Overview

About HUFS

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) has long recognized the value of education in the fields of international and area studies.

The University was created in 1954, in the aftermath of the Korean War (1950-53), to educate young, talented professionals who would contribute to the reconstruction and modernization of post-war Korea. Since its creation, HUFS has prepared students to face important global and regional issues and develop expertise in their respective fields of concentration based on proficient language skills.

The innovative atmosphere of HUFS and its deep affection for people and humankind has made it possible to proactively realize the founding spirit of the school, that is, the search for truth, peace, and creativity. This spirit was emblematic of the attempt of Korea to overcome the national crisis of internecine war and help secure the place of the republic as a responsible and respectful player in the international arena.

With the current streams of globalization going forward, HUFS has been striving to redefine its role as a leading contributor to international peace, cooperation, and development beyond the national boundaries of Korea.

As a globally-oriented university, HUFS has focused its resources on cultivating new generations of young professionals who would dedicate themselves to promulgating the unique and unprecedented experience of Korea in achieving both economic development and political democratization in such a short period of time.

The education of these new generations of young professionals would certainly produce outcomes that are compatible with such fundamental values as democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and global governance in the broader international society.

About HUFS GSIAS

The mission of GSIAS

The Graduate School of International and Area Studies (GSIAS) represents a culmination of the innovative ideas and fresh perspectives generated by its forerunners at HUFS. Created in 1996, the mission of GSIAS has been to:

- Educate the next generation of experts and leaders in the fields of international and area studies;

- Conduct research and engender scholarship that advances understanding of important global, regional, and national issues in wide-ranging geographic domains of the world;

- Create knowledge, cultivate wisdom, and encourage action to effectively deal with the complicated problems and challenges of today’s international affairs and promote the causes of universal values.

The Characteristics of GSIAS

- GSIAS is one of the leading professional postgraduate schools of international and area studies in Korea and in Asia, and the program is known for its cutting-edge scholarship, excellent teaching programs, and outstanding outreach and exchange programs. It has played a leading role in advancing our understanding of the challenges of the current period of time and educating the next generation of national and international leaders.

In recent years, the Graduate School of International and Area Studies has focused on three main areas: education, research, and outreach. In the area of education, GSIAS has launched new programs, hired new faculty, and enhanced study-abroad opportunities for students. GSIAS is, in fact, the only postgraduate school in Korea that offers the most comprehensive post-graduate programs in fields covering almost every geographic sphere of the world. It currently runs nine region- and nation- based departments, which include Departments of North American Studies, European Union Studies, Latin American Studies, Korean Studies, Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Russian and CIS Studies, Indian and ASEAN Studies, and Middle East and African Studies.

A dual-degree program in United Nations Peace Studies was introduced in 2007, and another new master’s program in international development was created in 2010. Under the auspices of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, annual 20 distinguished mid-career governmental officials and experts from 20 promising countries from all around the world have experienced KOICA-sponsored international development program during 2010-2017. In 2018, international studies has been newly opened.

The various research and exchange programs In the field of research, GSIAS has concluded numerous MOUs and cooperative relationships with many prestigious institutions within and outside Korea, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), the National Research Fund (NRF), the Seoul Development Institute (SDI), etc., to carry out various research projects. It also created in early 2010 a GSIAS-affiliated think-tank, named the Center for International Cooperation and Strategy (CICS), aimed at facilitating policy-relevant research activities and outreach programs. The Center hosted a major international conference in June 2010 under the title “Towards an East Asian Community: Why and How?" In December 2010, CICS organized a high-level Korea-Middle East Forum in Cairo jointly with the Al-Ahram Institute for Strategic Studies and MOFAT.

In the areas of exchange, GSIAS has embarked on many ambitious overseas exchange and internship programs with such prestigious institutions as MOFAT, Korea Trade Agency (KOTRA), and a number of domestic and international organizations. In the second half of 2010, the European Union (EU) and MEST jointly selected GSIAS as the lead Korean institute for the Education Cooperation Program between the EU and Korea for the following three years. GSIAS has also succeeded, in collaboration with the Institute for EU Studies, in hosting the EU Centre in Korea Project within the University from the European Commission in the same year. A “Global e-School Program in Korean Studies” was introduced within GSIAS in 2011, with the financial support from the Korea Foundation. The Graduate School has run a three-plus-one (3+1) study abroad scheme for many years and is about to strengthen the program in order to provide our students with a better opportunity to improve their academic and practical capabilities in the concerned fields.

Based on its 27 years of experience as a center of academic excellence, the Graduate School of International and Area Studies is now preparing for another stage of ambitious expansion in the 21st century.