Oxford University Plans October 2026 Launch of Centre for Korean Studies

Oxford University plans to launch the Oxford Centre for Korean Studies as early as October 2026, professors leading the project said. The center will boost research in Korean culture, language, and history. Yonhap reported that the university will announce the establishment during the official public opening of the Stephen A.

Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities on April 26, 2026. The establishment is led by Jieun Kiaer, James Lewis, and Chi Young-hae of Oxford University's Korean studies program. The center received final approval from a faculty meeting in March 2026.

Another senior faculty meeting in March 2026 decided on the need for a Korean studies center at Oxford University. The Oxford Centre for Korean Studies will oversee Korea-related research and lectures. It will promote further research in modern Korean politics, economy, and literature.

The senior faculty meeting noted the importance of Korea as a subject of research and student interest in the country's soft power, especially its popular culture. James Lewis, a professor of Korean history at Oxford University, told Yonhap News Agency that Europe as a whole will likely be inspired by the Oxford Centre for Korean Studies' long-term research.

Jieun Kiaer, a professor of Korean linguistics at Oxford University, noted the importance of English-language scholarship on Korean culture for its longevity, saying the Oxford Centre for Korean Studies will serve as a hub for such research.

The Oxford Centre for Korean Studies marks the latest addition of such a center at Oxford University, following the establishment of centers on Japanese studies in 1981 and Chinese studies in 2008. Jieun Kiaer, James Lewis, and Chi Young-hae posed for a photograph after the university's approval of the establishment in March 2026, in a photo provided by the university on April 25, 2026.