Column
The Korean Wave is Blowing
at Erciyes University in Türkiye
Three Türkiye universities have a Korean studies department. The Ankara University in the capital, Erciyes University in Kayseri and Istanbul University have a Korean Language and Literature Department. I am going to introduce an international conference hosted by the Korean Language and Literature Department of the Erciyes University (Department Chair: Professor Hatice Koroglu Turkozu), where I am a faculty member. This article will also take a look at the current status of Korean studies in Türkiye. "The 21st International Conference of CEESOK (Central and Eastern European Society of Koreanology)" was held on October 20-21, 2022 at three sites of the College of Humanities at Erciyes University, including the Conference Auditorium. About 70 Korean studies scholars and 400 Korean language and literature students from 13 countries participated in the conference.
CEESOK (Central and Eastern European Society of Koreanology) successfully held the international conference on Korean studies, which covered India, the United States and Korea beyond Europe and Central Asia. It was meaningful that CEESOK held the conference in the year marking the 20th anniversary of its founding.
CEESOK (Central and Eastern European Society of Koreanology) successfully held the international conference on Korean studies, which covered India, the United States and Korea beyond Europe and Central Asia. It was meaningful that CEESOK held the conference in the year marking the 20th anniversary of its founding.
The theme of "The 21st CEESOK International Conference" was "Measures to Vitalize Korean Studies and Korean Culture Dissemination in the Eurasia Region." The conference began with an opening speech by the president of CEESOK, Professor S. Goksel Turkozu (Department of Korean Language and Literature at Erciyes University), which was followed by congratulatory remarks by Ambassador Lee Won-ik and welcome speeches by Professor Dr. Özen Tok, dean of the College of Humanities at Erciyes University, and Professor Hatice Koroglu Turkozu, Chair of the Korean Language and Literature Department. About 50 Korean studies scholars made presentations in the two-day conference held both offline and online (via ZOOM).
The chief conference organizer, Professor Jeong Jin-won (Department of Korean Language and Literature at Erciyes University), gave a keynote speech entitled "The Future of Korean Studies Found in K-Classic Humanities Contents." He emphasized that "now is the time for the future of the Central and Eastern European Society of Koreanology which has been with Korea's K-Pop contents for the past 20 years to move toward the next 100 years with the K-Classic Korean humanities classics."
The chief conference organizer, Professor Jeong Jin-won (Department of Korean Language and Literature at Erciyes University), gave a keynote speech entitled "The Future of Korean Studies Found in K-Classic Humanities Contents." He emphasized that "now is the time for the future of the Central and Eastern European Society of Koreanology which has been with Korea's K-Pop contents for the past 20 years to move toward the next 100 years with the K-Classic Korean humanities classics."
About 400 undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Erciyes University provided volunteer work and actively participated in the conference, making it a lively and youthful event. The "Hahoe Talchum (mask dance)" performance that followed the keynote speech boosted a festive atmosphere of the international conference. The performance was provided by Shin Jun-ha and other human cultural assets from the "Society to Preserve the Hahoe Byeolsingut Tallori, the Korean National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 69."
Meanwhile, about 40 student volunteers made the academic conference a colorful event by welcoming foreign professors in the hanbok Korean traditional clothes donated by hanbok master Kim Gyeong-ra. The two-day conference consisted of three sessions on "1) Linguistics/Korean Language Education, 2) History/Society, and 3) Culture/Architecture/Religion." The conference featured informative and earnest presentations on exciting, diverse topics, such as the latest hallyu video contents and the introduction of the Central Asian musical instrument " jew's-harp (gugeum)" to Balhae Korea.
Meanwhile, about 40 student volunteers made the academic conference a colorful event by welcoming foreign professors in the hanbok Korean traditional clothes donated by hanbok master Kim Gyeong-ra. The two-day conference consisted of three sessions on "1) Linguistics/Korean Language Education, 2) History/Society, and 3) Culture/Architecture/Religion." The conference featured informative and earnest presentations on exciting, diverse topics, such as the latest hallyu video contents and the introduction of the Central Asian musical instrument " jew's-harp (gugeum)" to Balhae Korea.
During her online lecture for refugee students, Ukrainian Professor Park Antonina touched on the Korean poem "Mother, Sister," bringing many in the audience to tears. Now Korean studies is even playing a role in comforting the war-stricken Ukrainian people and delivering messages of peace to the world. Sevnem Yabuz, a master's student at the University of Vienna in Austria, made a presentation on the geopolitical relationship between South Korea and Türkiye, in which the student stressed more exchanges and attention between the young scholars of the two countries.
The continuous and rapid development of Korean studies in Türkiye owes much to the support of the Academy of Korean Studies. In particular, Erciyes University in Türkiye had been designated for a key overseas Korean studies support project of the AKS, which has been going well. Many projects are being undertaken, including international academic conferences, Korean cultural festivals, and publication of textbooks. I have also published the textbook "Learning Hanja with Practical Korean" in Türkiye and Korean in 2023. Now, after a generation of more than 30 years, Korean studies in Türkiye is faithfully bridging international Korean studies to Europe and Central Asia.
The continuous and rapid development of Korean studies in Türkiye owes much to the support of the Academy of Korean Studies. In particular, Erciyes University in Türkiye had been designated for a key overseas Korean studies support project of the AKS, which has been going well. Many projects are being undertaken, including international academic conferences, Korean cultural festivals, and publication of textbooks. I have also published the textbook "Learning Hanja with Practical Korean" in Türkiye and Korean in 2023. Now, after a generation of more than 30 years, Korean studies in Türkiye is faithfully bridging international Korean studies to Europe and Central Asia.
