Program Background and Objectives

The Korea Foundation, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Korea, has actively sought to promote the development of Korea-related education at prestigious universities worldwide, through the provision of support for the creation of Korean Studies professorships and the dispatch of visiting professors.

In order to address fast-growing demand at overseas universities to expand their Korea-related lecture courses, the Korea Foundation launched a new “KF Global e-School” initiative in 2011, which combines real-time online video lectures of Korea Studies courses together with offline programs, such as academic workshops and seminars.

Program Outline

KF Global e-School program combines real-time online video lectures on Korea Studies with offline programs, such as workshops and seminars, through partnership cooperation between universities in Korea and abroad.

The e-School lectures cover such subjects as Korea’s politics, international relations, economics, business, sociology, and public administration, as well as the history, language, and culture of Korea. The lectures are presented mainly in English, along with those in the Korean language. Under this program, students abroad now have an additional means of acquiring in-depth knowledge of Korea through the online lectures and offline programs.

For the regions of Asia, Eastern Europe, and Oceania, the lectures are presented by leading professors of prominent universities in Korea for the students at partner universities abroad, with financial support from the Foundation. For universities in other regions, such as North America, South America and Western Europe, where real-time lectures from Korea are not practical due to the time-zone differences, the Foundation supports regional consortiums that coordinate the provision of lectures and seminars among consortium member universities.

In 2011, the e-School program’s inaugural year, the Foundation provided support for 35 Korean Studies lectures at 19 universities in 12 countries. For 2012, a total of 57 universities in 23 countries will be participating in 121 Korea-related courses.

Universities with an interest in expanding their Korea-related courses can join the e-School program, following a consultation process with partner universities in Korea or with regional consortiums, in regard to program infrastructure, academic credits, and course operation

KF Support for Global e-School Operations

The Foundation supports the e-School operational costs at universities in Korea and abroad. The program assistance includes honorarium amounts for professors, lecturers, teaching assistants, and administrative staff, expenses for curriculum development and course offerings, and program expenses related to the provision of offline workshops and seminars (facility-related costs are not eligible for support).

Inquiries

Support for Korean Studies Overseas	contact person	Min-jeong Kim (Deputy Director, Korean Studies Department)	E-mail	studies@kf.or.kr
	Tel	+82-2-2046-8544	Fax	+82-2-3463-6075
	10th Fl., Diplomatic Center, 2558 Nambusunhwanno, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-863, Korea