Introduction to Special Section Digital Korean Studies

Abstract

<p>Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, academic research on Korea was able to continue in large part due to the extraordinary collection of online repositories and virtual meeting platforms. This heightened awareness prompts us to consider the relationship between digital technology and our desire to deepen our understanding of Korea's history, society, and culture. The origins of digital Korean studies can be traced back to the launch of the Munkwa Project in the 1960s, making Edward Wagner and Song June-ho [Song Chunho] two of the earliest practitioners of humanities computing. Today, Koreanists are among the most privileged users of digital resources. Thanks to the trailblazing work of Kim Hyeon [Kim Hyŏn], Yi Unggŭn, and others in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the post-1998 creation of large-scale digitized collections, our research typically begins with online queries rather than trips to physical libraries and archives. Furthermore, the Korean Open Government License legislation mandates unrestricted access to raw data sets created with public funds. While premodern Korea specialists have been the primary beneficiaries thus far, the digital transformation of modern Korean studies is well underway, starting with materials that are no longer under copyright protection.<br></p>