With the global rise of Korean culture—from K-pop and film to food and language—George Mason University’s Mason Korea campus recently launched the Center for Korean Culture and Society (CKCS), its first independently operating research center.
The center will lead interdisciplinary research and education in media content, K-pop, gaming, sports, and tourism. Planned initiatives include hosting international conferences, training cultural industry professionals, fostering industry–academic partnerships, and offering Korean language and culture programs for global learners.
“As a global campus that values both scholarship and practice, Mason Korea seeks to build a platform where K-culture can be shared and co-created with the world,” Joshua Park, campus dean of Mason Korea, said at the center’s opening ceremony at the Incheon Global Campus Small Theater. “Through strong partnerships with students, faculty, businesses, and cultural institutions, Mason Korea will continue to serve as a trusted global education bridge.”
The center launch aligns with Korea’s national strategy to position itself as a global leader in K-content. Leveraging Incheon’s international gateway and collaboration with the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ)’s K-Con LAND project, Mason Korea aims to become a key bridge connecting Korea and the world.
Gyu Tag Lee, professor of global affairs and inaugural director of the center, and a leading expert on K-pop and popular music, presented the center’s vision. “We envision this center as more than a space for research,” he said. “It will be a meeting point for people from around the world to create, share, and learn from K-content.”
A panel discussion followed, centered on the book Exploring Hallyu: History and Theory, co-authored by Lee and fellow scholars.
The event brought together representatives from major cultural and educational institutions, including the Seoul Foundation of Culture, Hunminjeongeum Globalization Foundation, Incheon Global Campus Foundation, American Korean Businessmen Friendship Forum, Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, the World Olympic Taekwondo Federation, Incheon National University, and South Korean educational public radio and television network EBS, with support from Incheon Metropolitan City and the Incheon Citizens’ Life College.
The ceremony also featured a congratulatory video from Incheon mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, and remarks from Yun Wonsok, commissioner of IFEZ.