By Kim Bo-eun
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Tuesday it will spend 28.8 billion won on promoting Korean studies abroad this year.
It is a 1.5 billion won jump from last year’s budget as state funding has steadily grown over the years.
The ministry started the project with 4.5 billion won in 2007, increasing spending to 5.4 billion won in 2008, 16.2 billion won in 2009, 19.1 billion won in 2010, 27.3 billion won in 2011 and 27.2 billion won in 2012.
It is funding a number of sub-projects, such as providing 300 million won to invest in key universities abroad that have Korean studies programs.
They include Harvard University in the U.S., Yanbian University in China, Saint Petersburg State University in Russia and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
It is also putting up 400 million won to set up Korean studies research and teaching programs in areas such as Africa and the Middle East.
The ministry will provide some 690 million won for translating documents about Korean history and recently allocated 1.4 billion won to compile a Korean studies reference book and is providing 880 million won for books about Korea.
Another project is translating 100 Korean classics into English, which will receive 614 million won in funding.
The ministry will host information sessions on its projects, both at home and abroad, to encourage scholars and researchers to participate. It also plans to establish both an online and offline network through which Korean studies researchers can communicate.