Newsletter

Last July, Professor Kim Sunjoo has become the first Korean director of the Korea Institute at Harvard University. Prof. Kim has expressed her hope to upgrade the quality of Korean studies. The present issue offers a dialogue between Prof. Kim and Dr. Woo, a NAHF research fellow, over the right directions and specific methods for the development of Korean studies. _Editor

Woo: You were inaugurated Director of the Korea Institute at Harvard on July 1st, and it is the first time for a Korean. I would like to congratulate you and look forward to active cooperation and exchange between your institute and Korean academic, civic and governmental organizations and individuals. Do you have any plan for a project to make Harvard's Korean Institute a driving force for the development of Korean studies worldwide?

Kim: The most important plan is to make contribution to research and education, which are the primary duties of the university, and make contribution to the development of Korean studies, the major mission of our institute. My duty is continually to support and expand the research and education programs that Harvard University has developed and offered so far and to find and develop new programs. Recently Harvard has been placing great importance on study-abroad programs for art students and undergraduate students. In concert with this direction of the school's effort, the Korea Institute supported film classes held last summer in Korea and is trying to offer more study-abroad opportunities to undergraduate students by means of forming partnerships with Korean universities. In the coming spring term of 2012, we plan to offer a Korean art history class, and I believe this is the first time that Harvard has ever offered such a class. In addition, I plan to closely cooperate with schools of law, business and management, and medicine and Kennedy School of Government in Harvard to consolidate the foundation of Korean studies. I also will make efforts to expand research and education programs of Korean history.

Woo: To carry out these programs successfully, solid financial support is a necessity. How does the Harvard Korea Institute raise funds?

Kim: The Korea Institute's various activities and programs are possible through constant interest and generous donations from concerned organizations and individuals. The institute does not receive any financial support from Harvard but is managed with its own funds formed from interest income from a number of reserves, annual donations from various organizations including the NAHF, Korea Foundation, and the Academy of Korean Studies. Since we are receiving money from various organizations, some people wonder whether the same programs are given overlapped financial supports, but funds from different Korean institutes are allotted to different programs and used for different expenditures, so there is no overlap in our received funds and budget management. Since it is impossible to run an institute without solid financial resources, one of my important duties will be raising funds and securing our finances.

Woo: Harvard University started to hold the Korea Colloquium in 1973, but the Korea Institute was established only eight years later, in 1981. Could you explain briefly the history and status of the Korea Institute?

Prof. Kim Sunjoo

Kim: When the Korea Institute was first established in 1981, it was affiliated to Fairbank Center of Asian Studies, but became independent in 1993. The first director of the institute was Prof. Edward W. Wagner. Prof. Carter J. Eckert began teaching at Harvard in 1985, and in 1997, Prof. David R. McCann became Korean Foundation Professor, a professorship established by the funds from the Korean Foundation since the mid 1990s. After the retirement of Prof. Wagner, there were a number of other professors who taught pre-modern Korean history, but I was appointed assistant professor in 2001 and received tenure in 2008. For now we have four Korean studies professors, and 15 doctorate students and 10 master students.

Woo: I've heard that you have broadened the range of your research interests from your main focus of the cultural history and society of Joseon to the studies of North Korean regional history, life, law, society, and regional identity. Also, Prof. Eckert and Prof. McCann served as advisor to the US State Department to help their North Korea policies. Is the Korea Institute putting emphasis on North Korean studies? Do you plan to expand programs on North Korean studies?

Kim: The history and identity of the North Korean region is my personal academic interest. Unique historical characteristics of the Joseon-era North Korea, I think, are closely related to modern history, but at the moment my research is limited to the late Joseon period. However, I don't have any intention to impose my personal research interests in managing the institute. Also, the former directors' assistance to the State Department with its North Korea policies was given as an individual researcher rather than the institute's director; the Korea Institute was not the advisor but individual professors were. Of course, the institute will continue its academic activities on various foreign relations issues of the Korean peninsula, in particular including those about North Korea. Among those, the forum on Kim Ku is offering a good opportunity to exchange ideas on international relations surrounding the Korean peninsula and other related issues.

Woo: Last year the NAHF introduced the English book about Koguryo, Koguryo: A Glorious Ancient Korean Kingdom in Northeast Asia at one of the workshops at Harvard, and institutes in various countries have contacted us since then to ask for copies of the book to use in their classes. The great number of requests for the book, in a way, however, reflects the paucity of English books about ancient Korean history. Could you tell us about English-translated Korean history books at Harvard and other places in the United States?

Kim: There are very few Korean history books translated into English. Harvard University Press published in 1984 A New History of Korea [한국사신론], a book originally written by Prof. Ki-baik Lee and translated by Prof. Wagner; this book is still used as a textbook at Harvard. I've heard that Prof. Ham Jae-bong translated a book by Prof. Han Young-woo, A Review of Korean History [다시 찾는 우리 역사], last year, but I am not sure that it can be easily accessible from the United States because it is published in Korea. We desperately need Korean history textbooks for undergraduate classes including introductory books. To remedy this paucity of English material on Korean studies, we should educate a more number of Korean studies scholars first. It is important to translate and introduce the works published in Korea, but structurally it is very difficult for a scholar in the US to devote his/her time solely to translation. Also, only a well-trained scholar with expertise in the field can make a good, readable translation. Thus if it is not possible to produce good translated works quickly, a surer way to deepen and broaden Korean studies is to cultivate more scholars who can digest and absorb the works in Korean and have them accumulate their scholarship and produce research works and introductory books in English.

Dr. Woo Sungmin

Woo: The Harvard-Yenching Institute, which was founded in 1928, mainly focuses on Chinese studies, but as it also accepts the Japanese scholarly achievements, it has provided the ground for the western academic circles to concentrate their research on China and Japan. This background of research history, I think, is not unrelated to the distorted perception of the Western academic circles on the ancient history of Korea. In order to overcome this, what role does the Korea Institute at Harvard and other Korean studies organizations abroad play?

Kim: This question seems to suggest that the Harvard-Yenching Institute has led Chinese and Japanese studies that hold the colonial view of Korean history, but it was the Harvard-Yenching Institute that played a crucial role in establishing a secure Korean studies professorship for the first time. Straightening the distorted view on ancient Korean history cannot be achieved in one day, nor can one Korean studies institute achieve this alone. What is key here is to expand the base of Korean studies scholars. If we have more Korean studies scholars with good training and expertise, their scholarly and educational activities will gradually rectify the distortions about Korean history. The role of the Korean studies institute lies in supporting academic activities of Korean studies scholars and students.

Woo: In order to improve the feeble conditions of Korean studies abroad and to stop the spread of the distorted view on Korean history, the NAHF has been supporting "Early Korea Project" since 2007. How is the project evaluated and received at Harvard and other places in the United States?

Kim: The reactions are surprisingly positive. A few years ago, a professor of ancient Japanese history could not secure his tenure-ship and had to find a job at another university. One of the reasons for this is that the history of early Japan was not recognized as one independent research field. This case, of course, reveals the ignorance on the part of the school administration, but it also shows how little interest ancient history receives. However, whenever I go to seminars and workshops on Early Korea Project, I am often amazed at the unexpectedly large number of participants with diverse backgrounds. The project has been producing a journal every year, and it is selling quite well, which shows great outside interest. This success much owes to Dr. Mark Byington, the leader of the Early Korea Project, who has been editing and publishing all those issues of the journal.

Woo: Korean scholars and foreign scholars seem to take somewhat different methods and attitudes to fostering Korean studies and to promoting correct understanding of Korean history. It seems to me that misunderstanding often arises because Korean scholars do not have deep understanding of how a Korean studies institute abroad is run. As Director of the Harvard Korea Institute, what suggestions would you make to further the cooperation between Korean and foreign scholars to advance Korean studies abroad and to spread correct understanding of Korean history?

Kim: If I speak a bit philosophically, I think we need to build trust and understanding towards each other at a personal and academic level in order to further our cooperation in any meaningful way. Korean studies abroad is still in its infancy and needs a great deal of support. The Korea Foundation has been funding Korean studies professorships for the past 20 years and recently I've heard good news that they have installed the 100th professor of Korean studies. A professorship provides not only the security to research and educate students, but also the opportunity to introduce Korean studies to scholars of other fields. Moreover, a Korean studies professor will interact with scholars in Korea in a number of different ways, and his influence can ultimately reach beyond the boundary of university. Its results may not be visible immediately but in the long run, establishing a professorship and supporting research is the surest way to foster Korean studies.

Woo: As Director of the Harvard Korea Institute, do you have any suggestions to make to the NAHF?

Kim: It is my understanding that the NAHF is an organization founded with special missions. Thus, by supporting research and other activities to achieve those missions, the foundation can contribute great deal to academia and society. But, at the same time, these special purposes can limit its activities. Despite many difficulties, you have been supporting our Early Korea Project for a number of years, and this is nothing short of monumental. In response to this generosity, Harvard has been making great deal of efforts to meet the expectations of the foundation and academia. Through our continuous cooperation, I hope that this project not only continues but also further expands in the future, and with various scholarly exchanges, I hope that we together contribute to the development of Korean studies abroad.