CEFIA News
● The 195th Colloquium on Korean Studies Abroad
● The 12th AKS Hanmun (Classical Chinese) Fellowship
● The 12th AKS Hanmun (Classical Chinese) Fellowship
The 195th Colloquium on Korean Studies Abroad
The Division of International Support for Korean Studies held the 195th Colloquium on Korean Studies Abroad at the Grand Conference Room of Munhyeongwan Hall on Monday, December 15, 2025. The recipients of the 2025 AKS Fellowship presented the findings of their fellowship research, providing a platform for scholarly exchange.
In the first presentation, Dr. Roald Maliangkay (Professor, Australian National University) presented his research on the topic of “No Minute Trend: Selling Time Keeping During the Colonial Period.” Dr. Maliangkay analyzed how punctuality spread through Korean society during the colonial period via political discourse and commercial logic. In particular, he shed light on how the perception of Korea as a “society behind the times” was utilized to justify modern discipline, and how clocks became established as consumer goods symbolizing modernity and civility.
In the second presentation, Dr. We Jung Yi (Professor, Vanderbilt University) spoke on the topic of “Decolonial Re-membering? The Symbolic Return of Diasporic Heroes to the ‘Post–Cold War’ Korean Peninsula” Through a comparative analysis of the representations of two diasporic figures—professional wrestler Rikidōzan and revolutionary Alexandra Petrovna Kim—Dr. Yi examined the process by which these individuals are being reconstructed as objects of cultural memory in the twenty-first-century Korean Peninsula.
Korean and foreign researchers and graduate students attended the colloquium, engaging in a lively Q&A session and discussion centered on the two presentations. The Division of International Support for Korean Studies will continue to provide platforms for scholarly exchange, enabling researchers from diverse regions and fields to share and discuss their Korean Studies research.
In the first presentation, Dr. Roald Maliangkay (Professor, Australian National University) presented his research on the topic of “No Minute Trend: Selling Time Keeping During the Colonial Period.” Dr. Maliangkay analyzed how punctuality spread through Korean society during the colonial period via political discourse and commercial logic. In particular, he shed light on how the perception of Korea as a “society behind the times” was utilized to justify modern discipline, and how clocks became established as consumer goods symbolizing modernity and civility.
In the second presentation, Dr. We Jung Yi (Professor, Vanderbilt University) spoke on the topic of “Decolonial Re-membering? The Symbolic Return of Diasporic Heroes to the ‘Post–Cold War’ Korean Peninsula” Through a comparative analysis of the representations of two diasporic figures—professional wrestler Rikidōzan and revolutionary Alexandra Petrovna Kim—Dr. Yi examined the process by which these individuals are being reconstructed as objects of cultural memory in the twenty-first-century Korean Peninsula.
Korean and foreign researchers and graduate students attended the colloquium, engaging in a lively Q&A session and discussion centered on the two presentations. The Division of International Support for Korean Studies will continue to provide platforms for scholarly exchange, enabling researchers from diverse regions and fields to share and discuss their Korean Studies research.
The 12th AKS Hanmun (Classical Chinese) Fellowship
The Division of International Support for Korean Studies held the 12th AKS Hanmun (Classical Chinese) Fellowship over the course of 16 weeks from September 1 to December 19, 2025. The fellowship, now in its 12th run, is designed for undergraduate and graduate students majoring in Korean Studies at overseas universities and aims to improve the Classical Chinese competency of the next generation of Korean Studies scholars.
During the 12th AKS Hanmun (Classical Chinese) Fellowship, participants studied works including Mengzi (Mencius), Hanmun myeongpyeon (Outstanding Works in Classical Chinese), and the “Liezhuan” (Biography) section of the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), greatly improving their Classical Chinese proficiency. Notably, all fellows passed their applied levels on the Chinese Character Proficiency Test with high scores. Fellows were also taken on a regional field trip, which allowed them to directly experience the history and culture of the Yangyang and Gangneung areas of Gangwon-do Province.
All 3 students from 3 countries who completed the fellowship left reviews stating that their ability to interpret Hanmun (Classical Chinese) had improved through the program, and they expressed plans to actively utilize their skills in future Korean Studies research.
In 2026, the 13th and the 14th AKS Hanmun (Classical Chinese) Fellowship will be operated.
During the 12th AKS Hanmun (Classical Chinese) Fellowship, participants studied works including Mengzi (Mencius), Hanmun myeongpyeon (Outstanding Works in Classical Chinese), and the “Liezhuan” (Biography) section of the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), greatly improving their Classical Chinese proficiency. Notably, all fellows passed their applied levels on the Chinese Character Proficiency Test with high scores. Fellows were also taken on a regional field trip, which allowed them to directly experience the history and culture of the Yangyang and Gangneung areas of Gangwon-do Province.
All 3 students from 3 countries who completed the fellowship left reviews stating that their ability to interpret Hanmun (Classical Chinese) had improved through the program, and they expressed plans to actively utilize their skills in future Korean Studies research.
In 2026, the 13th and the 14th AKS Hanmun (Classical Chinese) Fellowship will be operated.
