KOREA FOUNDATION

Greetings from Tokyo! My name is Lee Yong-chul, and I teach Korean politics and diplomacy at Waseda University’s School of Social Sciences. Waseda University is a prominent private institution of higher learning established in 1882. Celebrating its 140th anniversary this year, it currently has over 40,000 undergraduate students and some 10,000 graduate students. Around 650,000 students, including over 7,000 Koreans, have matriculated from the university, and its list of alumni includes such famous names as novelist Haruki Murakami and the incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It is also my alma mater as I studied for and earned my doctorate at its graduate school. Naturally, I feel very close to the students. Among the professors of the School of Social Sciences, some are my former classmates with whom I used to debate and study. As my colleagues have been helping me with the establishment of the Korean studies course, classes, and various other matters, I have been doing quite well here.

Although Waseda University has a long history and many Korean students, it did not have many classes on Korea in the past. However, student interest in Korea grew outstandingly in the wake of Korea’s economic development and democratization, and the global dissemination of Korean popular culture (Hallyu, or the Korean Wave). In the 2000s, therefore, Korean language and Korean studies classes were launched in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of International Liberal Studies, and the School of Political Studies and Economics. The KF played a critical role in this process with its vigorous activities and support, leading to efforts being made to establish a Korean studies course in the School of Social Sciences as well. The course was formally opened in the fall semester of 2018.

The School of Social Sciences has about 3,000 students at the moment. It is quite unique in that it is a comprehensive academy that pursues interdisciplinary cooperation and unity. Its faculty is joined by around 70 professors of diverse academic expertise in subjects such as political science, public administration, law, economics, business administration, sociology, mass communications, statistics, anthropology, philosophy, history, education, literature, and linguistics. It also has experts in regional studies who delve into US politics and administration, European and Eurasian studies, Italian politics and thought, Chinese politics and diplomatic history, Latin American literature, Southeast Asian premodern and modern history, and Japanese literature and the history of Japanese thought. Against this backdrop, a new course on Korean politics and diplomacy was also established.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, classes have been conducted mostly online since the spring semester of 2020. At the beginning, both my students and I had difficulty responding to the unprecedented situation, but we now have become accustomed to the new normal. The number of students continued to increase even as the classes were held online, almost doubling each semester. In the fall semester of 2021, we saw as many as 300 applicants for each of our two classes—the maximum number that could be accommodated. It is a great pleasure to see the number of applicants grow. I also feel greatly rewarded when students thank me for allowing them to learn a great deal about and deepen their understanding of Korea through the classes. I wish to build an academic environment in which students’ interest in and understanding of Korea are not short-lived but continue to develop. I also expect that the growing achievement of the Korean studies course will lead to the appointment of full-time professors in the near future.

Okuma Auditorium, a symbol of Waseda University, is named after its founder, Okuma Shigenobu.

A Korean temple bell, donated by Waseda University’s Korean alumni, is located in the Okuma Garden on campus.

Waseda UniversityLee Yong chulKF Visiting Professor