• 04

  A new director Prof. In-Uk Kang is appointed.

• 10

  The IKAA is reorganized.

• 09

  Institute Programs in the Humanities & Social Sciences of the NRF is resumed.

• 04

  The IKAA is became independent institute under the KyungHee University.

• 12

  Institute of Korean Archeology and Ancient History is established under the KyungHee University Institute of Humanities.

• 11

  KyungHee University Institute of Humanities is selected for Priority Research Institute Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) for Korean History Research Support Project. Prof. In-Sung Cho is appointed to the first director.

Priority Research Institute Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea : Rational Understanding of Korean Ancient History

KyungHee University Institute of Humanities conducted the Priority Research Institute Program (Project title: “A Study on Northern Culture and Gojoseon Based on Interdisciplinary Cooperation: Building a Korean Ancient history research hub”) of National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) from November 1, 2014 to October 31, 2017. IKAA was established on December 12, 2014 for the practical promotion of the research.

People who tried to interpret their history, such as Gojoseon, based on nationalism has appeared in Korea. Meanwhile, China formalized a view that regards the history of Goguryeo and Balhae, as well as Gojoseon, as a part of Chinese history. The IKAA criticized such irrational, nationalist, hegemonic and Neo-Sinocentrism perceptions and research, while deepening the study of Korean ancient history and spreading its results. The research on the relationship between Gojoseon and northern culture was an attempt to expand the perspective of Korean ancient history.

The IKAA held a total of 11 academic conferences at home and abroad and 28 colloquiums while carrying out the program. The results of the program were published in four series and dozens of articles. The IKAA has established itself as Korean ancient history research hub, making academic exchange agreements with 14 domestic and international academic societies and institutions. As part of sharing the results with the society, four lectures for the citizen and two teacher training sessions were held. With the opening of an archaeological academy for undergraduate students, 7 students went on to graduate school, and two research professors became full-time university professors, and one became HK+ research professor.

Strengthening the Substantiality and Developing New Research Topics

With the successful conduct of the project from 2014 to 2017, the IKAA was able to establish itself as a research institute that opens new horizons in Korean ancient history despite its short history. At the end of the first research project in October 2017, the achievements of the three years were evaluated, new research topics were developed, and the international network was strengthened. After the IKAA’s first research project effectively responded to the movement of irrational interpretation of Korean ancient history, the institute conceived next step to reveal exchanges with each region of Eurasia. During this period, various information was exchanged through human exchanges and seminars with the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography and Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Institute Programs in the Humanities & Social Sciences” of the National Research Foundation of Korea : Opening New Horizons for Korean Ancient History

After two years of preparation, the IKAA has begun to take a leap forward to the second stage, which opens new horizon in time and space of Korean ancient history with a broader perspective and an agenda based on new data. The IKAA's initiative has taken shape by being selected as a research institute in the field of New Northern Policy of strategic regional research-type of the NRF’s Institute Programs in the Humanities & Social Sciences on September 1, 2019. The research theme is “Ancient Korean-Eurasian Network and Establishment of the New Silk Road” (Project No.: 2019S1A5C2A01083578). The research aims at investigating and sharing new perspectives and data on the relationship between Korean ancient history and the various regions of northern Eurasia that have shared history with Korea, rather than the viewpoint of limiting the stage of Korean history to the Korean peninsula or of expanding unreasonably to Eurasia.

Through interdisciplinary research centered on archeology, the IKAA will sequentially reveal the ancient networks of Korea and Eurasia, such as the Maritime Province, Manchuria, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey, which is the main target regions of the New Northern Policy. The IKAA will establish an ancient Korean-Eurasian network system, which can be called Korean model of the new Silk Road, and cultivate experts in each region.

The Eurasian region has endless possibilities economically and culturally. The New Northern Policy of the government will be the first step in paving the path for common prosperity by enhancing the connection between Korea and various Eurasian countries. The research, which attempts to restore the exchange network between the Korean Peninsula and the Eurasia region in the past, will be utilized as an important academic asset of the New Northern Policy.