Dieter Eikemeier died after a long illness on Dec. 19, 2022. He was predeceased by his wife, Martha, on November 23, 2022, and is survived by two sons.
After receiving his post-doctoral degree (Habilitation) in 1976 at Ruhr University Bochum where Bruno Lewin had established the study of Korea a decade earlier, he became the first professor of Korean Studies at Tuebingen University in 1979 and thus the first full professor of Korean Studies in then West Germany. He retired from this post in 2003.
He was one of the founders of the Association of Korean Studies (AKSE) in 1977 and later was made an honorary member.
He is the author of :
Elemente im Politischen Denken des Yǒn’am Pak Chiwǒn (1737-1805): Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der kulturellen Beziehungen zwischen China und Korea. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1970.
and
Documents from Changjwa-ri. A Further Approach to the Analysis of Korean Villages. Veroeffentlichung des Ostasien-Instituts der Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum vol. 25, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1980.
He also authored a large number of articles on varied topics of Korean studies. During his later years, his attention was focused on what he called the “common religion” of Korea. With the passing of Dieter Eikemeier, the Korean Studies community has lost one of its distinguished members.
Martina Deuchler