Event: American Studies Association of Korea 50th International Conference & International American Studies Association 7th World Congress
Date: 18:00, August 18 (Tue), 2015
Venue: Hoam Faculty House

Ladies & Gentlemen and Distinguished Guests,

Good evening, everyone. It is my great pleasure to meet all of you, including many distinguished guests, tonight at the American Studies Association of Korea’s 50th International Conference and the International American Studies Association’s 7th World Congress.

As many of you know, American Studies Association of Korea is one of the oldest academic associations in Korea, and the association is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. ASAK was founded in 1965 to promote American Studies, which was then a fairly new discipline in Korea, and over the years, it has done a great of job, publishing an academic journal dedicated to American Studies and hosting an international conference every year. American Studies by nature is interdisciplinary, combining various disciplines such as Economics, Law, Politics, Literature, Sociology etc., and ASAK’s academic contributions can be simply found in the great number of scholars from the Humanities and Social Sciences who have been with the association over the years, not to mention their remarkable academic outputs. ASAK has also contributed to promoting a better understanding of Korea-US relations, which I believe provides a firm foundation for the cooperation of the two countries.

So, as the President of Seoul National University, I am first of all honored to be here to congratulate ASAK’s 50th anniversary. I am also honored to welcome scholars from all over the world, especially the members of the International American Studies Association. It is exciting to be able to bring all these domestic and international scholars together in the name of what seems to be the most proper theme for the occasion, “Constellating ‘Americas’: Ex/Changes beyond Transnationalism,” and see them engaging in highly intellectual debates and sociable conversations. And I am sure everyone here shares my excitement not only for this particular event but also for the bright future of American Studies that the constellations being made here will illuminate.

Before closing my speech, I’d like to thank Robert Ogburn, Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy, for the Embassy’s long-standing partnership with ASAK. And for all the work and dedication they have provided for their respective associations, I also thank the former presidents of ASAK and IASA, to whom we owe the long and remarkable tradition of the two associations. Finally, I thank the board and staff members of ASAK and IASA, especially presidents Chulwon Cho and Giorgio Mariani, for making this wonderful event possible, and congratulate them on the successful conference.

I hope you all enjoy tonight and the remaining time at the conference and wish you a safe and pleasant trip home.

Thank you.