INTERNATIONAL AREA STUDIES

CHINESE STUDIES

HUFS has the longest history of teaching and research about China of any university in Korea. More than 100 alumni work as full-time professors of the Chinese Studies Department in both domestic and overseas universities and many graduates work as China specialists in private companies as well as for the government. The graduate school’s Chinese Studies Department offers the most diverse curriculum in Korea and provides learning and research opportunities through classes taught by full-time Chinese-speaking professors. The department’s top-level scholarship system for new and continuing students achieves a synergistic effect through building cooperative relationship with the university’s Foreign Studies Research Center and the prestigious Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation.

JAPANESE STUDIES

The educational goal of The Japanese Studies Department at the GSIAS contrasts with that of traditionally organized Japanese departments in Korea that focus on linguistic and literary studies. The program at the GSIAS aims to offer a comprehensive and systematic understanding of Japanese politics, economy, society, history, and culture in order to produce Japanese specialists who will play a constructive role in the domain of knowledge-informatization in the 21st- century Korean society and also contribute to the expansion of Korea-Japan relations in all fields. In order to achieve this educational goal, the department operates student exchanges with the University of Tsukuba and Yamaguchi University. With a deep understanding about Japan, graduates of the Japanese Studies Department show a high annual employment rate; many of them enter foreign companies, the national government, Japanese companies in Korea, or work in the media. Also, as Japanese pop culture is opening up more and the Korean wave is having an influence in Japan, it is expected that graduates of the Japanese Studies Department will contribute to the serious academic understanding of this contemporary phenomenon of cross-cultural impact.

INDEAN AND ASEAN STUDIES

Southeast Asia consists of eleven countries. Mainland Southeast Asia includes Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Islands in Southeast Asia include Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, and East Timor. Otherwise South Asia includes India, the Republic of Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Republic of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The Indian and ASEAN Studies Department offers interdisciplinary M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in this macro-region. As with the other GSIAS departments, students opt to concentrate on the politics, economy, or society and culture, and one of the languages of South Asia or Southeast Asia. The program of the department is designed for individuals who want to enrich their knowledge of the South or Southeast Asia region taking into account regionalization organizations like ASEAN. Students entering the program are usually interested in careers in the Foreign Service, government, international assistance/development enterprises, or teaching. The GSIAS program has special strengths in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and India.

MIDDLE AND AFRICAN STUDIES

The Middle East and African Studies Department aims at fostering specialists with the ability to analyze and consider future prospects for the rapidly changing countries of the Middle East and Africa based on the accurate assessment of their current politics, economy, society, and culture. In order to cope with the heterogeneity of the countries comprising the mega-region of the Middle East and Africa, the department set up a high-quality expert training program led by professors specializing in the major languages of each area (Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, and Swahili).

US AND CANADIAN STUDIES

The U.S. and Canadian Department aims at providing area specialists with the knowledge about the region in the fields of politics, economy, society, and culture to be able to compete on the global stage as competent professionals. To this end the department offers a comprehensive multidisciplinary education through graduate seminars and special lectures. The detailed curriculum is divided into three fields: politics and diplomacy, economy and management, and society and culture. Politics and diplomacy consists of courses focusing on understanding political progress and structure and on diplomacy and national security. The economy/management track is composed of courses on North American finance plus understanding international management policies in the changing interrelated national and global environments. The society/culture track consists of courses providing systematic understanding of the culture of the North American region from history to pop culture and from social structure and changes in family and race. As all courses are conducted in English, a high level of English competency is expected of students for this department who in their studies will be expected to produce their own individual research outcomes based on their developing understanding of their field of specialization.

RUSSIAN AND CIS STUDIES

In December 1991 the fifteen Republics that had formed the Soviet Union became independent as sovereign states, twelve of which became the new Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The fifteen post-communist countries are no longer closed spaces, but have become wide-open "lands of opportunities" for increasing the international status and national prosperity of Korea. The educational aim of the Russia-CIS Studies Department is to produce active and creative specialists who will play a key role in developing partnership relations between the countries of the region and Korea. The chief characteristic of this department is that it pursues policy-oriented studies based on the use of social science that can be directly applied in the field. Based on a command of knowledge of the fifteen countries including linguistic competence in Russian, regional languages, and English. The educational focus of the department is on a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the complex Russia-CIS mega-area. This is indexed in a thriving multidisciplinary program that aims to cultivate the qualities needed by specialists in the professional fields of politics/diplomacy, trade/investment, and cultural interchange.

LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES

Department of Latin American Studies aims at cultivating area specialists with knowledge of the Latin American and Caribbean region in the fields of politics, economy, business, and society, and culture. To this end the department offers a comprehensive multidisciplinary program through graduate seminars and special lectures. The sub-major field of politics consists of courses focusing on understanding the macro-region's political development and democracy, political economy, and international relations. The economy/business track is composed of courses on Latin America’s macro-economy, the region’s interaction with the world economy, and regional economic integration. The society/culture concentration consists of courses providing a broad understanding of Latin American and Caribbean society covering history, culture, social structure, and changes in race and religion. Thanks to a grant from the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, the Latin American Studies Department offers a course each semester alternating between a Latin America Policy Seminar and a Latin American Business Seminar. High-ranking officials from Korean and foreign governments, domestic and international organizations and firms, as well as scholars and experts are invited to present lectures in these courses. The professional development activities of students receive support from abroad-based institutional linkages with the region's universities and selected organizations, as well as with Korean institutions that facilitate direct contacts and enhance exchanges/study abroad programs and internship opportunities.

EUROPEAN UNION STUDIES

European Union Studies at GSIAS develops European region specialists at a time when relations between Korea and the EU are anticipated to grow substantially. Especially after the signing of the free trade agreement between Korea and the EU, we anticipate growing need for experts to actively deepen exchange between the world's largest economic area and Korea. To this end, the department provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary program focused on the EU’s politics, security, economy, society, and culture and those of its 27 member states. Students in the EU Studies Department at GSIAS cultivate the basis for becoming EU specialists through systematic and rigorous study of the dynamic changes in the EU’s politics and international relations, economy, and society and culture, with the overall focus on the process of European integration. During the course of their study, students are required to improve their linguistic competence in one or more of the languages of the EU member states (including English, which is the main language of instruction). Language command is tested upon graduation. Most graduates work in businesses, research institutes, international organizations and trade promotion institutions. In addition, some graduates have expanded their career aspirations in the direction of government-affiliated institutions, diplomacy and higher education .