The Overseas Leading University Program for Korean Studies forms part of the Education Enhancement Program for Korean Studies funded by the AKS (Academy of Korean Studies). The program aims to establish a firm academic infrastructure for Korean Studies outside Korea by fostering leading universities in the field of Korean Studies.

From the year 2009 onwards, the Institute of Korean Studies (IKS) at Freie Universität Berlin and the Department of Korean Studies at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have jointly conducted the project “The Circulation of Knowledge and the Dynamics of Transformation”. The consortium has played a key role in enhancing Korean Studies in Europe. Over the course of the project, Freie Universität Berlin and RuhrUniversität Bochum have produced a remarkable number of research outcomes in various academic fields, including those relating to politics, literature, and history, and have held numerous conferences and workshops bringing together researchers from Europe and Korea. The cooperation between the two universities has opened up entirely new possibilities for research, thus confirming that two universities with different research foci could produce fruitful results.

With the end of the five-year project period approaching, this will be the last workshop organised as part of the project. Freie Universität Berlin and Ruhr-Universität Bochum both consider themselves deeply indebted to the AKS for having supported the consortium and the joint project.