Our institute supports students at IU by providing programming and funding. We also seek to create collaboration in all things related to Korean Studies among students, student groups, faculty, and public intellectuals.
We host a Korean speech contest in the spring for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students with awards for each category.
Spring speech contest: March 27, 2025
Courses in Korean Studies are offered by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC). The range of these courses vary widely and include Korean language, history, literature, culture, political science, and more. If interested, you can choose to pursue a major in EALC in Languages and Cultures with a focus on Korean language or in East Asian Studies.
Sierra Sanders
The Institute for Korean Studies at IU offers a wide range of courses with highly knowledgeable and dedicated faculty. Through the Institute for Korean Studies, I was able to achieve a high proficiency in the Korean language, as well as gain a deeper insight into Korean history through many different cultural courses. Over the course of four years, I was also able to become knowledgeable in specialized areas such as North Korean studies and Korean linguistics, as well. My gratitude truly goes out to the Institute for Korean Studies. I had many interests prior to starting my undergraduate studies at IU, and thanks to such a well-established institute, I was able to study all of them!
BA East Asian Language and Cultures, Korean Studies Track, 2022 BA Linguistics
Veronica Coffey
I wanted to say thank you to Dr. Seung-kyung Kim for her support during my academic career. IKS provided me ample opportunities to be active outside the classroom and pursue my passion for Korean studies—opportunities such as improving my writing skills through literature contests, my Korean language skills through speech contests, and my research and presentation skills through the GW-IU undergraduate research exchange program. Honestly, even though I knew I was interested in the human rights field, I never really expected to become so passionate about Korean literature and translation. IKS's speech contests and literature contests ignited my interest in studying Korean translation and literature in the future. This year, I will be abroad in Brescia, Italy as a teacher, and then I will look into applying to graduate school. I want to continue in both International and Korean Studies (either a translation focus or political science route) after I take a break from education.
BA East Asian Language and Cultures, Korean Studies Track, 2022 BA International Studies BA Italian
The Institute for Korean Studies helps further the goals of the Korean Studies program by actively promoting interdisciplinary approaches to the understanding of Korea. It is thanks to this mission that not only Korean Studies majors, but all Indiana University students, have access to diverse and thought-provoking seminars, panels, films, faculty members, and more.
The institute also serves the unique role of providing additional support to Korean Studies majors, whether it is to help them identify possible ways to get connected with research, funding for studying abroad in Korea, talking through the current course offerings, or even a conversation about graduate school.
HAMILTON LUGAR SCHOOLBLOOMINGTON
355 North Eagleson Avenue