BAKS Newsletter Autumn 2005

A Grave Threat

The British university used to be known as a bastion of privilege and tradition, a place where the speed of change was to be measured in centuries rather than academic terms; an upholder of minority interests and centre of enquiry into all sorts of mind-stretching, even recondite, subjects, from crustaceans to Coptic, philosophy to Finnish; a place where it was obvious to the makers of syllabi that understanding another race meant studying its culture as well as its language, and admission tutors were free to follow their instincts. (A contemporary of mine gained no A levels whatever but won a scholarship to Oxford and went on to take a first class degree.)

How times have changed, and universities with them. So they should of course: many aspects of the old, elitist, institutions cried out for modernisation. But how quickly the over-hasty expansion of recent years has led to a slippery slope towards commonality and all too often mediocrity. Departments of German, physics, and Japanese have been axed and even those of music and architecture jeopardised as the demand to open university education to all and sundry has led to revised priorities, overstretched resources, and less-than-stretching courses. Nor is serious research better served: the press keeps us all aware of some of the more banal topics that earn grants (usually, though not always, in what might generously be called the ?pplied social sciences?, and meanwhile funding for solid, text-based PhDs in the humanities shrinks. Less than three years ago, the Spring 2003 edition of the BAKS Newsletter stated: ?orean studies in Britain may never rival those in countries such as the United States. But they are now a well-established part of the British academic scene, with a steadily growing clientele.?Since then, however, the pattern has been to move away from support for smaller subjects and towards those, usually the less demanding ones, which the public appears to want. Both Durham and Newcastle universities have dropped their Korean courses, and Oxford threatens to do so by 2007 if outside sponsorship cannot be found. Even SOAS has tried to get rid of its specialist librarians in Chinese and Japanese languages, and hence indirectly its expertise in Korean.

In June the Chairman of HEFCE wrote to the Secretary of State for Education about ?ulnerable subjects? and embarked on a review with the AHRC and ESSRC ?ith the view to securing some national centres of excellence in area studies and related languages? ?he overall aim of the initiative? the HEFCE website proclaimed somewhat sanctimoniously, ?s to create a world class cadre of researchers who can enhance the UK? understanding of the Arab World, China and Japan, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.?The President of BAKS, Dr Hoare, was among those who wrote to draw attention to the omission of Korea from this list, but the reply he received from HEFCE was less than encouraging.

BAKS must do all it can to resist the undermining of academic concern for a country with which Britain has for so long been closely involved, and which is now perplexed by our apparent lack of interest in it. Korea Foundation has called a meeting in Seoul in mid-October to discuss the future of Korean studies in Europe. Don Starr, University of Durham, has been invited to represent the UK, and has been gathering information and opinions from experts around the country. He intends to report back at the Annual General Meeting of BAKS in London on Saturday 3 December. This will form part of a broader Study Day on cultural themes, and members are urged to attend if they possibly can.

BAKS Papers 10 is now at the printers. Full details of will be posted on the Papers page when it appears. The Editor writes about it as follows:

This volume of BAKS Papers presents contributions from two sources: the BAKS Study day held in April 2004 at the British Library on the theme of ?orea in the new millennium: science and technology? and the 2004 Joint East Asian Studies Conference organised by the University of Leeds. Two extra papers, those by Dr Kwongwon Yoon and Professor Choi Deok-Soo, have been included, since they strengthen existing themes. The differing provenances of the papers in BAKS 10 have resulted in a diversity of topics; but these can be marshalled under three broad headings.

Professor James Dator? keynote address leads the first group of six papers, which all examine aspects of the rapid advances in new IT technologies made in the Korean peninsula since the break of the new millennium. South Korea is fast becoming a world leader in this field, and Study day speakers helped us to understand some of the aesthetic, social and even administrative and economic implications of these developments.

The middle section of papers is more diverse, but invites us to look at issues thrown up by modernising trends in Korea, such as gender relations, surveyed through the medium of literature, and contemporary native religious practice. The two Koreas?dealings with each other and with their neighbours are explored through the medium of music (North Korea and Japan) and ancient history (claims to legitimacy). Young-mi Kim? paper examines the tendency towards coalition practices in today? politics in both South Korea and Japan.

The final group of five papers all deal with historical themes. Owen Miller? examination of the records of one of the silk guilds throws light on the organisation of an important element in the pre-modern economy of Korea. The four remaining papers, of which Dr Vladimir Tikhonov? is the first, discuss the crucial period at the end of the 19th century when Korea was forced to confront the world outside it and in particular the aspirations of its near neighbour, Japan. In a satisfying coincidence, Dr Yunhee Kim? paper details the challenges facing Korean merchants as they were emerging from the economic conventions described in Owen Miller? contribution. Indeed, it might be claimed that the whole of BAKS 10 offers a broad sweep through the modernisation process on the Korean peninsula, from its difficult beginnings to the confident stance of today.

News of diplomatic changes:

The new Ambassador, Cho Yoon Je. arrived to take up his appointment to the court of St James? in June. Dr Cho is an economist. At the same time, the Minister Counsellor in the Press & Cultural Office, Chang-kee Sung, returned to Seoul and was succeeded by Mr In-joon Chung.

Changes to the BAKS Newsletter:

A new-look front page is being planned, and members are asked to bear with the present temporary arrangement until it appears.

The former ?ooks?page, which was difficult to keep up to date and (I suspect) of limited usefulness in its existing form, has been axed. Instead, I now intend to include recent publishing news of interest to BAKS members in the body of the Newsletter. Book reviews will, however, remain separate, and will be accessed via the main index page.

Publishing News:

Recent publications by BAKS members include:

James E. Hoare and Susan Pares, 2005. A Political and Economic Dictionary of East Asia. London & New York: Routledge.

???? , 2005. North Korea in the Twenty-first Century: An Interpretative Guide. Folkestone: Global Oriental.

J. E. Hoare, 2005. Culture Smart! Korea: A Quick Guide to Customs and Etiquette. London: Kuperard

Portal, Jane & McKillop, Beth, eds., 2004. North Korean Culture and Society. London: British Museum

Hazel Smith, Hungry for Peace: International Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Social Change in North Korea, Washington DC; United States Institute of Peace Press, 2005.

Asian Studies: Contemporary Issues and Trends, is a new series of books on major transformations in Asia in recent years to be edited by Professor Chris Rowley and published by Chandos Publishing (Oxford) Ltd. Potential authors are invited to contact either Professor Rowley (c.rowley@city.ac.uk) or Dr Glyn Jones (gjones@chandospublishing.com).

Azalea, a journal of Korean literature, is seeking submissions for its first issue, to be published at the end of 2006. Translations, essays, art work, and other materials, as well as inquiries, may be sent to David R. McCann, Korea Institute, Harvard University, Center for Government and International Studies, South Building, Cambridge, MA 02138.

We have also been asked to bring the Journal of International and Area Studies, published by the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University, to the attention of BAKS members. Contact jias@snu.ac.kr

A very good source for books on China, Japan and Korea - prices much lower than UK, even allowing for postage ? is ASIA BOOKROOM, Unit 2, 1 - 3 Lawry Place, Macquarie. ACT 2614. Australia (web site http://www.AsiaBookroom.com, e-mail books@AsiaBookroom.com).