■ HUFS Institute of Indian Studies HK+ Project Team holds an international exchange meeting with the Council on South Asian Studies at the Yale MacMillan Center

On June 21, 2023 (Wednesday), the Institute of Indian Studies (Director Kim Chan-Wan) HK+ Project Team held a meeting with Kasturi Gupta, the Director of Programs and Institutional Partnerships of the Yale MacMillan Center's South Asian Studies Council, at #203 of the International Building on the Seoul Campus to promote international exchange and research cooperation between the two institutions.

 

During this meeting, the research teams from the MacMillan Center and the HUFS Institute reached an agreement to carry out research exchanges on India and South Asia and jointly organize programs at the institutional level, thereby strengthening their mutual exchange and cooperation. In particular, they discussed plans for academic initiatives such as a Hindi program for the next generation of scholars and co-hosting the 30th-anniversary academic conference of the HUFS Institute of Indian Studies in 2025.

■ Institute of Latin American Studies HK+ Project Team holds a joint summer international conference entitled “National Vision as a Global Central Hub and Stronger Cooperation Between South Korea and Latin America”

From June 17 to 18, 2023 (Saturday to Sunday), the HK+ Project Team (Lead Shin Jeong-Hwan) of the HUFS Institute of Latin American Studies hosted a summer international conference at Ramada Jeju City Hotel together with Jeju University’s College of Social Sciences. Entitled “National Vision as a Global Central Hub and Stronger Cooperation Between South Korea and Latin America,” the two-day event was held in collaboration with the Korean Association of Latin American Studies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jeju National University’s Institute of Peace Research, Busan University of Foreign Studies’ Institute of Latin American Studies, and the Korean Association of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies.

This international academic conference featured a special session entitled “Latin America and the ‘Far East’: Ideas for Study” led by Professor Maestro Rubén Ruiz Guerra from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). On the second day of the event, a roundtable session was conducted under the title “East Asia and Latin America amid the Emerging Multilateralism,” in which Professor Ruiz Guerra, along with Professor Jie Guo from Peking University and Professor Arturo Escandón from Nansan University in Japan, engaged in a discussion on cooperative relations between Latin America and Asia.

■ Center for International Area Studies Research HK+ Project Team holds a joint international conference with the Foundation on Asia-Pacific Peace Studies

On June 14, 2023 (Wednesday), the HK+ Project Team (Lead Kang Joon-Young) of the HUFS Center for International Area Studies Research held an international conference in partnership with the Taipei-based Foundation on Asia-Pacific Peace Studies at a lecture hall of the Faculty Office Building II under the theme “The Rapidly Changing Northeast Asia Relations and Regional Security.”

The conference, jointly hosted by the HUFS Project Team and Taiwanese Foundation and organized by the Project Team, featured presentations by four experts. In addition, nearly 20 specialists from various fields joined the conference, discussing the diplomatic strategies and security policies of South Korea, Russia, China, Taiwan, and other East Asian countries and exploring ways to enhance cooperation between South Korea and Taiwan amid the escalating strategic rivalry between the U.S. and China.

During Session 1, Executive Director and Deputy Research Division Chief Liu Zhinian of the Foundation on Asia-Pacific Peace Studies delivered presentations on two topics: “Analytical Framework on the Security of the Korean Peninsula” and “Interactions Between Various Countries and Taiwan Under the U.S.-China Strategic Competition and Their Implications on South Korea-Taiwan Relations.”

In Session 2, Dr. Jang Young-Hee from Chungnam National University’s Institute of Peace and Security Studies and HUFS Professor Lee Gi-Hyeon presented on the following topics, respectively: “South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Economic Security Diplomacy: A Policy Review” and “Escalating U.S.-China Strategic Competition and the Korean Peninsula.”

■ Institute of EU Studies wins a regional research project on three Baltic nations from Korea Research Foundation

The HUFS Institute of EU Studies (Director Kim Bong-Chul) has launched the Center for Baltic Studies to facilitate cultural and academic exchanges with the three Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, which used to be part of the Soviet Union but are now EU member states.

The HUFS Institute intends to use the new Center as a hub to leverage its network with the embassies of the three Baltic countries in South Korea, with the aim of expanding diverse forms of exchange, collaborative research, and educational activities with universities and research institutions in the future.

■ Institute of Central Asian Studies holds the 2023 International Academic Forum on the Central Asian Traditional New Year Celebration

On May 15, 2023 (Monday), the HUFS Institute of Central Asian Studies (Director Sohn Young-Hoon) held the 2023 International Academic Forum on the Central Asian Traditional New Year Celebration in the conference room on the 11th floor of the Main Building on the Seoul Campus in collaboration with the Korea Foundation (KF), UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Center for Asia and the Pacific (ICHCAP), and HK+ National Strategy Project Team.

The Forum marked the inaugural academic gathering joined by Korean and Central Asian experts on the theme of the “Central Asian Traditional New Year Celebration (Nowruz),” establishing a cornerstone for enhancing cultural dialogue, exchange, and cooperation between South Korea and Central Asia in the future.

■ Institute of Information and Archival Studies holds a joint seminar on VAD Paradigm-Based Seminar Video Curation and Semantic Archive Construction

On April 22, 2023 (Saturday), the HUFS Institute of Information and Archival Studies (Director Noh Myeong-Hwan) held a joint online video conference with the Department of Information & Archival Science of the HUFS Graduate School under the title “VAD Paradigm-Based Seminar Video Curation and Semantic Archive Construction.”

During the event, the Institute presented a new video service paradigm and database construction technology known as “PEACO VAD Semantic Archive,” which garnered considerable attention. This service allows anyone to freely search and utilize the contents of internet videos, intelligently categorizing them based on various interests like themes, keywords, and figures. It sets itself apart from traditional video services by offering this intelligent classification, making it a unique and innovative concept.

Director Noh of the Institute, who organized this event, said, “The PEACO VAD Semantic Archive service introduces a truly new video service paradigm that is well-suited for the 21st-century video era, providing users with a completely novel video utilization experience, which holds significant importance.” In particular, the service holds great significance in that it is the outcome of long-term R&D collaboration efforts in which Adjunct Professor Park Chun-Won of the Department of Information and Archival Science validated VAD-related technology patents under the support of the Institute, making it even more meaningful.