▲ Professor Jung Tae Hern explaining about CKH. Photographed by Bae Mi Seon |
Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican political leader, once stated that “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” Likewise, history is inseparable from human beings; it requires people’s interest and persistent research.
Located in the Korean Studies Hall, a building of traditional Korean beauty, Center for Korean History (CKH) is a relatively new institution that was officially established in October 2009. Before becoming an autonomous center, it had been an organization affiliated with the Research Institute of Korean Studies (RIKS) of Korea University (KU). Despite its short history, CKH has been successful in conducting diverse research and projects embracing not only history, but also culture and economics.
Professor Jung Tae Hern (Korean History), the director, cites the center’s goal as to broaden KU’s research capability in Korean history. “This year, we have been making progress on nine projects, ranging from ancient history to modern history,” he says. Jung continues, “We believe that we have made a satisfactory start, as the results have been quite successful.” The nine projects include, but are not restricted to, Korean railway history, royal culture, and the origin of ancient Korean history.
Researchers at CKH are mainly graduate students, while professors of Korean History at KU are in charge of all the research. Not only does CKH manage projects conducted by its researchers, but it also holds academic conferences at both the national and international levels. “The topics for these conferences are usually related to the projects that we conduct. Otherwise, our members independently think of important subject that might be applicable for conferences,” Jung says. A recent example of this was a discussion about government office buildings, which they dealt with in October.
Since “convergence” has become a buzz word in the 21st century, CKH is following the trend toward interdisciplinary research. Jung emphasizes the point that history itself is a complex subject. “One of our most recent researches is about the Silk Road and Korea’s Buddhist Culture. This topic is a combination of history, religion, and culture,” he says. Professionals in each field gather together, pursuing collaborative research methods to seek new findings.
CKH also edits academic journals in English. Jung mentions, “Research in Koreanology, or Korean history, is most successful in Korea compared with that conducted in foreign countries. In order to share the results that we achieve in these researches, it is necessary for us to write or translate them into English, although it does require massive efforts and costs.”
Although CKH has been managing diverse seminars on various issues, not many KU students are fully aware of them because of the center’s short history. Hong Woopyo (’11, Chemistry), who takes Korean history as an elective, says he did not know about the existence of CKH. “Although I do not know much about the center, I do have the intention to attend the seminar hosted by CKH. I am particularly interested in the Japanese colonial era and the Korean War,” he says.
Jung points out that there are many current CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) who emphasize the need to study humanities. “People saying that the humanities ‘do not bring money’ is only a short-sighted view,” he says. He also shares his idea that knowledge in Korean history is important for all students, regardless of their majors. “I feel sorry for the reality that considers the humanities as impractical.”