Center for Korean Studies

The Center for Korean Studies (CKS) is a unit of the Institute of East Asian Studies. The Center is one of the nation's most active academic centers for the study of Korean humanities and social sciences. Its goal is to use the academic resources of the University of California to promote international cultural, economic, and political understanding.

Originally part of a combined Center for Japanese and Korean Studies, a separate Center for Korean Studies was established in 1979 in recognition of Korea's growing importance in world affairs. Today the Korea program is developing rapidly, in keeping with expanding interest in this field.

Each year, the Center sponsors film festivals, colloquia, regional seminars, international conferences, and visiting lectures. The Center helps to build ties between institutions of higher learning, research institutes, governmental and business agencies in Korea and the United States. The Center also actively promotes all aspects of Korean studies at Berkeley. In addition, the Center hosts international academic fora, conferences, and meetings in co-sponsorship with sister institutions at home and abroad.

The Center also provides assistance grants to scholars and students doing research in Korean Studies in the humanities and social sciences. In addition to a full schedule of colloquia and conferences, the Center for Korean Studies sponsors a vigorous program of scholarly exchange. Distinguished visitors from Korea, including individuals from public life and diplomatic service, as well as Korea specialists from other American universities, visit Berkeley and contribute to the intellectual life of the Institute and the campus. Major financial support from the Academy of Korean Studies and Samsung helps to support distinguished visiting specialists to teach about Korea, graduate student fellowships and exchanges, as well as colloquia, conferences, faculty research, and publications development.