News
Take part in the research project:
"Development of Korean Language Education in Western Australian Schools"
On behalf of research leads, Assoc/Prof Jo Elfving-Hwang and Dr Ana Tankosić, we would like to invite you to participate in research project entitled: “Development of Korean Language Education in Western Australian Schools”
The project investigates the key barriers and support needs for successful Korean language education in the WA context. This research is important for encouraging foreign language education in WA and providing students with the opportunities to develop multilingual and multicultural competence for success in highly diverse contexts.
The interview consists of questions about Korean language education in WA schools (and foreign language education in general). The interview will be scheduled at a time that suits you and will take approximately 1 hour. The interview will be conducted by a member of the research team via Microsoft Teams or face-to-face at mutually convenient location.
CONTACT
Chief Investigator: Associate Professor Joanna Elfving-Hwang
joanna.elfving-hwang@curtin.edu.au
Co-investigator: Dr Ana Tankosic
ana.tankosic@curtin.edu.au
Transnational Activism for Justice for the “Comfort Women”: Japanese, Korean and Indonesian Experiences
The Korea Research & Engagement Centre and History Program in the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, Curtin University, invite you to a Joint Seminar with Professor Kate McGregor.
Date: Thursday 12 October 2023
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm (Perth, AWST) / 6:00-7:30 pm (Melbourne, AEST)
Location: Online via Webex
RSVP by Thursday 12 October 2023 at:
https://events.humanitix.com/mcasi-history-krc-kate-mcgregor
About the Event
In this seminar, Professor Kate McGregor discusses her new book Systemic Silencing: Activism, Memory, and Sexual Violence in Indonesia (UW Press, 2023), an in-depth empirical history of the system of enforced military prostitution during the Japanese occupation of the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) and the complicated development of transnational activism to achieve recognition and compensation for survivors. This book is the first major study of Indonesian transnational human rights activism and the Indonesian so-called ‘comfort women’. By adopting a comparative frame to analyse Japanese, Korean and Indonesian activism on this issue, with some attention also to Filipino and Dutch activism, it examines how, when and why this issue finally opened up in each country in the 1990s. Through this comparative analysis, the book assesses why Indonesian activism and critical framings of this issue developed more slowly in Indonesia.
About the Speaker
Professor Kate McGregor, The University of Melbourne, is a historian of Indonesia. Her research interests include Indonesian historiography, memories of violence, the Indonesian military, Islam and identity in Indonesia and historical international links between Indonesia and the world. Kate's latest monograph Systemic Silencing: Activism, Memory and Sexual Violence in Indonesia is an outcome of a four-year Australian Research Council Future Fellowship on the project Confronting Historical Injustice in Indonesia: Memory and Transnational Human Rights Activism. She is currently involved in an ARC project with Associate Professor Ana Dragojlovic, Submerged Histories: Collaborative Memory Activism between Indonesia and the Netherlands.
This event has been supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2022-OLU-2250005).
70th Anniversary of Korean War Armistice Agreement Roundtable
AUSTRALIA-KOREA RELATIONS AND PROSPECTS FOR PEACE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC 70 YEARS AFTER THE KOREAN WAR
The Korea Research & Engagement Centre of Western Australia at Curtin University, and the Perth Korean War Memorial Committee are delighted to invite you to the Australia-Korea 70th Anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement Roundtable.
Friday 15 September 2023, 9.30am-12.30pm followed by lunch generously sponsored by the GAROK Korea & State Government Office at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea, Sydney.
Venue: Curtin 139 St George’s Terrace, Old Boys' School, Perth CBD
RSVP by Tuesday 12 September 2023 at:
Organised by Curtin University’s Korea Research & Engagement Centre in collaboration with the Perth Korean War Memorial Committee, this roundtable brings together Korea specialists, historians and experts of international and strategic affairs with the view of considering the past and remembering of the Korean War and Australia’s role in it, and what the absence of an actual peace treaty means for both Australia’s and the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) current and future strategic concerns.
The roundtable will be organised in two parts. The first half will focus on remembering the Korean War and Australia’s role in it and the second will consider what the increasing tensions in the Indo-Pacific and the Northeast Asian region mean for both Australia and ROK, from national security and defence to trade, resources security and other issues.
The presentations from this event will be published in the KRC Paper Series as a thematic issue on this topic.
This event has been supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2022-OLU-2250005), and the lunch has been sponsored by GAROK Oceania at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea, Sydney.
Curtin Korea Day
The Korea Research & Engagement Centre (KRC) is hosting the first CURTIN KOREA DAY on Thursday, September 14th 2023!
Venue: Curtin Robertson Library Level 7 (Lantern room)
Time: 9.45am-1.30pm, including packed Korean lunches!
This event is open to all university students in WA with an interest in Korea and Korean studies.
Registration is currently open for any student enrolled at a WA University:
https://forms.gle/sKCR6CedUVkYKLsr5
Enrol quick! Registration numbers are limited and close on 10th September.
This event is supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2022-OLU-2250005).
KRC Seminar Series
"Historically Hot: Japanese and Korean Masculinities in Popular Media"
Friday 25 Aug 2023 at 10am (Perth) in-person seminar on Curtin Bentley Campus (Building 211, Room 139) & via Webex
This in-person and online seminar focuses on representations of Japanese and Korean masculinities in popular culture. After two short presentations, the two presenters will discuss how analysing pop culture representations of Korean and Japanese masculinities can open up new avenues for theorising masculinity studies.
Please register at: https://curtin.webex.com/weblink/register/ra40d2e4578a5f2fd9e00f582f290e333
This seminar can be accessed online via Webex: https://curtin.webex.com/curtin/j.php?MTID=ma0cfe5dfc8f999b8eb0c5ae1ffe7aea7
Laura Miller: Who was considered to be a beautiful man in Japan’s ancient period? What did an attractive Heian period courtier look like? When contemporary popular culture producers set out to create manga, anime, film and TV series set in historical eras, they often find that the male beauty standards of long ago are quite different from contemporary reader and viewer expectations. I will introduce a few examples of historical figures who are represented by actors or drawn characters who reflect today's beauty ideology rather than those of the periods they are portraying. Although some efforts are made to depict the costumes or hairstyles of the period, the desire to cater to current beauty norms dominates these productions.
Jo Elfving-Hwang: This talk reflects on Laura Miller’s paper and work on how representations of Japanese historical figures have been updated to cater for contemporary global audiences and present an overview of the same in the context of contemporary Korean popular culture, and in TV series in particular. This talk will focus on representations of male beauty in Korean historical TV dramas, focusing specifically on how the context of sageuk (historical TV dramas) are utilised to communicate recognisable and appealing images of “Koreanness” for both international and domestic audiences in ways that combine recognisable K-pop stage aesthetics with stylised Joseon (and occasionally fantastical earlier period) costuming for contemporary viewers.
This workshop is supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2022-OLU-2250005).
Call for Applications, the KRC Visiting Resident Research Fellowship 2023
The Korea Research Centre (KRC) of Western Australia invites applications for a short-term Visiting Resident Research Fellowship. Supported by a grant from the Academy of Korean Studies, the KRC offers one short-term Visiting Resident Research Fellowship per year.
The residency of each Fellowship will last for one week. During this week, the selected Fellow is required to be in residence in the KRC’s Perth office at Curtin University. Fellows will pursue their own research in the KRC’s collaborative environment and conduct one seminar on their current research before the end of their residency. Upon completion of the Fellowship, the Fellow is expected to publish one article acknowledging the support of the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2022-OLU-2250005).
Successful applicants will receive:
• one week residency at the KRC
• one round-trip flight to Perth up to the value of AUD$2,500 and accommodation at Curtin University’s campus hotel
• AUD$500 honorarium
Selection criteria:
• The value of the proposed seminar topic to Korean Studies research and development.
• The quality of the current research project undertaken by the applicant.
• The contribution this Fellowship will make to the applicant’s career development.
• Priority will be given to early career researchers and researchers returning from career breaks (such as parental leave).
• Alignment with the KRC strategic themes of bodies, security and defence, Korean popular culture in Australia, and ‘digital Korea’ is encouraged.
• Applicants from outside Australia are welcome to apply, but are asked to be aware of the budget constraints that allow for up to AUD$2,500 travel costs only to be covered.
• Note that this visiting fellowship cannot be combined with other funding sources that require arising publications to be acknowledged.
Expressions of Interest should include:
• a brief overview of their current research on Korea
• a proposal for their chosen seminar topic for presentation while at the KRC
• how this Fellowship at the KRC would contribute to their career development
Applicants should send their Curriculum Vitae and Expressions of Interest to debbie.chan@curtin.edu.au no later than 30th June 2023. Applicants will be informed of the status of their application by 10th July 2023.
Call for Applications, AKS-KRC Honours/Masters Scholarships 2023
AKS-KRC Honours/Masters Scholarships (2 x $5,000 per annum, 1 x semester scholarship $2,500)
This scholarship is awarded to current Korean Studies Honours and Masters students at Curtin University of good academic standing to support Honours dissertation research on a topic focusing on Korea and utilising Social Sciences and Humanities research methods. Students must be currently enrolled in dissertation units to apply.
How to apply:
1) Submit a dissertation proposal of no more than 5 pages addressing the following:
a. Dissertation title and summary
b. Your research proposal including proposed research methods, chapter plan, research significance.
c. Proposed budgets and how you propose to use the funding to support your research goals.
2) In no more than 300 words, outline how research skills gained as part of your KRC-affiliated Honours program will fit into your future career plans.
The deadline for all applications is 15th April 2023. Submit your applications to joanna.elfving-hwang@curtin.edu.au by the deadline. Late applications will not be accepted.
These scholarships are supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2022-OLU-225005).
Applications for 2023 have now closed.
Previous Recipients from 2022
Sophia Ammali / Undergraduate student internship scholarship ($3,000)
Anisha Goodridge / Korean Studies Honours Student Scholarship ($3,000)
Liam Love-Cooper / Korean Studies Writing Competition Scholarship ($1,000)
Catherine Taylor / Korean Studies Writing Competition Scholarship ($1,000)
Olivia Davies / Korean Studies Writing Competition Scholarship ($1,000)
Tahnee Sin / Korean Studies Writing Competition Scholarship ($1,000)
Rosemary Prijanto / Korean Studies Writing Competition Scholarship ($1,000)