On 14 and 15 January, the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University, in cooperation with the Institute of East Asian Studies, Thammasat University and the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) will present the LATU International Conference ‘Understanding of Korean Studies.’

The Thammasat University Library collections contains many books about the history and culture of Korea.

TU students who are interested in Asian studies, Korean studies, Thai studies, linguistics, and related subjects should find this conference rewarding.

Students and other members of the TU community are invited to register to attend the event at this link.

The keynote speaker of the conference will be Professor Seon Jung Kim, Dean of the International Office of Keimyung University, South Korea.

Professor Kim is a linguist whose special field of study is applied linguistics, an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. The TU Library owns several books about different aspects of applied linguistics.  

Professor Kim is also an expert in phonetics and phonology, which she has taught, in addition to syntax, language acquisition, semantics and pragmatics.

Keimyung University (KMU) is a private university in South Korea. Its motto is ‘For the Kingdom of Truth, Justice and Love’. KMU is composed of three campuses in the city of Daegu, South Korea. Daegu is located in southeastern Korea about 80 km from the seacoast, near the Geumho River. In the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone, Daegu focuses on fostering fashion and high-tech industries. It is the fourth-largest city in South Korea, after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon.

Professor Kim will speak on Korean Language Education Using Linguistic Typology: Focusing On the Pronunication of Syllable-Final Consonants.

Professor Kyeong Mo Min, a colleague of Professor Kim’s at Keimyung University, will speak on An Approach by Corpus Linguistics for Contrastive Studies Between Korean and Thai.

Also lecturing will be Professor Young Soon Kim, director of the Multicultural Convergence Research Institute, Inha University, Korea.

Inha University is a private research university located in Incheon, South Korea. Known traditionally for research and education in the engineering and physical sciences, it has a strong reputation as a technological research university.

Professor Young Soon Kim is an expert on qualitative research. In August 2019, the Multicultural Convergence Research Institute, Inha University, held the 10th Qualitative Research Methodology Camp in which seven experts in qualitative research lectured on theories and cases of qualitative research methods with 50 graduate students and researchers participating. Institute for Multicultural Convergence Research Institute Director Young Soon Kim stated that qualitative research is a process for people, by people, and with people.  The TU Library collection includes a number of books on qualitative research and how it explores human life in depth.

At the LATU International Conference ‘Understanding of Korean Studies,’ Professor Young Soon Kim will speak on Creative Exploration of Korean Culture Focused on Seasonal Custom.

Other distinguished speakers

Also lecturing at the conference will be Professor Parit Yinsen, Ph.D., Dean of the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The first Professor of Korean language in Thailand, Dr. Parit guides the teaching and learning of Korean language at PSU Pattani Campus, which is the first Thai educational institution to teach Korean.

Dr. Parit earned a diploma at the Department of Primary Education, Faculty of Education, PSU Pattani Campus, before studying for his master’s and doctoral degrees in South Korea. Dr. Parit has published several books on Korean studies, Korean language for hotel management, Korean language for secretaries and professional careers, and phonetic Korean textbooks with specifics on the linguistics, the first such volume in Thailand, among other works.

Professor Damrong Thandee, director of the Center for Korean Studies, Ramkhamhaeng University, will also be lecturing.

In an insightful article posted on the Ramkhamhaeng University website, Professor Damrong explores the Continuity of Korean Studies in Thailand. He notes:

The song “Arirang” (in Thai: Aridang), describes a true love between a Thai soldier and the Korean girl he meets in Korea while fighting against communist invasion 2 during the Korean war. It had a deep impact on Thai people. The song was genuinely popular from the 1960s through the 1970s as it was sung every corner of the kingdom. In addition, the story has been dramatized in TV movie series aired from time to time (the last version was on air in 1999). This song is one example of the knowledge that Thai people have of the remote peninsula of Korea. Korea and Koreans are not and have not been foreign to us in the past or modern eras. Tracing back to the ancient time, history professor Cho Hungguk discovered that the first contact between Thailand, then Siam, and Korea was made in the reign of King Kongyang (1389-1392). This contact was recorded in Koryosa (History of Koryo), the official chronicle of the Koryo dynasty. The document revealed that the Kingdom of Xienluohu (or Siam) sent Nai Gong and other men together with some of its native products and a letter to present to the king of Koryo. The king gave them audience and comforted them. A promising start to diplomatic relations was disrupted by Japanese pirates, who killed all members of, the second envoy from Siam. Fear of the sea bandits ended contact between the two countries for over five centuries. It was only when the United Nations requested the government of Thailand to send her troops to fight in the Korean War that the two countries made contact again. Thailand immediately responded to the plea for help, and was the first country to do so, deploying 4,000 men to Korea on July 23, 1950, under the UN flag. Together with 16 other ally nations, Thai soldiers bravely fought side by side with Koreans to protect South Korea until the end of the war. After the war’s end, until the last unit permanently left Korea in 1972, Thai forces rotationally maintained troops in South Korea. The veterans brought back good memories and stories, like the one memorialized in “Arirang.”

On the diplomatic side, the Thai government announced its recognition of the sovereignty of the Republic of Korea in October 1949, and established diplomatic relations on October 1, 1958. On March 1, 1960, the two countries exchanged ambassadors. Since then, Thailand and the Republic of Korea have increasingly enhanced their relationship in all sectors, including trade and investment, as well as visits by heads of states and academic, cultural and tourist exchanges. The combination of diplomatic and civilian contact with Korea, though slow in the beginning, has had great impact on the desire among Thai people to learn and to understand Koreans.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)