Going South: Re-Orienting to Korean Studies from an Antipodean Perspective

Abstract

This paper explores some strategic aspects of doing Korean Studies in Australia within the context of greater interdependence between Australia and the region of Asia and the Pacific. It examines the growing discontent with the concept of "area studies", a framework seen as an outmoded product of the Cold War that is too centered on "traits" of a country, and it goes on to consider an alternative approach called "liquid area studies" proposed by Tessa Morris-Suzuki. It argues that our geographical and temporal location vis-a-vis the region of Asia offers a unique vantage point for new ways of doing research and teaching related to Korea. To illustrate, the paper proposes a transnational approach to the history of women in modern Korea.