In 2009, the Korea-Australasia Research Centre (KAREC) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) commenced a national project designed to improve Asian language education, including Korean.
The project, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, has a Strategic Collaboration and Partnership Fund with $9.36 AUD million to grant.
The Australian government's aim is to increase opportunities for school students to become familiar with the languages and cultures of Australia's key regional neighbors: China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea.
As the first milestone of the Project, KAREC has organized a National Strategic Conference, which was held on 19-21 November 2009 at UNSW, Sydney. On the 20th of November, there was a round-table discussion on the coverage of Korea in high school non-language subjects.
Korean Studies academics and high school teachers of Society and Environment, English and Arts participated in this discussion.
Part of the focus was on why Australians are interested in studying their northerly neighbor.
Why do we study Korea?
What motivates us, while residing in Australia, America or Europe, to invest our time, money and effort in examining the past of this small country, squeezed between the giants of East Asia? It must be our interest in Korea's dynamic present and promising future that stimulates our curiosity about its tumultuous history.
The Korean peninsula, a land bridge between the Asian mainland and North Pacific islands, for centuries possessed great strategic geopolitical significance and played the role of a middleman in cultural transmission from China to Japan. Transformed under Chinese influence, Korea itself nurtured a unique culture and independent spirit. Despite the rise and fall of local dynasties and foreign suzerains, the Korean people managed to develop and preserve their own identity throughout thousands of years of existence.
The problem, however, exists in the variety of interpretations of Korea's past, which have been adopted since 1945 in North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and other countries of the Pacific Rim. These academic traditions have developed their own particular views on the character of events which took place in Korea at different historical periods. These conflicting views create misunderstandings and often lead to full-scale "history wars."
Controversies over the representation of history in East Asia continue to damage regional relations. China, Japan and Korea have emerged as substantial economic powers known for their fierce industrial and trade competition. This rivalry can translate into a war of nationalisms, with a special place reserved for history studies. In the last decade we have witnessed several major conflicts sparked by Japanese history textbooks, the Chinese "Northeast Research Project", and UNESCO registration policies.
But as an export-oriented economy, relations with its neighbors are crucial for Korea. Even minor events on the peninsula always attract the attention and reaction of world powers. The behavior of foreign investors also depends on a sense of predictability, which can be developed only with a great deal of knowledge and first-hand experience. In such circumstances, any Korea-related subject (including history and culture) becomes essential for a successful career move or business decision.
Ultimately, a high-school and undergraduate students' motivation to study Korean history or language is usually associated with the status of South Korea's economic prospects, political climate in and around North Korea, and many other factors directly affecting regional peace and stability. In order to correctly interpret the present and predict the future of East Asia, we must know Korea well.
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Essential Vocabulary
export-oriented economy: 수출 중심의 경제/stability: 안정성/nationalism: 민족주의/Korea-related subjects:한국관련 주제들
