Background and History of the ANU Centre for Korean Studies

The Australian National University has pioneered research and teaching on Asia in this country for over fifty years, and has the longest-established Korean language program in Australia. It is a national leader in research, graduate and undergraduate education on Korea.

Korean Studies at the ANU are concentrated in the Faculty of Asian Studies and in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies which belong to the College of Asia and the Pacific.

The ANU Centre for Korean Studies was established in 1994 in order to draw together the many academic units within the University which include teaching and research on Korea and to ensure the cohesion of the Korean program and to give the Korean program a clear mandate and voice inside and outside the ANU.

With support from the Korea Foundation and the University, the Faculty of Asian Studies and the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies have established a joint appointment for a Professor of Korean Studies at the ANU Korean Studies Centre. The position was taken up by Professor Kenneth Wells. This appointment significantly enhances the University's capacity to deliver outstanding programs focused on the two Koreas, in both the language and the non-language areas.

The Faculty of Asian Studies offers systematic Korean language training and courses which include Korean history. It also offers other non-language courses that introduce aspects of Korea from a broader perspective. Our aim is to equip students with the linguistic and cultural competence needed to function effectively in Korea and the education to enable them to understand the country in depth. Korean Studies courses are open to students taking Asian Studies degrees as well as to students enrolled in other Faculties.