UB Korean Studies Fund Drive Launched; Over $140,000 In Gifts And Pledges Received

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- To further enhance the excellence of the University at Buffalo Korean Studies Program, friends, staff and alumni volunteers have created a committee known as The Society in Support of Korean Studies.

Over the past few months, the volunteers have raised more than $140,000 in gifts and pledges to expand UB's Korean Studies Program. The program will include courses focusing on Korean art, history, economics, business, politics and education. The group also will seek resources to fund a full-time teaching position and provide instructional materials.

The Society in Support of Korean Studies is chaired by Suk-Ki Hong, M.D., of Getzville, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the UB Department of Physiology. Moon Il Cho, Ph.D., of East Amherst, is director of the group.

Vice chairs for the group are Kyu Ho Shin, M.D., of East Amherst; Joon Je Sung of Clarence, and Chung Il Hong, of East Amherst. The treasurer is Young Ja Bae of East Amherst. Soong Hee Han of Buffalo is secretary.

"We are grateful to the generous volunteers and donors who have stepped forward in support of this program," said Kerry Grant, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters. "Their commitment, volunteer efforts and gifts will enhance efforts to elevate and expand the Korean Studies Program as an integral part of UB's university-wide, interdisciplinary Asian Studies Program.

"The immediate goal of the Korean program is to introduce a four-year sequence of classroom language and culture courses. We also want to significantly increase the visibility of, and interaction with, Korean culture and Korean institutions at UB."

UB has offered a Korean language course since 1981.

The university currently enrolls more than 500 Korean-American students, hosts 200 international students and scholars from Korea and enjoys widespread support from the large Korean community in Western New York.

Student demand, the increasing importance of the Pacific Rim to the economy of the United States, and the inter-relationships of the U.S. and Asian economies have prompted UB to establish a comprehensive Asian Studies Program.

"UB is joining the ranks of those North American institutions that place Asia high on their agendas," according to Stephen Dunnett, vice provost for international education.

Chinese, and more recently Japanese, Korean and Arabic, are among the languages now available to undergraduates fulfilling the university's foreign-language requirement.