Reporter Volume 26, No.20 March 9, 1995

By JED NITZBERG
Reporter Contributor
To further enhance the excellence of the UB Korean Studies Program,
friends, staff and alumni volunteers have created a committee known as
The Society in Support of Korean Studies.
	Over the past few months, the volunteers have raised more than
$140,000 in gifts and pledges to expand UB's Korean Studies Program.
The program will include courses focusing on Korean art, history,
economics, business, politics and education. The group also will seek
resources to fund a full-time teaching position and provide
instructional materials.
	The Society in Support of Korean Studies is chaired by Suk-Ki
Hong, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the UB Department of Physiology.
Moon Il Cho is director of the group. Vice chairs are Kyu Ho Shin;
Joon Je Sung and Chung Il Hong. The treasurer is Young Ja Bae; Soong
Hee Han is secretary.
	"We are grateful to the generous volunteers and donors who
have stepped forward in support of this program," said Kerry Grant,
dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters. "Their commitment, volunteer
efforts and gifts will enhance efforts to elevate and expand the
Korean Studies Program as an integral part of UB's university-wide,
interdisciplinary Asian Studies Program.
	"The immediate goal of the Korean program is to introduce a
four-year sequence of classroom language and culture courses. We also
want to significantly increase the visibility of, and interaction
with, Korean culture and Korean institutions at UB."
	UB has offered a Korean language course since 1981. The
university currently enrolls more than 500 Korean-American students,
hosts 200 international students and scholars from Korea and enjoys
widespread support from the large Korean community in Western New
York.
	Student demand, the increasing importance of the Pacific Rim
to the economy of the United States, and the inter-relationships of
the U.S. and Asian economies have prompted UB to establish a
comprehensive Asian Studies Program.
	"UB is joining the ranks of those North American institutions
that place Asia high on their agendas," said Stephen Dunnett, vice
provost for international education.
	Chinese, and more recently Japanese, Korean and Arabic, are
among languages now available to undergraduates fulfilling UB's
foreign-language requirement.