International Conference “Comparative Studies of Vietnam and Korea in History”

The conference was organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (VNU) in collaboration with the International Institute for Asian Studies (Leiden University, Netherlands), Seoul National University (Korea), and the Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities of Paris (France). More than 60 international scientists from many research fields participated in the conference, most of whom came from the US, UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, China, Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, etc.

The conference brought together many international scientists, including many of the world's leading researchers.

It is known that the idea of ​​organizing a workshop on regional comparative research between Vietnam and Korea was nurtured 2 years ago, with the first proposal being Dr. Philippe Peycam (International Institute of Asian Studies). This idea quickly received support and sharing from international scientists at many universities in Asia and Europe. An international council with the participation of university representatives was established to propose in-depth research contents as well as implement workshop organization activities.

Professor Hue - Tam Ho Tai (Harvard University) presented the opening report of the conference with the title: "Divide by mountains and oceans but united by a common language"

According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim (Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities), Vietnam and Korea are two countries with many similarities. These are both peninsular countries, developed on the basis of wet rice civilization. The major changes in the history of formation and development of the two countries have many similarities and depend largely on the rise and fall of the great empire of China. These influences can be seen in many aspects: political institutions, cultural characteristics, social structures, cultural and artistic life, etc.

Dr. Philippe Peycam (International Institute of Asian Studies) is one of the scientists who proposed the idea of ​​organizing the conference.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim (Vice Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities) and Dr. Philippe Peycam

This conference aims at a comparative and research perspective from the specific perspectives of the fields of History, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Archeology, Economics, etc. to reach a comprehensive and overall view of the similarities and differences between the two countries in the medieval and modern periods.

Among the topics discussed at the conference, there were completely new research issues about Vietnam and Korea, while there were topics that had been mentioned before but were approached by scientists from a new perspective, especially from an interdisciplinary and regional perspective. These studies spanned a wide range of fields, from politics, diplomacy, trade to exchanges and interactions in the fields of culture, education, art, religious life, etc. There were studies on a development period in history, but there were also in-depth studies from the perspective of a specific discipline or a specific work, thereby showing the mindset, aspirations and development of the two countries and two peoples at each historical period. The results of the discussions at the conference will contribute significantly to sharing knowledge and lessons on the development experiences of the two countries, which are considered two typical case studies, highly representative in regional studies.

The workshop has 16 sub-committees with discussion topics spanning many research areas.

The conference was held entirely in English. Notably, many young Vietnamese scientists not only actively participated but also showed confidence in presenting their research results and exchanging academic knowledge with world scientists. This, on the one hand, reflects the challenges in international integration of science, and on the other hand, it also has the necessary meaning of activating the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in particular and the Vietnamese social sciences and humanities community in general to further promote scientific exchange and cooperation activities at the international level.

After the conference, the papers will be finalized and submitted for publication in international scientific journals. And it is expected that a follow-up conference, also on comparative studies of Vietnam and Korea, focusing on the modern and contemporary periods, will be held in mid-2018 in Korea.

Some typical papers presented at the workshop “Comparative studies of Vietnam and Korea in history”: “Separated by mountains and oceans but united by a common language” (Prof. Hue-Tam Ho Tai, Harvard University), “The Korean semi-tributary system and its collapse” (Bongjin Kim, Kitakyushu University, Japan), “Vietnam and Korea in the pre-modern inter-state system in East Asia” (Xiaoming Huang, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand), “Modernity in the countryside: Korea, Vietnam and Japan” (Brij Mohan Tankha, Institute of Chinese Studies, India), “Defining the difference: the relationship between the center and the periphery in colonial Korea and Vietnam” (Paul Woods, Oxford center for Mission Studies, UK), “The development of the national language and language typology - the case of Korea and Vietnam” (Ivo Vasiljev, Czech Republic), “Folk beliefs and popular religious worship systems – a study of the foundational cultural memories of Vietnamese and Korean communities” (Raina Beneva, Sofia University, Bulgaria), “War and state formation in ancient Vietnam and Korea” (Tuong Vu, University of Oregon, USA), “Higher education in Vietnam and Korea in the early 20th century – a comparative study through colonial archives” (Sara Legrandjacques, University of Paris1, Republic of France)…

Delegates take souvenir photos after the opening session at the conference