Celebrating the Korea Foundation’s $1 million award to the Center for Korean Studies

(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) — When the Korea Foundation made a $1 million gift to the Center for Korean Studies at UH Mānoa for endowed professorships that will reside in various departments on campus, they also set in place a challenge. A key requirement of this gift is that the Center and UH Mānoa match their pledge with another $1 million from other donors over a period of 4 years, which breaks down to $250,000 a year. This will then bring the total amount of funds for this faculty endowment to $2 million which will be used to recruit faculty in areas of study for which the campus does not have Korean specialists.

The Center received the first $250,000 from the Korea Foundation last October, and has since raised $250,000 in matching funds. To express appreciation to local donors who made that match possible, and to help raise funds to match the second $250,000 installment, the Center for Korean studies held a special event at KCC.

The Center for Korean Studies coordinates and develops resources for the study of Korea at UH Mānoa, and has the largest concentration of Korea scholars and resources outside of Korea itself. The Center conducts scholarly conferences; sponsors research projects; presents seminars, and lectures; publishes significant research on Korea; and contributes to the enhancement of the University’s library system and other University research facilities. Promoting an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to Korean studies, The Center draws on its faculty members in disciplines as diverse as communication, dance, economics, ethnomusicology, education, geography, history, language, linguistics, literature, political science, sociology, and urban and regional planning.

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