Department of Korean Studies

Since the turn of the millennium, there has been an increasing interest in the Korean language and Korean culture worldwide. The roots of Korean studies in Hungary go back to the period of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, as in 1892 the dualist state established formal relations with the Chosun Kingdom. After that, a number of Hungarian travelers (missionary Count Péter Vay, ethnographer Benedek Baráthosi Balogh, medical doctor Dr. Dezső Bozóky) visited the East Asian country, who made valuable observations about the internal conditions of Korea. However, the soon-to-be-started Japanese colonial rule abolished the independent statehood of the Korean Peninsula, so there was no opportunity for the completion of bilateral relations at that time. After the WWII, the Korean peninsula was divided into two parts: a pro-American system was established in the southern part of the country, while a communist system was established in the northern part. Under the influence of the Soviet empire, Hungary established diplomatic relations with the North Korean state in the fall of 1948, and then mainteined ties with them during the Korean War by sending a military hospital and hosting hundreds of war orphans and guest students. The Korean War between 1950-1953 aroused a great deal of interest in the Korean language and Korean culture. It was then that the first Hungarian-Korean Dictionary was completed in our country under the guidance of linguist Dr. Aladár Sövény, and the leading symbols of traditional Korean culture became known. The pioneering activity of Dr. Aladár Sövény was later continued by the linguist Dr. Ferenc Mártonfi and then by the linguist and Korean literature-expert Gábor Osváth. And at the end of the 1980s, Hungary – as the first of the countries of the former socialist bloc – established diplomatic relations with South Korea, which finally opened relations between the two nations free of ideological constraints.

At the Károli Gáspár Reformed University, the teaching of Korean language and culture began in September 2010, and the Korean Department of the university was established on May 15, 2023 – on the birthday of King Sejong, who created the Korean national script. Information about the ceremonial founding of the Korea Department is available HERE, as well as the thoughts of Dr. Mózes Csoma, head of the department, regarding the founding of the new department HERE.

Head of Department:

Amb. Mózes Csoma (Ph.D. with habilitation)
associate professor, Hungary’s former Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and the DPRK
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.