Editorial
The new economic, cultural and political structures of the world today challenge us to enter into the Asia Pacific region with the aim of getting closer to the historical, cultural, political and economic processes that are developing in that region, which seems to be destined to be at the center of the world system for the foreseeable future. It is necessary for Latin America to establish cultural communication links with these countries to create a future vision in line with present times. The Korean Argentine Studies Centre at the UBA is seeking to contribute to this process by developing projects and activities which seek greater cultural understanding and to develop relations with Korea and the countries of East Asia, especially China and Japan, whose importance in the international system is one of the most important facts of our time.
Likewise, in the framework of the internalisation of the university system, with all its challenges, universities ought to occupy a leading role in this process by promoting the integration of faculties and disciplines, collaboration with teaching materials, research and the exchange of students, teachers and researchers.
The KASC of the UBA is making its contribution in this area. It was founded in 2004 with the collaboration of the Korea Foundation and the Embassy of Korea as a continuation of the work that had been carried out since 1995 in the IIGG FCS UBA. The KASC has as its mission the development of shared projects of scientific and technical research, the promotion and development of Korean studies, the promotion of the Korean language in the university, the intensification of the exchange of academic personnel, researchers, teachers, and students, the promotion of the exchange of bibliographic material as well as translations in both languages and the organizing of encounters and conferences to promote knowledge of Korean culture.
The Newsletter is a KASC initiative which aims to contribute to the promotion of Korean Studies in Latin America by distributing information about the work of the various universities and centres in the region and consolidating the network of academics that was established at the Encuentros de Estudios Coreanos en América Latina, held in Buenos Aires in 2003, Mexico city in 2005 and San Paulo 2007 and which will continue to be developed at the next one in Chile in 2009, as well as in national Korean Studies Congresses.
