Couple's gift launches Cornell East Asia Program's Korea Endowment

A major gift to Cornell's East Asia Program will help establish a Korea Endowment to support a broad range of Korean studies programs on campus, including guest speakers and cultural events. The large donation was made by Mr. and Mrs. Il Hwan Cho in December 2003, announced John Whitman, East Asia Program director.

Whitman said the gift will "allow Cornell to establish a dedicated Korean studies endowment in the East Asia Program, parallel to our endowments for China and Japan." He added, "Korea is the fastest growing component of East Asian studies at our university. We hope to build on Mr. and Mrs. Cho's warm support to further strengthen our commitment to Korea."

Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman thanked the Chos for their generosity. "The growth of the Korean studies program at Cornell reflects the dynamic growth of Korea as a player in East Asia and the world," Lehman said. "With their generous donation, Mr. and Mrs. Cho have planted the seed that will allow Korean studies to grow as a major component of our outstanding programs focused on East Asia."

An additional donation from the Chos, who are friends of the university and owners of Koman Sportswear in New Jersey, will support Korea-related publications in the Cornell East Asia Series, which has established a name for itself in recent years through its high-quality translations of Korean literature. For many years the Chos have been actively involved in promoting interest in Korean culture in the New York and greater metropolitan area Korean-American community.

"This is a major contribution to our ability to meet flexibly the various important goals and needs of our growing program in Korean studies," said Edward M. Gunn, chair of the Cornell Department of Asian Studies. "Building our library collection, supporting the staff that we need and enhancing student activities -- we are attaining a Korean studies program worthy of Cornell and of its committed donors."

Korea courses have been offered at Cornell for about 25 years and the program in Korean studies was formalized in the late 1980s, with the introduction of Korean language courses, now offered in the Asian studies department at the elementary-through-advanced levels.

In 1988 the name of the department's China-Japan Program was changed to East Asia Program, acknowledging Korea's importance both internationally and in Cornell's curriculum. It is led by a core group of faculty: Michael Shin, assistant professor of Asian studies; Jae Jung Suhm, assistant professor of government; John Whitman, professor of linguistics; and Hairhin Diffloth, senior lecturer in Asian Studies and Korean language. For many years, Cornell faculty, in disciplines ranging from economics and sociology to business management, have included Korea components in their teaching and research. These scholars, together with the East Asia Program staff and student groups, such as the Korean Student Organization (KSA) and Shimtah, Cornell's traditional Korean music group, have been at the center of a steadily expanding series of Korea-related courses, research activities and campus events.

This past year, KSA hosted at Cornell the national convention of Korean student organizations (KASCON). Other recent Korea-related events have included a workshop on "Colonialism Under Fascism in East Asia" that brought scholars from Korea and Japan to campus, and East Asia Program-sponsored visits by leading Korean writers, South Korean presidential candidate Kwon Young-Ghil and numerous scholars specializing in Korea.

The East Asia Program has received major support for its Korea-related activities from the Korea Foundation, Korea Literature Translation Institute, Daesan Foundation and Korea Research Foundation.