I write as the President of the Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE), the main scholarly society for Korean Studies in Europe, founded in 1977, with the objective to stimulate and coordinate academic Korean Studies in all countries of Europe, and to contribute to the spread of knowledge of Korea among a wider public. On behalf of AKSE and our members across Europe, I strongly urge reconsideration of the plan to cut the budget for the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden.
Since it was founded in 1993, The International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in Leiden has always been a highly valuable partner for The Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE). In recent years especially, IIAS has established itself as a vital institution promoting scholarship and knowledge on Korea. Its dissemination platforms (The Newsletter, podcasts, academic book series, etc.) have diverse and broad Korea-relevant content, and its fellowship program did a lot to further Korean Studies by inviting Korea scholars to Leiden. Its International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) always had a number of Korea panels. Through its varied and highly successful activities, IIAS contributed enormously to spreading knowledge on Korea, assisting the growth of Korean Studies in Europe and bringing together Koreanists from diverse lands and continents.
Now, however, IIAS faces a critical challenge. In the Netherlands, severe budget cuts at Leiden University threaten to deprive IIAS of its core operational funding. In this process, its achievements, its role and its global importance are being treated with cavalier disregard. At this crucial time, AKSE expresses its full solidarity with our treasured colleagues at IIAS, and its hope that, in the end, rational judgement will triumph, and the proposed budget cuts will be rescinded. It is hard to imagine Asian Studies in Europe – Korean Studies included – without IIAS.
On behalf of the AKSE Council,
Vladimir Tikhonov,
(Korean/East Asian studies professor, IKOS, HF, Oslo University)
14.03.2025