Asiatic Research Institute
Established in 1957 as the first university-affiliated research institute in Korea, the Asiatic Research Institute (ARI) has built an extensive range of human and material infrastructure in order to deal with diverse issues related to Northeast Asia. Since 2000, ARI has published a succession of Northeast Asian studies series, including the Northeast Asia Monograph Series, the China Studies Series, the Korea-Japan Joint Studies Series, the Korean Democracy Studies Series, and the East Asian Studies Series. Building on these achievements, the institute has played a leading role in spearheading Northeast Asian studies in Korea and is poised to develop into a world-class research institute.
ARI’s Main Missions
1) Interdisciplinary Studies in Both Humanities and Social Sciences
ARI takes the whole Northeast Asian region as an area for comprehensive, interdisciplinary research in order to overcome the limitations engendered from the current divide between research areas and academic disciplines and formulate new discourses and research paradigms in area studies.
2) Center for Northeast Asian Studies and Collaborative Information System
ARI has pursued to establish a world-class research center on Northeast Asia by accumulating, sorting out and publishing a wide range of resources relating to Northeast Asian studies. ARI put together the ARI Library and the East Asian Digital Archive into an enlarged system, named the Center for Northeast Asian Archive. In addition, ARI is newly building a Collaborative Information System to offer ARI’s resources to scholars and the public and encourage them to participate in enriching its contents. ARI has also collaborated with other Korean and foreign research institutes to create a more stable and efficient infrastructure.
3) Internationally Competitive Specialists in Area Studies
ARI has produced internationally competitive scholars specializing in Northeast Asian studies. Equipped with knowledge as well as research skills in the fields of humanities and social sciences, these scholars were given chances to make international research trips and conduct joint research projects with foreign research institutes.
4) Domestic and International Research Communities
ARI has strengthened a network of domestic and international academic communities by organizing international conferences jointly with other leading institutions in the world and running researcher-exchange programs.
5) Public Service
ARI has enhanced its accessibility to the public by giving a facelift to its website, running civic education programs and performing public lectures.
Research Centers
1. HK Center for Northeast Asian Studies (Director; Lee, Jong-Wha)
The international relations of Northeast Asia have faced an unprecedented level of challenges from globalization and transnationalism, as the region has been subject to both the legacies from the Cold War era and the impact of post-Cold War phenomena. A number of agents—states, local governments, various NGOs, corporations, and individuals—have been participating in this transnational trend in political, economic, ideological, cultural, and environmental sectors, leaving the region’s territorial boundariesincreasingly“porous.” Currently, Northeast Asia is experiencing the formation, transformation, and reformation of multilayered networks and multiple identities among various agents. In order to provide a comprehensive account of these complicated transnational phenomena in Northeast Asia, it is essential to explore the intellectual and historical foundations, to examine transnational social and cultural trends, and to investigate the changes in institutional orders. Appointed in 2008 as one of the research institutes for the Humanities Korea (HK) Project for regional studies initiated by the Korean government, ARI established the HK Center for Northeast Asian Studies to systematically carry out interdisciplinary studies on Northeast Asia. Its primary research agenda is “Transnational Space of Northeast Asia: Intellectual and Socio-cultural Exchanges, Institutional Interactions, and their Restructurings.”
2. Center for Chinese Studies (Director: Lee, Jung-Nam)
The Center for Chinese Studies was established in 1957 as the ARI’s first research division. Building on its long tradition in Chinese studies, the center has engaged in a variety of academic activities by building a global network and investigating the role and status of China in East Asia and the world. The center currently undertakes a number of research projects on traditional and contemporary China such as “Political Reforms and Democracy in China,”“Diplomatic Security of China,” and “Studies on Chinese Urbanization.”
3. Center for Contemporary Japanese Studies (Director: Lee, Hyoung-sik)
Building on the strong tradition of ARI’s Japanese Studies, particularly on the Korean-Japanese relationship, the Center for Contemporary Japanese Studies (CCJS) was established in 2011 to launch a research on contemporary Japan in the context of East Asian studies. The center consists of two offices, namely the Office of Politics & Economy and the Office of Society & Culture. It also runs a research seminar titled, “Japan Forum.”
4. Center for Taiwan Studies (Director: Son, Key-young)
ARI’s Center for Taiwan Studies was established in 2009 to serve as an academic hub for Taiwan studies in Korea. The center conducts academic research on Taiwanese politics, economy, society, and culture and serves as a channel of exchange between Korea and Taiwan in various sectors. The center has been organizing academic conferences on Taiwanese issues, supporting research projects on Taiwan, and inviting Taiwanese scholars to ARI.
5. Center for Global Korean Community Research (Director: Yoon, In Jin)
The main research topics the center is currently working on are (1) a survey on the history and situation of the Korean diaspora around the world, (2) the identity transformations of overseas Koreans, and (3) the Korean diaspora and multiculturalism.In addition to academic research, this center has been conducting surveys on seven million Koreans residing in foreign countries, contributing to policy-making relating to the global Korean community, and developing educational programs for overseas-Koreans.
6. Center for East Asian Comparative History (Director: Song, Kye-jin)
The center aims to build new theoretical foundations for Northeast Asian studies through facilitating the exchange of knowledge among scholars in Northeast Asian history and related fields. At present, the center is conducting two projects, titled ”Sino-Korea Relations Recorded in the Official Documents of Modern China” and ”A Bibliographical Introduction to the Records of the Chinese Legation in Korea at the End of the Qing Dynasty.” From early 2011, it has been running the monthly academic meeting, “East Asian Comparative History Seminar.”
Academic Activities
1. East Asian Community Forum (東亞共同體論壇)
The East Asian Community Forum (EACF) is an annual international academic conference on Northeast Asia, which is to be held alternately in Korea, Japan, and China. It aims to create a worldwide network of distinguished institutions and scholars in the field of Northeast Asia studies, thus providing a regular opportunity to discuss the key issues of the region and ways to enhance intra-regional cooperation and overcome common challenges.
2. Conferences and Others
In addition to the East Asian Community Forum, ARI regularly organizes domestic and international conferences, colloquia, workshops and seminars on diverse topics related to Northeast Asia in the fields of humanities and social sciences. Selected conferences papers have been posted on the ARI’s homepage under the “Working Paper Series.”
Fellowship and Grant
1. ARI Fellowship Program for Northeast Asian Studies
The ARI Fellowship Program for Northeast Asian Studies is designed to provide junior scholars and doctoral candidates of foreign countries with an opportunity to carry out research on topics related to Northeast Asia at ARI. It provides airfare, accommodation, office-space, and other benefits to the fellows for up to six months. The application deadline falls every August. For details, please visit ARI’s homepage at www.asiasticresearch.org.
2. ARI’s Monograph Series Grant
This grant is to expand opportunities for academic publications by Northeast Asian studies specialists. Scholars in the disciplines of humanities and social sciences planning to publish original research manuscripts related to Northeast Asia areeligible to apply. The revision of PhD dissertations for publication is also reviewed. For details, please visit ARI’s homepage at www.asiasticresearch.org.
East Asian Archives
1. ARI East Asian Library
The ARI East Asian Library is the largest and oldest university-affiliated research institute library for East Asian research in Korea. It has collected valuable research sources for more than half a century, and its collection includes valuable sources such as materials on North Korea and rare books published before 1945. The library, located on the fourth floor of the ARI’s building, has attracted numerous Northeast Asian scholars from all over the world.
2. Northeast Asian Digital Archives
ARI has long engaged in finding and digitizing important materials for East Asian studies. The brief introductions of the DBs, sourcebooks, and e-books are available at the ARI’s website.
Phone: +82 (02) 3290-1600
Fax: +82 (02) 923-4661
Email: arc2005@korea.ac.kr
Location: Korea University, Anam Campus, Anam-dong5-ga, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 136-701, Korea
Homepage: http://www.asiaticresearch.org/
