Korean Studies

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2019-20 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

About the Program

Minor

Note: The Asian Studies Major and all of the associated minors have been retired and folded into Global Studies.  We are no longer accepting Asian Studies declarations.  Please visit the Global Studies website or the Global Studies page on the Berkeley Academic Guide for more information.

The Group in Asian Studies offers a minor in Korean Studies. This minor program gives students an introduction to the study of one region of Asia through social science and humanities courses.

Declaring the Minor

Students must see the undergraduate major adviser in 101 Stephens Hall to fill out paperwork. It is recommended that students do this before or, at most, shortly after they decide to pursue a minor.

Other Majors and Minors Offered by the Group in Asian Studies

Asian Studies: Multi-Area (Area 1, Includes all countries and regions of Asia) (Major only)
Asian Studies: China (Area 2) (Major only)
Asian Studies: Japan (Area 3) (Major only)
Chinese Studies (Minor only)
Japanese Studies (Minor only)

Visit Group Website

Minor Requirements

Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but they are not noted on diplomas.

General Guidelines

  1. All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT). If the semester before EGT is fall or spring, the deadline is the last day of RRR week. If the semester before EGT is summer, the deadline is the final Friday of Summer Sessions. To declare a minor, contact the department advisor for information on requirements, and the declaration process.
  2. All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
  3. A minimum of three of the upper division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
  4. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.
  5. Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
  6. No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
  7. All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which you plan to graduate. If you cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, please see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
  8. All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)

Requirements

Upper Division
Select FIVE upper division courses focusing on Korea:
Fifty percent or more of each course's content must deal with Korea, in order to fulfill the minor requirements.
Only two language and literature courses (e.g., the Korean 100 series) may count toward the five courses.
There are no language requirements for this minor.
Two of the five courses can be taken abroad as part of an approved study abroad program plan. Students must consult with adviser beforehand.

Courses

List of Korea-Focused Courses

Use this list to choose five upper division courses on Korea (fifty percent or more of the course must deal with Korea). Note that this is not an exhaustive list: if you think a course could count, discuss with major adviser.

ASAMST 138Topics in Asian Popular Culture4
ASIANST 150Course Not Available4
HISTORY 113ACourse Not Available4
HISTORY 113BModern Korean History4
KOREAN 100AAdvanced Korean5
KOREAN 100AXAdvanced Korean for Heritage Speakers4
KOREAN 100BAdvanced Korean5
KOREAN 100BXAdvanced Korean for Heritage Speakers4
KOREAN 101Fourth-Year Readings: Korean Literature4
KOREAN 102Fourth-Year Readings: Korean Social Sciences and History4
KOREAN 111Fifth-Year Readings: Reading and Analysis of Advanced Korean Texts4
KOREAN 112Fifth-Year Readings: Korean for Research and Professional Use4
KOREAN 130Genre and Occasion in Traditional Poetry4
KOREAN 140Narrating Persons and Objects in Traditional Korean Prose4
KOREAN 150Modern Korean Poetry4
KOREAN 153Readings in Modern Korean Literature4
KOREAN 155Modern Korean Fiction4
KOREAN 157Contemporary Korean Literature4
KOREAN 170Intercultural Encounters in Korean Literature4
KOREAN 172Gender and Korean Literature4
KOREAN 174Modern Korean Fiction in Translation4
KOREAN 180Critical Approaches to Modern Korean Literature4
KOREAN 185Picturing Korea4
KOREAN 186Introduction to Korean Cinema4
KOREAN 187History and Memory in Korean Cinema4
KOREAN 188Cold War Culture in Korea: Literature and Film4
KOREAN 189Korean Film Authors4
POL SCI 144BPolitics of Divided Korea4

Faculty and Instructors

Faculty

Jinsoo An, Assistant Professor.

John Lie, Professor. Social theory, political economy, East Asia.
Research Profile

Laura Nelson, Associate Professor. Gender, medicine, and politics, Cultural, political, and experiential aspects of breast cancer in South Korea, How, why, and to what effect constructions of gender, class, and race are mobilized and manipulated in South Korea, Structures of cultural temporality (future, present, or past orientation) and anti-poverty policies (US and South Korea).

Emeritus Faculty

Hong Yung Lee, Professor Emeritus. Political science, East Asian studies.

Contact Information

Group in Asian Studies

1995 University Avenue, Suite 510E

Phone: 510-642-0333

asianst@berkeley.edu

Visit Group Website

Associate Dean, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences & Chair, Asian Studies

Max Auffhammer

101 Stephens Hall

auffhammer@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Academic Adviser, Graduate Student Affairs Officer

Dreux Montgomery

101 Stephens Hall

Phone: 510-643- 4157

dmontgom@berkeley.edu

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