Han Asia Times

North Korea: What Next? Vyjayanti Raghavan Associate Professor, Korean language and culture studies, JNU email: jayantiraghavan@yahoo.co.in Kim Jong-il died, unfortunately, just a few months before the centenary celebrations of his father, the late ‘Supreme Leader’ and ‘Founder Father’ Kim Il-Sung, were to take place. The whole nation was gearing up to making North Korea a ‘strong and prosperous nation’ by the centennial year 2012. There were no clear answers as to how they proposed to do this, at least not to the outside world. North Korea had also publicly declared its desire to become a fully functional nuclear weapons state by 2012. Was it this sort of pressure that resulted in Kim Jong-il’s fatal myocardial infarction, as speculated? Unlikely, North Korean leaders - only two so far – have not really had to deliver on their promises to their people. Indeed, they have always been able to magically turn even dung into flowers ...

                                    Cosmopolitan view a key to success     Many perceive globalization as a fairly modern trend, but an expert of 6th-century Korean history said it is not a new concept, a foreign expert on the 6th century Korean history. In fact, it has existed ever since the Silla dynasty. “The Silla dynasty’s cosmopolitan world view had led to the reunification of the three dynasties ― Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla ― and the world approaches of the Silla dynasty much resemble the modern Korea’s world view ―- which made both successful,” Pankaj Mohan, Silla expert and professor at the Academy of Korean Studies, told The Korea Herald. The Indian professor, who has devoted two-thirds of his life to Korean studies and Korean history, said his research about Korea was inspired by a...

Lab for Globalization of Korean Studies Vyjayanti Raghavan (Associate Professor Korean Language, Literature & Culture Studies, JNU, New Delhi). The Strategic Initiative for Korean Studies (SIKS) has itself been an innovative idea for initiating research in Korean studies. It is committed to and has pioneered many excellent academic works around the globe in the field of Korean studies. The recently launched Lab for Globalization of Korean studies is also one such innovative initiative which as the name suggests will be a lab for conducting research under the able guidance and direction of a Lab master who will bring together researchers of this area of study and also decide the topic of research. The world has become far more interdependent now than ever before and it is only right that researchers of the same area of study are linked together for more productive, efficient and less duplication of research work. In an era when Korea itself has gone global it i...

UN is holding photo contest for Asia-Pacific region from August 27 to September 21. Submit photographs illustrating the values of UN for a chance to win Nikon camera. UN is holding a photo contest to raise awareness of the core values of UN: freedom from want, freedom from fear, dignity, solidarity, justice, protection, human rights, security, empowerment, sustainability, progress, equality, and peace. Submit a photo depicting the values of UN in your neighborhood, city, country, or the Asia-Pacific region with a short description of how the photo illustrates the value of UN. Submission Date: August 27 ~ September 21, 2012 Eligibility: be 18 years old or older by September 21, 2012 and be a resident of any Asia-Pacific country Photographs must have been taken in Asia-Pacific within one year of the competition closing date. Submission Submit the official entry form and up to 3 photographs at the competition website Photographs must be in high resolution digital forma...

TOPIK, or Test of Proficiency in Korean is a  Korean language  test offered four times annually to foreigners in Korea and twice annually to people studying Korean in other countries. TOPIK is administered by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (Hangul: 한국교육과정평가원 Hanja: 韓國敎育課程評價院). The test was first administered in 1997 and taken by 2274 people. Initially the test was held only once a year. In 2009, 180,000 people took the test. [2]   The Korean government introduced a law in 2007 that required   Chinese workers of Korean descent   who have no relatives in Korea to take the test so they could be entered in a lottery for   visas . The test is divided into four parts: vocabulary & grammar, writing, listening, and reading. There is currently no oral section. Two versions of the test are offered: standard (S)-TOPIK and the business (B)-TOPIK. There are three different levels of S-TOPIK: beginner (초급), intermediate (중급), and advanc...

If want to have fun, make new friends, meet interesting people while making a small contribution for the unification of Korean peninsula. GPYC Korea Invites You To Join The Unified Korea Campaign Submitted by  himaligirl  on Fri, 2012-08-03 15:40 Want to do something different this time? Come join us from August 13th -15th and contribute in unified Korea Campaign. Students who will join us for 3days will go rafting on the 16th at Cheorwon, Gangwondo and take a trip to warzone! Students who do not have enough time can also apply to join for the 15th of August, but cannot join the rafting trip. Accomodation will not be provided. Themes For Each Day August 13: A day with North Koreans August 14: A day with young children   August15: GPYC with International Students What Will You Do? You will join Korean students and other international students in a campaign to collect signatures for a unified Korean Peninsula, hold pickets an...