Korean Studies Celebrates the Journal’s 50th Anniversary!

 
The University of Hawai‘i Press is honored to join the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Center for Korean Studies in celebrating Korean Studies journal on its 50^th year of publication. Korean Studies has been the oldest continuously published academic journal exploring Korean studies outside the Korean peninsula. The journal has proudly presented research articles, review articles, commentaries, and book reviews on Korea-related topics since 1977. With its 50^th issue, Korean Studies will shift from an annual to a semiannual publication. Korean Studies: Global Research & Critique, Volume 50, Number 1 will debut in April 2026.

Editor Cheehyung Harrison Kim recognizes Korean Studies history, new title, and cover in the introduction stating:
This issue marks the fiftieth year of Korean Studies. We are the oldest continuously published academic journal in the field of Korean studies existing outside the Korean peninsula, the first issue coming out in mid-1977. The field today has many excellent journals, and we are fortunate and proud to have stayed relevant for the past five decades…
As the journal embarks on another fifty years, we unveil major changes in the name, design, and formatting. The journal is now called Korean Studies: Global Research & Critique. The cover features an elegant font on a matte navy background, and each issue will showcase an image from one of the articles. The original symbol of the lotus wadang (the circular roof-end tile) has been preserved, in a more integrated way. We are also going two issues per year, with the Fall issue reserved for a special issue.
A major change in formatting is that we are bringing back the footnotes. I am sure many researchers will welcome the return of footnotes.
This commemorative issue features four research articles (by Sang Mee Oh, Kyounghwa Lim, Wonseok Lee, and David Kwon), a commentary (by Eun-Young Kim), three book reviews (by Yejun Kweon, Kyu-hyun Jo, and Holly Stephens), and the reprint of Pihl’s 1977 article. These pieces represent the robustness and sophistication of what the journal strives to achieve in each issue.
Fifty years ago, the inaugural editor Dae-Sook Suh wrote that the
journal is dedicated to promoting “interdisciplinary and intercultural approaches to Korean studies.” Our new name reflects this original vision. The journal renews its pledge to publish excellent research on Korea by scholars from across the world.