About the Institute

• A leading centre for peace and unification education and research, covering inter-Korean relations and sustainable regional development
• A core research platform for addressing global challenges such as the international refugee crisis
• A UNESCO Chair institute for global citizenship education and cultural diversity

Greetings

The Kangwon Institute for Unification Studies at Kangwon National University will establish itself as an institution for peace and unification education and research that contributes to a peaceful and prosperous Korean Peninsula.

Building on the findings we have accumulated in inter-Korean relations, border areas and sustainable regional development, and peace studies, we will pursue systematic research for peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.

We will serve as a network connecting the public, governmental and academic sectors on themes such as inter-Korean relations and sustainable regional development. In the longer term, we will conduct research that helps resolve international humanitarian crises and advance international peace, and so become an institute that contributes to peace worldwide.

We seek to propose policy alternatives for the development of Korea's refugee policy and, beyond this, to grow into a core global research institution that contributes to resolving international challenges such as the global refugee crisis.

In 2023 the Institute was selected for the National Research Foundation of Korea's Humanities and Social Sciences Research Institute Support Programme (KRW 1.98 billion over three plus three years). Through the Global Refugee Crisis Research Group launched under this programme, we will build an international academic network on refugee crises and take a leading role in refugee studies in East Asia.

In 2024 Kangwon National University was selected to host a UNESCO Chair programme. Together with the University's Departments of Cultural Anthropology, Political Science and Diplomacy, and Peace Studies, the Institute will carry out a range of educational activities in global citizenship education, cultural diversity, and peace.

The Kangwon Institute for Unification Studies will continue to do its utmost to become an institution at the forefront of global refugee research, peace and unification education and research, and global citizenship education. We ask for your continued interest and support.

Thank you.

Younghoon Song, Director
Kangwon Institute for Unification Studies, Kangwon National University