participate in ASCK discussions through their email discussion list by sending messages to: members@asck.org

Anglo-Korean Society

Asia Society
Founded in 1956, the Asia Society in New York (with several regional offices in the U.S. and Asia) sponsors talks about society, politics, and culture of all Asian countries. It also has programs relating to Asian-American issues, has its own publishing house, a bookstore, and galleries where it holds exhibitions of Asian art.

    Asia Source
    This relatively new (since 1999) site, sponsored by the Asia Society, offers a quickly expanding number of useful sources, e.g., an "Asia Experts" database, daily news summaries and Web links to online articles and information sources.

Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA)
The ASAA is the Australian counter-piece of the AAS. Among many other activities it organizes an annual conference and publishes a scholarly journal (the Asian Studies Review) as well as electronic journals.

Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
Founded in 1941, the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a scholarly, non-political, non-profit professional association open to all persons interested in Asia. Its members are scholars, business people, journalists, and interested lay persons, and it holds one general meeting each year as well as several regional conferences. The AAS publishes a scholarly journal, a newsletter, provides its Bibliography of Asian Studies online (for subscribers), manages scholarships and jobs databases, and offers various other resources.

    Journal of Asian Studies (JAS) (back issues online)
    All back issues (since 1941) of this important Asian studies journal are online and accessible if logging in from a computer connected to an institutional network that is affiliated with AAS. But you can also read JAS online if you have access to the ProQuest Research Library (e.g. through your university).

    AAS Annual Meetings
    The annual AAS meeting is regarded as the most important general Asian studies conference in the United States. Apart from scholarly exchanges it also serves as a kind of job burse. The meeting abstracts of the last couple of years are accessible online.

Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE)
Founded in 1977, the Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE) is the main scholarly society for Korean studies in Europe. AKSE holds regular (now biannual) scholarly conferences and publishes an annual newsletter (see below).

    AKSE Newsletter
    The annual AKSE Newsletter summarizes AKSE conferences and reports about activities and publications of Korea specialists in Europe. The volumes published since 1998 are also accessible online.

Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF)
The AKF "was established by the Australian Government in 1992 to develop contacts and exchanges between the peoples of Australia and Korea. The Foundation promotes people-to-people and institutional links covering the spectrum of Australia's relations with Korea. This includes education, science and technology, commerce and industry, arts, sport and the media. It administers and funds projects and programs which will assist in achieving its purposes and aims."

The British Association for Korean Studies (BAKS)
The association publishes a newsletter and a scholarly journal (Papers of the British Association for Korean Studies); it organizes conferences and workshops, and assists in providing information to members and non-members.

The Daesan Foundation
Offers grants for institutions that help develop Korean studies overseas, scholarships for students majoring in Korean studies, and has translation scholarships and awards for literary translations.

German Association for Asian Studies (DGA)
Founded in 1967, the DGA organizes conferences and lectures and produces publications on all of Asia. It is cooperating with the Institute of Asian Affairs, also in Hamburg, to publish conference papers and its quarterly journal, Asien.

IIAS Gateway to Asian Studies
The Web site of the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) at Leiden University offers the online version of its pretty extensive IIAS Newsletter, a useful Jobs & Fellowships database, and several other sources of information for Asian studies world-wide (but especially in Europe).

Institute for Corean-American Studies (ICAS)
The Institute for Corean-American Studies (ICAS) was established in 1973. "It is a non-profit, non-partisan, and private educational and research organization incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. ... ICAS promotes pertinent relations and conducts appropriate activities to enhance cooperation and to pursue peace and prosperity in association with people of mutual interests, with a special emphasis on multilateral relations between the United States and Asia-Pacific rim nations. Its membership includes individuals from varied sectors embracing academic, corporate, cultural, educational, international and other related fields."
ICAS's lecture series includes many Korea related lectures. These texts are accessible online.

International Council on Korean Studies (ICKS)
"The International Council on Korean Studies (ICKS) is a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of Korean studies and related academic and professional activities in the United States and abroad through conferences, seminars, publications, and other relevant activities." The ICKS publishes The International Journal of Korean Studies.

The Korea Foundation
The Korea Foundation was established in 1991 to support Korean studies overseas. By now the Foundation has become the most important source for financial support of such scholarly programs abroad. It co-financed quite a number of Korean studies chairs at various universities in Europe and North America, offers scholarships and post-doc fellowships, supports exhibitions, conferences and research trips. It also sponsors selected publications on Korea, publishes translations and conference proceedings and has a Reference Materials Distribution Program, but also has its own publications, including a touristy magazine called Koreana (click on title) and Korea Focus that publishes English translations of selected articles from Korean newspapers and news journals.

The Korea Society
In 1993 the New York-based U.S.-Korea Society and the Washington, D.C.-based U.S.-Korea Foundation merged to form The Korea Society (under the leadership of Donald P. Gregg, a former U.S. Ambassador to Korea). The Society organizes programs in the areas of business, public affairs, education, intercultural relations and the arts. Its headquarters are in New York City.

Korean American Historical Society
"Founded in 1985, Korean American Historical Society (KAHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the collective memory of Korean Americans through collecting, maintaining, and transmitting the heritage and achievements of Koreans living in the United States and abroad." The Society publishes an annual journal, Occasional Papers.

Korean American Women Artists & Writers Association (KAWAWA)
The Korean American Women Artists & Writers Association (KAWAWA) was founded in 1989. "KAWAWA's mission is to present new creative possibilities to Korean American women artists and writers in order to extend their roles in the community. KAWAWA is committed to constructing a Korean American identity and fostering relationships with diverse ethnic communities living in the Bay Area. Furthermore, and general welfare of women and their families through arts and education. ... KAWAWA continuously organizes conferences, panel discussions and exhibitions to discuss issues of gender, youth education, cultural identity and art."

Korean Cultural Center
"The Korean Cultural Center (KCC) serves the general Los Angeles public by providing information about and performances of Korean culture. Operated by the Korean Government's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the KCC charges no fee for its services. Its Wilshire Blvd facility contains a museum collection of replicas of several of Korea's most important artifacts; a gallery for modern art, a library of materials about Korea (in English and Korean), and a film/video loan center." The KCC publishes a quarterly magazine, Korean Culture.

The Korean Culture & Arts Foundation
Sponsors numerous culture and arts programs in Korea, has its own gallery, but also co-sponsors Korean art exhibitions overseas and offers scholarships, grants and awards for translators of Korean literature.

Korean National Commission for UNESCO
The Korean National Commission for UNESCO "was established on 30 January 1954, following the Republic of Korea's admission to UNESCO in 1950. Since its inception, for almost half a century, [it] has evolved to better meet the needs and aspirations of a rapidly changing Korean society. It has continued, as well, to strengthen cooperation with UNESCO Headquarters, its field offices in Asia and the Pacific, and other National Commissions; implementing joint projects and information exchanges on sub-regional, regional, and inter-regional levels."
The Korean UNESCO office publishes a number of journals -- most important for Korean studies are the Korea Journal and the now discontinued Revue de Corée. The full-text versions of those and other journals can be downloaded in PDF format at http://kubib.unesco.or.kr/eng/default.html.

Korean Studies Association of Australia (KSSA)
The KSSA was established in 1994. Among other activities it organizes a biennial Korean studies conference.

New Zealand Asian Studies Society (NZASIA)
Established in 1974 as an independent society, the NZASIA holds meetings and biennial conferences, sponsors publications, and publishes a scholarly journal (New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies) and a Newsletter.

Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS)

Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch
"The Korea Branch of the RAS was born in June 1900, when 17 men from three countries (Germany, Great Britain, and America) met to form a branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of London." "From October 1900, the year the Society was founded, the RAS began publishing its annual Transactions, which is available in a complete set of reprints and originals from the RAS-KB." The RAS also "sponsors the publication of numerous books on Korean topics every year" and "currently conducts lecture meetings twice monthly [in Seoul]. Experts in various fields speak on a wide range of topics."

Society of Korean-American Scholars (SKAS)
"The Society of Korean-American Scholars (SKAS) is a private, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization ... It promotes scholarship and fellowship among its members and seeks to foster leadership among young Korean-Americans."



   

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