At a steady pace and with an insecurity, Dr. Yoon On Kyung is in a long and exciting journey in the field of Arab and Islamic studies from South Korea To the Arab capitals and its participation in “International Orientalism Conference“Doha has a unique opportunity to present its efforts to enhance the dialogue between East and West.
As a professor at the University of “Hancock for Foreign Studies” and head of the Korean Association for Islamic Studies, Yoon has a difficult task: presenting an objective and fair image of Arabs and Muslims in a country whose knowledge of the other is formed through the Western media mirror. Between the lecture halls and translation projects, they strive to break stereotypes and correct false concepts.
In this dialogue with Al -Jazeera Net, Dr. Yoon opens her heart and mind to talk about the challenges of the Korean Arabists, the role of translation in building bridges, her personal experience in teaching Arabic, analyzing the media discourse on Islam, and providing her academic vision at a time when the distance between cultures increases instead of rapprochement.
Dr. Yun is one of the prominent figures in the field of Arab and Islamic studies in South Korea. Her academic career extends to many leadership positions, as she previously held the position of Undersecretary of the College of Asian Languages and Cultures and the head of the Department of Arabic at the same university, in addition to her role as an advisor and director in several academic and educational committees at the level of South Korea.
What do you say about the reality of Arab studies in Korea? How do you see the future of dialogue between East and West? Can culture be more influential than politics?
-
What is your personal impression of your participation in the first version of the “International Orientalism Conference” in Doha, and how do you evaluate its role in promoting dialogue between East and West?
I was personally honored and honored to participate in such a distinguished conference, which is the first version of the “International Orientalism Conference” in Doha. I am Arabized and specialized in Arabic and Arab and Islamic culture, and this is my first experience in the presence of this international conference related to Orientalism.
I noticed the presence of a large number of prominent guests and scientists from different countries of the world, from east and west, where they meet here in Doha, which truly has a link between the two civilizations, and a platform for the exchange of cultures between East and West.
I believe that this is a wonderful achievement, and will contribute to enhancing Doha’s position to be the capital of culture and arts, and a center for civilized and cultural dialogue between East and West.
It was also indicated that the conference witnessed a number of important sessions. Some of these sessions attended, enjoyed a lot of speakers’ opinions, and benefited greatly.
-
What are the most prominent challenges facing the Korean Arabists in providing an objective image of the Arab and Islamic world, and how do you seek to correct the prevailing stereotypes?
There are many problems that we are the Korean Arabists at the present time. As I mentioned in our session, more than 15,000 books have been released in Korea dealing with Arabic and literature, Middle East studies, and studies related to Islam. However, less than 10% of these books were written by Korean specialists in Arabic And Arab and Islamic studies, while the vast majority are translations of Western books written in English.
Therefore, many of these books suffer from systematic restrictions, and offer a vision from a Western perspective that may be fair or positive towards the Arab and Islamic world.
For this reason, we, as a Korean Arabists, seek with all our efforts to introduce the Korean public to the Arab and Islamic culture and civilization correctly and objectively. This is because most of the Koreans hold non -positive, and sometimes very negative, from the Arab and Islamic world, as a result of their dependence on their information on the Western media, which often transmits a distorted or inaccurate image.
Hence, we are working hard to correct these stereotypes, and to provide a fair and balanced image of the Arab and Islamic world in the general Korean awareness.
-
How did Korea’s historical and political background affected the perceptions of ancient generations towards the Arab and Islamic world, and what role did the Western media play in shaping these perceptions?
I am completely agreed with you, but as I mentioned, the old generations of Koreans have a non -positive image towards the Arab and Islamic world. This is due to the historical background of Korea, where it was under Japanese colonialism for a long time, and its independence from the clutches of the Japanese occupation did not get until 1945, with the support of US And some western countries.
Then it erupted Korean War Between the two parts of the country, and at that stage the pattern of thinking prevailed in most Koreans, as they became supporters of the United States and the Western model in general, which made them depend on receiving knowledge and information, including those related to the Arab and Islamic world, on the Western media.
-
How do you see the role of the translation movement between Arabic and Korean in promoting cultural understanding between the two peoples, and what are the steps necessary to expand this cognitive bridge in the future?
When talking about the translation movement between the Arabic and Korean languages, it is necessary to refer to the history of Arabic in Korea, where its education began in 1965, with the establishment of the first department specialized in teaching Arabic and studies The Middle East At Hancock Foreign Studies University located in The capital is Soul.
This section this year celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of its founding, and during this period more than 10 thousand graduates, playing pioneering roles in enhancing bilateral relations between Korea and the Arab world, has graduated from this period, whether in the field of translation or other fields. A postgraduate program was also opened in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the same university, which includes masters and doctorate stages.
Through these programs, 110 of those with a master’s degree, and 24 doctorates have graduated so far, and their scientific theses have dealt with various topics, and some focused on Arabic literature, especially the works of prominent writers such as Ghassan Kanafani and Naguib Mahfouz.
In this context, a number of these researchers translated many Arab literary works into Korean, the most prominent of which is the novel “The Children of Our Neighborhood” by Naguib Mahfouz, and selected works by Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani. The number of Arabic literary works that have been translated into Korea has so far reached more than 60 works.
Some Korean literary works were also translated into Arabic, which are estimated at between 20 and 30 works, but this number is still not enough.
As for the Korean writer Han Kang, who won Nobel Prize For literature last year, she previously won the “Booker” award, and some of her works were translated into Arabic, including the “Vegetable” novel, which is characterized by its poetic style in narration, and through which it expresses the historical shocks left by the Korean war.
Therefore, we urgently need more mutual translation, whether from Arabic to Korean, or vice versa, to deepen the mutual cultural understanding between the Arab and Korean worlds.
-
How does the balanced academic curriculum in the Department of Arabic Language at the University of “Hancock for foreign studies” contribute to enhancing the understanding of Korean students of Arabic and Islamic language and culture?
In the Department of Arabic at the University of “Hancock for Foreign Studies”, we always strive with all our efforts to achieve the academic balance between the subjects related to Arabic and its literature. Therefore, in the first and second years, we focus on teaching basic subjects in the language, such as rules, writing, reading and conversation, with their levels: the beginner and the average. We also study subjects concerned with understanding Arab studies and Arab society, in order to enhance the cultural background of students.
As for the third and fourth years, we offer a variety of optional materials, such as: politics, economics, literature, history and diplomatic studies, in addition to subjects concerned with comparison between classical Arabic and colloquial dialects, and even studies in the Holy Quran.
We believe that achieving the scientific balance between language and culture is necessary. Culture is a window to identify the peoples of the Arab world, and literature reflects the essence of the human experience in these societies. Therefore, in this context, we try to define Korean students, even with a small part of the prominent literary works, or some Quranic verses, with the aim of deepening their understanding of the Arab and Islamic culture and civilization correctly and objectively.