<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:14px"><div class="" style=""><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="">Dear
fellow Koreanists,<o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style=""><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="">I
usually write to the Korean Studies list about positive events occurring at the
University of Copenhagen Korean Studies unit, which has been in business since
the 1960s and has been going from strength to strength for many years. The
Korean Studies unit has held 7 successful Korean Studies seminars in 2014, and we
have plans for 6 more seminars in 2015, as well as a workshop and a conference.
We regularly have over 100 applicants for 15 places on our Korean Studies BA
programmes. The first year of an annual intake of BA Korean Studies students is
due to graduate this year and we were looking forward to raising the intake to
20 per year and also to resurrecting the MA Korean Studies programme. <o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="text-indent:40.0pt" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24703"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24702">It is therefore
somewhat surprising then that the Korean Studies unit at the University of
Copenhagen may face possible closure over the next few years. The Korean Studies
unit faces two threats. Ministers in the present Danish administration are keen
on reducing graduate unemployment by attacking humanities. For details see:<o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24701"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24700"><a href="http://universitypost.dk/article/more-thousand-international-academics-petition-against-danish-humanities-cuts" class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24699">http://universitypost.dk/article/more-thousand-international-academics-petition-against-danish-humanities-cuts</a><o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24697"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24698">Recently,
ministers appear to have backed off from the worst of their scheduled cuts, but many fear
this will only be a temporary stay of execution. <o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="text-indent:40.0pt" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24666"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24665">More worrying is
the University leadership’s proposed solution to funding problems, which is to
merge smaller subjects like Korean Studies into bigger subjects like Japanese
Studies, Chinese Studies or Asian Studies. Our fear is such mergers will lead
to the loss of language training and cut off funding opportunities from
organizations like the Korea Foundation. Korean Studies, Tibetan Studies, Mongolian
Studies, Persian and many other small subjects are under threat. <o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24664"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class=""><o:p class="" style=""> </o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24681"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24680">I
appeal to my fellow Koreanists to oppose these threats to Korean Studies in
Denmark. <o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24663"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24662">Please
sign this petition against government attacks on the humanities.<o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24682"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24684"><br class="" style="">
<a href="https://www.change.org/p/minister-sofie-carsten-nielsen-denmark-minister-sofie-carsten-nielsen-preserve-the-humanities-at-copenhagen-university?recruiter=171191774&utm_campaign=mailto_link&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition" class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24683">https://www.change.org/p/minister-sofie-carsten-nielsen-denmark-minister-sofie-carsten-nielsen-preserve-the-humanities-at-copenhagen-university?recruiter=171191774&utm_campaign=mailto_link&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition</a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24685"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class="" style=""> </o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24687"><span lang="DE" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24686">Please email protests to the consolidation of
smaller subjects like Korean Studies into bigger subjects to:<o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24688"><span lang="DE" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class="" style=""> </o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24692"><span lang="DE" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24691">Rector
Ralf Hemmingsen: <a href="mailto:rektor@adm.ku.dk" target="_blank" class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24690"><span style="color:#3D239C" class="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24689">rektor@adm.ku.dk</span></a> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24693"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class="" style=""> </o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24694"><span lang="DE" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Dean
Ulf Hedetoft: <a href="mailto:hedetoft@hum.ku.dk" target="_blank" class="" style=""><span style="color:#0066CC" class="">hedetoft@hum.ku.dk</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24695"><span lang="EN-US" class="" style=""> <o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1415301308430_24696"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="">All
the best, <o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div>
</div><div class="" style=""><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"" class="">Andrew
David Jackson (<a href="mailto:krm769@hum.ku" class="" style="">krm769@hum.ku</a>.dk)<o:p class="" style=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div></div></body></html>