[KS] Korean studies in Russia

Fri May 2 13:03:42 EDT 2008

Dear Tatiana,

Thank you very much for your thoughtful contribution. It paints a sad, 
yet truthful picture - of the old Soviet Korean Studies tradition 
gradually dying out, with very little replacement coming to its place. 
In some ways, you can say that Russia represents now an extreme version 
of a more general European trend in the KS (stagnating or slightly 
increasing student enrollments, relative dearth of the academic 
monographs on Korea, etc.) while all the other three countries 
traditionally considered Korea's neighbors in a wider sense - US, Japan 
and China - demonstrate seemingly more optimistic trends. One possible 
reason for this is numerical weakness of the Korean diaspora in Russia : 
around 125.000 of Koryo saram based in Russia (the rest of the former 
Soviet Koreans remaining in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan), that is, about 
8% of the numerical strength of the Korean-American community, and 
roughly 20% of the Korean-Japanese community. Then, most of Koryo saram 
are fairly assimilated people (the younger ones are 4-5th generations of 
the Korean immigrants) - you do not have there the "1,5" generation 
which gave so many good scholars to the US Korean Studies community. 
Another thing - and we have to face the truth here - to say it bluntly, 
Russia is just as peripheral to S.Korea as S.Korea is to Russia. Russian 
exports to South Korea in 2006 were around 5% of its exports to the 
Netherlands, and only 1/8th of its exports to China.  Korean exports to 
Russia were around 1/25th of its exports to China (2006).  Culturally, 
contemporary Russia is almost absent in South Korea - Russian classics 
are widely translated and read, together with some Soviet-time 
masterpieces, but post-Soviet developments go almost unnoticed. The 
peripherality of South Korean high culture to the Russians is on a 
similar level, although Kim Kiduk's popularity slightly improves the 
picture. And taekwondo alone does not make for cultural affinity.

The development of the Soviet Korean Studies was a part of the political 
project of the Soviet-DPRK alliance (although many Soviet Koreanists had 
little love for DPRL's politics). And once the alliance is gone, the 
slow decline of its academic component is not easy to reverse. Although 
one, two, many Kim Kiduks may make a difference...

Best greetings,

Vladimir

On 30.04.2008 12:01, simbirtseva tanya wrote:
> Dear List members, 
> I have been in Korean Studies for about 30 years already and I am deeply concerned with your discussion on the situation with the Korean studies (KS) in Berkeley and in general. It is obvious that the KS face similar problems all over the world and new ways are to be found to support the profession and the level of research. Before the collapse of the USSR the KS in our country developed under the complete support (and guidance) of the state. Now this support has almost disappeared, although the dependence on the state still remains essential. We are still not much used to the realities of the capitalist system and its “free opportunities”. That is why opinions of our Western colleagues are very valuable for us.
> In order to attract attention to our problems, I have recently published an article in the “Vostok” magazine, which is the most authoritative in the Oriental studies in Russia. Being the compiler of the “Biobibliographical Dictionary of the Modern Korean studies in Russia” (Moscow, 2006) I made some calculations relying on the dictionary and - for comparison – on the documents of the Association of Soviet Koreanists, which existed in 1990-1993. Four months have passed but I have not yet got any response – even from colleagues. I can’t blame them. I know for sure that they are real enthusiasts, devoted to their profession. But their salaries, which slightly exceed the level of survival, leave nothing but to work additionally – teaching privately, translating, etc. on permanent basis. Their struggle for survival influences their health and working capacity, limits the possibility to constantly update their professional skill. They are too busy. I deeply respe
ct those teachers or researchers who like their occupation to such an extent that they do not leave it in search of better life. Their efforts give hope for better prospects of Korean studies in Russia in future. I am sure that we should do something ourselves. 
> I would like to introduce some of my calculations to the international readers in hope that they will be of some interest. 
> 
> Changes in Korean studies in Russia in 1990-2006:
> The total number of professional Koreanists in Russia is about 175; it grew about 33% - mainly due to the increasing number of teachers of Korea-related disciplines in the newly-established Korean departments in the universities of Siberia and the Far East. At the same time their number in traditional centers (Moscow, St. Petersburg) decreased from 107 to 90 people (16%). 
> Practical Korean studies are gradually relocating to the east, but Moscow still remains the main center for both scholarly and practical activities. Since mid-1990’s Korean departments have been newly established in 8 cities of Siberia and the Far East and also in 2 cities of Southern Russia (Kazan, Krasnodar) – mainly in practically oriented universities, where Korean studies were never taught before. 
> 
> The number of holders of scholarly degrees decreased from 83 to 65 people. Professional librarians are completely absent. People older than 60 are the biggest group (28%). The average age of Doctors of Science is 63 years, of Ph.D. holders – 56,5 years. 
> 
> More than 60% of professional Koreanists, who teach in universities, are younger than 35 and only 16% of them (15) are 40-59 years old (age of scholarly maturity). This fact means that continuity in educational process and research, when one generation of experts reproduced itself teaching the following generation and thus preserving the tradition, has got broken. Considerable growth of a number of students per 1 teacher proves that the quality of educational process is changing, that it becomes closely related to immediate practical purposes. 
> 
> Some people insist that Korean studies in Russia are developing rapidly and successfully and that in some regions this development even can be characterized as “explosive”. My conclusion is that this statement may be correct only concerning numerical growth in educational sphere. The number of universities with Korean departments (mainly in Siberia and in the Far East), the number of teachers of Korean language (mainly due to arrival of young 26-35 years old people, mainly women) and the number of students (in dozen times in comparison with the Soviet period) have considerably increased. The fundamental research has not yet recovered from the crisis, in which Russian science entered after the collapse of the USSR and needs substantial state support and inside reform. 
> Simbirtseva Tatiana, Ph.D. in Korean History
> Lecturer, Russian State Humanitarian University, Moscow
> simtan1 at yandex.ru
> 

-- 
Vladimir Tikhonov,
Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages,
Faculty of Humanities,
University of Oslo,
P.b. 1010, Blindern, 0315, Oslo, Norway.
Fax: 47-22854828; Tel: 47-22857118
Personal web page: http://folk.uio.no/vladimit/

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