JNU organizes Young Scholars’ International Seminar on Korean Studies
NEW DELHI: Centre for Korean Studies, JNU organized its 7th Young Scholar International Webinar titled, “Korean Studies in India & South Asia: An Inter-Cultural Perspective on Language, Literature, and Culture”.
The Centre for Korean Studies has been organizing Young Scholar’s seminar from the past few years and has rendered a potential platform to the scholars of Korean Studies. The two days webinar had speakers from Bangladesh, South Korea, Russia, Myanmar, and different universities across India.
The webinar was conducted on the 19th and 20th of June, 2020 which was attended by the participants from different countries of South Asia.
At the outset, the welcome speech was given by Prof. Ravikesh Mishra who is the director of AKS project and professor of Korean in JNU. He has extensively worked in fostering Korean studies in India and South Asia under the AKS project.
While introducing the theme and the outline of the seminar, he stressed on the need to develop closer communication among the young scholars who have engaged in research on various aspects of the Korean language, literature, culture, and society. He informed about various initiatives that he and his team have taken up like developing localized textbooks and e-contents and fellowships for the meritorious students.
Ambassador Shin Bong Kil and Padma Shri Dr. Kim Yang Shik
He informed that JNU has planned two significant steps which is to introduce an online Certificate course in Korean language and culture and MS in Korean which is exclusively for the Engineering students.
In his inaugural speech by the JNU Vice-Chancellor Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar appreciated the Centre for Korean Studies for taking the initiative to connect with the scholars of Korean Studies through a digital platform.
He also mentioned about the historical links between India and South Korea and its growing bilateral relations that have benefited both the countries. Prof. Kumar emphasized the need to develop a significant digital platform that will further help the scholars of Korean studies to interact and know more about the language, literature, and culture of Korea.
The digital platform will foster an academic network that will encourage the scholars to work towards academic resilience during the pandemic. He hoped that given the popularity of Korean in India, JNU may start B.A. in Korean in the near future. Some of the notable speakers were Padma Shri Dr. Kim Yang Shik, Shin Bong-kil, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, and Amb. Skand R Tayal, former Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea.
Dr. Kim Yang Shik is a well-renowned poetess, author, and Indologist who have been honored with the highest Civilian Award, Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contribution in cultural exchange through India-Korea Cultural society. Her literary work is inspired by Rabindranath Tagore and she is the founder of the Tagore Society in Korea which has been working on translating Tagore’s work in Korean.
Dr. Kim Yang Shik has been helping the Indian scholars of Korean Studies in JNU through a generous scholarship in her name. She appreciated the Center for Korea Studies, JNU for its excellence in academics and its pivotal role in fostering Korean studies in India and South Asia.
Amb. Shin Bong-kil congratulated the efforts of the Centre for Korean Studies and elaborated about its role as the hub of Korean Studies in South Asia. He deliberated upon various aspects of India and Korea through its historical links as well as future areas of cooperation. He illustrated the example of Korea in containing the COVID pandemic and the suggested ways to contain it in India.
Amb. Skand R Tayal talked about India and South Korea’s bilateral relations and academic tie-ups which has significantly benefited the scholars of both the countries. They also discussed the unexplored realms of Korean Studies in India and opportunities for Indian Scholars in Korea.
The sessions during the two days seminar were coordinated by the organizing committee and faculty of Centre for Korean Studies, JNU including Prof. Ravikesh, Mr. Satyanshu Srivastava, Dr. Neerja Samajdar, Mr. Santosh Kumar Ranjan, Mr. Kaushal Kumar, Mr. Manish Kumar Barnwal and Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jha.
