Our History: The Story of Korean Studies at Monash
1987-1988
- Korean Studies started at Monash University. Korean was identified as one of the 4 key Asian languages in the 1987 Australian Government’s National Policy on Languages alongside Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian.
- Korean Studies first started at Monash University in the late 1980s with Mr Jason Woo teaching Korean Language.
- Dr Adrian Buzo started teaching as Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies
1991
- Korean Studies programme led by Dr In-Jung Cho and Dr Young-a Cho.
1992
- Ms Jung-Sim Kim became the first Korean Studies specific subject librarian in the southern hemisphere
1999
- Professor Gil-Soo Han commenced work at Monash University
2001
- Monash Korean Studies hosts the 2nd KSAA Biennial Conference September 24-25: Korean Studies at the Dawn of the Millennium.
2006
- Number of students enrolled in Korean Studies units exceeds 100.
2008
- My Korean 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Textbook series produced by Dr In-Jung Cho and Dr Young-a Cho with the help of a Korea Foundation grant.
- Establishment of first Korea Foundation Tenure-track Lectureship position at Monash University Korean Studies
2009
- My Korean 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 was first published.
- Number of students enrolled in Monash Korean Studies units exceeds 200
2010
- My Korean 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 second edition published.
2011
- Number of students enrolled in Monash Korean Studies units exceeds 300
- First Monash Korean Studies PhD student Mohita Roman completed PhD (PG)
2012
- Number of students enrolled in Monash Korean Studies units exceeds 400
2013
- Ms Jaekyung Roh commenced teaching in Korean Studies
2016
- Ms Hyesun Ko commenced teaching in Korean Studies
2017
- Monash University Korean Studies held the first Melbourne Metropolitan Korean Studies Seminar Series Seminar
- Korean Introductory One enrollment over 300 students
- Number of students enrolled in Monash Korean Studies units reaches 596
- Dr Andrew David Jackson, Dr Adam Zulawnik and Ms Sukyung Lee commenced work at Monash Korean Studies
2018
- 1st year of 2017-2022 AKS Core Universities Project: ‘Creating a Nexus for a Stronger Korean Studies in Melbourne’
- Dr Lucien Brown commenced work at Monash Korean Studies
- Establishment of Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub (MUKSRH)
- First MUKSRH research fellow: Dr Mohita Roman (PG)
- Second Korean Studies PhD position established (Dr Hyein Cho)
- First Annual Korean Speech Contest
- Establishment of Student In-Class Support Assistant Programme
- First Korea-related Internship program
- First ‘Melbourne and Metropolitan Korean Studies Biennial Meeting’
- International Conference: “Korean Wave” Still Matters? Present and Future Directions'
- ‘Reimagining Korean Identity through Wars, Money, Ideas and Exchanges: 70 years’ Identity Transformation’ conference
- New units: ATS3156 Popular Culture in North and South Korea, Hallyu and East Asian Cultural Flows
- Number of students enrolled in Monash Korean Studies units exceeds 700
- Start of AKS Laboratory Program “Local Agency and National Responses to Globalisation: The South Korean Case in Comparative, Transnational and Diasporic Perspective” led by Professor Gil-Soo Han
2019
- Ms Olivia Lu and Ms Soyeon Kim commenced work at Monash Korean Studies
- Hiring of new MUKSRH Postdoctoral Fellow: Dr Adam Zulawnik
- New units: ATS2160 Language, Culture and Society on the Korean Peninsula, ATS3805 Korean Studies Advanced: Literature and Writing, ATS3083 Translating Across Cultures (Korean Stream)
- The 21st Meeting of the International Circle of Korean Linguistics (ICKL)
- First Annual Research Session for Teaching and Technology
- First Annual Korea Week
- Participation in the Annual Korea Festival organised by the Consulate of Republic of Korea in Melbourne (주멜번분관)
- Outreach program: Visit to Huntingdale Primary School
- Grants: Korea Foundation Support for Establishment of a Tenure-track Professorship Position at Monash University & AKS Conference and Research Grant
- Number of students enrolled in Monash Korean Studies units exceeds 800
2020
- New units: ATS3321 Korean Research Project, Master of Interpreting and Translation Studies (Korean Stream)
2021
- Online Language Exchange Program with Korean Universities
- First Monash Academy of Korean Studies Indigenous Award
- Inaugural Monash Korean Studies Jobs Week
2022
- The 12th Korean Studies Association of Australasia 2021 Biennial Conference
- KSAA ERG Conference: ‘Dynamics of Change on the Korean Peninsula: 1987-1992’
- Commencement of Korean Conversation Circles Programme
- Online workshop for Hanoi Pedagogical University 2
- Korean Cultural Teaching on Monash MBA Programme
- Participation in Monash LLCL Languages and Cultures Week
- Working with Korea: Employment experiences and opportunities in Korean Studies Talk
- New units: ATS2274 Languages, Culture and Interaction in East Asia
- Dr Daniel Pieper started work at Monash Korean Studies
- Dr Hyein Cho started work at Monash Korean Studies
2023
- New AKS core university grant: ‘Monash Korean Studies Beyond Borders: Creating a Global Hub for a New and Diverse Korean Studies’
- Beyond Borders Seminar Series
- Establishment of Hub Coordinator position: Ms Sandy Nguyen
- Establishment of fourth AKS Core Universities supported MUKSRH Research Fellow position: Dr Soyeon Kim
- First Author Night with South Korean author Kang Kwagil
- Hosted the 10th Korean Screen Cultures Conference (KSCC)
- New units: ATS3946 Asian languages advanced: Transnational intersections, ATS3947 The making of a modern Korea: History and development
- Dr Soyeon Kim receives the Professor Chung-Sok Suh Best Paper Award at the 14th Biennial KSAA Conference 2023
2024
- First Annual Quiz on Korea event
- First Korean Online Language Exchange with Partnered Vietnamese Universities
- In-class Student Support Assistant Outreach Programme at Hampton Park & Collingwood College
- 31st Japanese Korean Linguistics Conference
- Completion of PhD by Dr Soyeon Kim
2025
- Book talk: Women leadership in South Korea (EWAK)
- 2 new full-time Korean Studies lecturers start teaching: Dr JooYeoul (JY) Ryu and Dr Jessica Huynh
- Completion of PhD by Dr Jaekyung Roh.
- Establishment of fifth AKS Core Universities supported MUKSRH Research Fellow position: Dr Jaekyung Roh
- Dr Jaekyung Roh receives the Professor Chung-Sok Suh Best Paper Award at the 14th Biennial KSAA Conference 2025
- First Asian Languages Careers Week in collaboration with Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian Studies
- Commencement of "The Semiotics of Koreanness in the Asia-Pacific" AKS (Academy of Korean Studies) Laboratory Grant worth 300 million KRW
- Associate Professor Andrew David Jackson received the Prime Minister's Commendation award at the ''579th Hangeul Day Celebration Ceremony”
- 5th Biennial Meeting
- Monash Korean Studies New Colombo Plan funding application success
- Dr JooYeoul (JY) Ryu commenced his new role as a full-time Lecturer in Korean Studies
- Dr JooYeoul (JY) Ryu received the 2025 Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Award for "Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning"
- Korean Studies student receives the AAA Language Award 2025
- Inaugural Outreach programs to the Victorian Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES)
- 2nd Victoria Korean Language Teachers Forum held at Monash University Clayton
2026