Inaugural Workshop of German Social Scientists Working on Korea
The workshop was held on December 2-3, 2000 at Gustav-Stresemann-Institut in Bonn, Germany. The Institute of Asian Affairs (Institut für Asienkunde) in Hamburg organized the event and the Foundation provided partial financial support. The event attracted mostly German and Korean academics specializing in Korean politics, economics, sociology and geography. The main aim of the inaugural workshop was to establish a closer network among Modern Korean Studies scholars in Germany, as this sort of networking has been largely absent until now.
On the first day of the workshop, various scholars presented recent papers on topics in their areas of expertise. On the second day, participants discussed the current state of German social science research on Korea and its future prospects. During the general discussion that took place at the end of the workshop, ways to meet the challenges facing Korean Studies in Germany and ideas for better networking among scholars were vigorously explored.
To follow up the demand articulated at the workshop, an e-mail network linking interested parties has recently been set up and is maintained by Dr. Patrick Kõllner at the Institute of Asian Affairs. The network will serve to circulate relevant information on publications, events, available posts, scholarships, and so on. A central website for Modern Korean Studies in Germany is also scheduled to be established during the year 2001.