Five thousand miles apart, Korea and Romania are closer than suggested by geography. From Southeast Europe to Southeast Asia, there is a Romanian-Korean bridge made of shared values and sensibilities, which people, enterprises and ideas can travel in spite of the distance. ROK aims to consolidate and expand that bridge. Thus Romania and Korea, Southeast Europe and Southeast Asia, will be further connected through a project that promotes Korean studies teaching and research in Iasi, Romania, with a focus on the Korean mobility of people, goods and ideas.
On the background of increasing Romanian-Korean exchanges, our project takes the development of Korean mobility as its subject, its means, and its purpose. First, the project builds on the mobility of experts and researchers from Korea and the world who will travel to Romania in order to contribute to teaching and research in Korean studies, as well as on the mobility of other academics who will participate in Korean studies conferences in Romania.
Second, our project undertakes to study the past and present mobility of people who travelled between the two countries and continents for trade, discovery or leisure; to investigate historical relations as well as present and future opportunities for further human, economic and cultural exchanges; and to trace the circulation of ideas and ideologies between Romania and Korea and from Korea to the world.
Third, our project will promote the interdisciplinary and intellectual mobility of its local and international participants, i.e. scholars, students and other audiences, who will exchange ideas and experiences contributing to a stronger foothold and a better understanding of Korean studies in Iasi region, Romania and Southeast Europe. This will be achieved through the creation of a Center for Korean Studies at UAIC; the Romanian-Korean team of the center will conduct teaching and research activities and will organize academic and other events to illustrate, investigate and advance the Korean mobility of people, goods and ideas.