The Current State and Task of African Studies in Korea

국내 아프리카 연구의 현황과 과제

Since the 2000's, interest toward Africa in Korea has increased rapidly. Korea's interest in Africa began in the second half of the 1960's. However, this interest in the 1960's was motivated by political and diplomatic necessity at the time rather than the needs of indigenous groups in Africa. Korea had to oppose North Korea's diplomatic expansion in Africa to gain the support of international organizations like the United Nations. This interest in Africa motivated by diplomatic needs vanished quickly after the end of the cold war in the 1990's. Authentic Korean interest in Africa began to emerge in the 2000's. Korea's rising international status based on economic development led to a natural interest in Africa, which was the last frontier on earth. As a result, African studies in Korea increased significantly after 2010. The increase in the number of theses, articles and books was remarkable from 2010-2016, in comparison with 1957-2010. In spite of the increase in the quantity of thesis, articles, and books, the problem with Korea's African studies is above all, its preponderance. Over 75% of thesis and 70% of articles are concentrated in the domain of politics and economics. This reflects the fact that Korea's interest in Africa is based on short term political and economic interest, indicating that Korea's African studies did not deviate from the rudimentary phase in its quantity and quality. Another problem with Korea's African studies is the lack of integration of different types of research. African studies in Korea has three components, government funded research centers, university laboratories and individual researchers. The government funded research centers focus on the overview of African nations and their political and economic information. University laboratories mainly perform research on the theoretical aspects of politics, economics, human sciences and culture in Africa. Individual researchers are concerned with various categories. However, these three groups have failed to achieve a synergic effect on African studies in Korea and most of the research on Africa does not extend beyond each academic area. To overcome this problem, first of all, a live exchange may be necessary between domestic researchers.

한국의 아프리카 연구는 2000년대 이후에 본격적으로 이루어지고 있다. 그러나 지구상의 마지막 블루 오션이라는 인식과 함께 시작된 최근의 활발한 아프리카 연구는, 최근 몇 년간의 비약적인 양적 성장에도 불구하고 몇 가지 문제점을 안고 있다. 첫째는 아프리카 연구의 학문적 편중성이다. 국내에서 생산된 석박사 논문과 전문학술지 논문의 60% 이상이 사회과학, 그 중에서도 정치 경제 분야에서 이루어졌으며, 이는 아프리카에 대해 경제적 목적 일변도의 편향된 이해를 불러올 수 있다. 두 번째 문제점은 최근의 활발한 아프리카 연구의 결과에도 불구하고, 국내의 아프리카에 대한 인식은 기존의 피상적인 인식에서 탈피하지 못하고 있다. 다양한 아프리카 연구의 결과들이 일반 대중과 젊은 세대들에게 공유될 필요가 있다. 마지막으로 국내 아프리카 연구 주체들 간의 활발한 교류를 통하여, 분야별 연구의 틀을 벗어나 종합적인 아프리카 연구의 방향으로 나아갈 필요가 있다.