뉴스레터

I first came to Korea to study the Korean language. There were only a very few Chinese students studying in Korea in the early 1990s, and it was quite a challenging decision for me to opt for a graduate program in Korean history there after only a brief period of language training. Fortunately, I was welcomed by a group of very supportive professors at Korea University, who not only very patiently and enthusiastically advised me about my academic work, but also helped me understand Korean culture and society. I joined them for a number of field trips to historical sites in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia that were important in the early history of Korea; this further stimulated me to continue my study of the ancient history of Korea.

After receiving a master's degree, I decided to take on another big challenge and move to the US to begin a doctoral program. Language barriers and cultural shock have always been issues for me, but luckily, I have always gotten help from professors and sonbae in Korea and later in the US. Studying East Asian and Korean history in the US provided me with a more reflective and nuanced perspective to ponder something I thought I knew, now from a distance. I finished a Ph.D. program and started teaching at Roanoke College in 2006.

My teaching career at Roanoke College has only increased my passion for Korean history. When I made a campus visit to Roanoke College as a part of my job interview, the chair of the History department, Dr. Mark Miller, asked me if I had heard of Kim Kyusik. Of course I had seen this name in modern Korean history books; however, to be honest, I did not know about him beyond the fact that he led the Korean independence movement while in exile in China and tried to establish a united Korean government from 1945 to 1950. It was only after I moved to Roanoke that I found out more fascinating facts about this college and its connection with Korea that had started in the 1890s. It is surprising that this small liberal arts college located in southwest Virginia, not well known even to many US students, let alone to today's Koreans, was a host institution and popular choice for over thirty Korean students who studied in the US between the 1890s and 1920s. I was particularly stuck by two facts. First, it seemed surprising that a small liberal arts college could be so open to hosting students from thousands of miles away, from another continent across the Pacific Ocean, at a time when Korea was known only as a hermit kingdom. Second, Korean students did so well here not only in their academic work, but also as members of the community who were active in numerous college activities. Famous Roanoke College Korean alumni include Prince Yi Kang, the fifth son of King Kojong; Sŏ Pyŏnggyu, who was the interpreter for Korea at the World's Columbian Fair in 1893 and who in 1897 became the first Korean upon whom a Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred in the US; Sŏ Kwangpŏm, the central figure in the Korean Enlightenment Movement, who was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1897; and Yi Kijong, the older brother of Yi Uijong, who was one of the three representatives of King Kojong at the Hague Conference in 1907, studied at Roanoke College when his father Yi Pŏmchin was Korea's representative in Washington DC.

I have not been able to visit Korea for the past five years, and this research period at NAHF has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to get back in touch with scholars I knew before, as well as with the chance to meet some up-and-coming, promising young scholars in the field of Korean history. I also have greatly benefited from exposure to the NAHF's collection of materials on ancient history. Roanoke College has a nice library; however, we only have a very limited collection of East Asia-related materials, and no collection at all for any sources written in East Asian languages. During my three months of research at NAHF, I was able to collect the most up-to-date research materials. I hope to participate in joint projects with Korean scholars, and this NAHF fellowship laid the foundation for future collaboration. Moreover, I will also take a group of Roanoke College students to visit Korea in May 2014. This will be a historical event for the college because the college had treasured the connection with Korea for over a century now and hopes to reconnect with Korea. I will take students to visit NAHF, especially the Exhibition Hall of Dokdo Island, so that students from the US can also develop a sense of historical and territorial debates that have occurred, as well as come to understand more about other ongoing sensitive issues in East Asia. I greatly appreciated the hospitality and support shown to me by researchers and staff members at NAHF, and it has made me look forward even more to visiting Korea again in 2014.