HISTORY OF ICKS

The International Council on Korean Studies (ICKS or Gukje Hanguk Hakhoi) was found in March 1996 as a non profit and non partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of Korean studies and related academic and professional research in the field of Korean affairs in the United States as well as abroad through international conferences, seminars, publications, and other relevant activities. The Council aims to promote the significance of Korean studies and explore issues of the Korean Reunification among the professionals and the new generation of Koreans and Korean Americans.

In the first stage, the founding members created the ICKS by signing the first By-Laws in New York on March 1996. The Board of Directors elected Dr. Woong B. Lee as Chairman, Dr. Ilpyong J. Kim as President who appointed Dr. Hugo Wheegook Kim as Secretary General. The founding members tried to make a solid foundation of the Council in the first four years of 1996-2000 through contribution of some thousand dollars of their money and time. The inaugural conference was held in Arlington, Virginia in November 1996 under the theme of “Two Koreas in the World Affairs.” with 28 papers and almost 200 participants, which was significant and successful. The selected conference papers were published by the inaugural issue of The International Journal of Korean Studies (IJKS or Gukje Hanguk Hakbo) in 1997, funded by the Korea Society. Despite limited resources, the leadership focused on annual conferences and journal publication through continuous efforts of fund raise.

In the second stage, the leadership of Dr. Ung Soo Kim as Chairman, Dr. Hang Yul Rhee as President, Dr. Eui Hang Shin, Dr. Hugo Kim, and Dr. Soon Paik as Vice Presidents largely contributed to strengthening of the organization in terms of quality and quantity. The leadership of Chairman Kim and President Rhee established and pursued three goals during the tenure: penetration into Korea American society, financial independence, and a five year conference program. The revised By-Laws with ten Articles was passed by the Annual Board Meeting held in Annandale, Virginia in June 2000. In this stage, the number of the Board of Directors increased to twenty eight, and activities recruiting membership and raising fund were visible. The ICKS Website appeared in 2000 owing to efforts of Secretary General Ms. Julie JK Park. The ICKS appointed Mr. Anthony Chang to Webmaster for its Web management.

During the last several years, the ICKS has achieved the twin goals of convening annual conferences and publishing its journal. The Council published the IJKS once or twice a year since its inaugural issue of 1997. The Editorial Board of IJKS was led by Editor-in-Chief of Dr. Ilpyong J. Kim during 1997-1999, and Dr. Hong Nack Kim during 2000-2003 with administrative supports of Dr. Hugo Kim in the entire period. The Council held annual conferences continuously under the themes of such as “Current Status and Future of Korean Americans” in 2000, “The Korean War after Fifty Years: Challenges for Peace and Prosperity” in 2001, “The Korean Americans: Past, Present, and Future” in 2002, and “U.S.-Korea Alliance: Continuity and Change” in 2003. The fund raising efforts of Chairman and President made both annual conferences and journal publication possible.

The membership of ICKS has increased to more than three hundred, and the readers of the IJKS reached one thousand professionals and scholars in the United States and abroad as of the year 2003. The goal of ICKS in the coming years is to increase its membership to five hundred by recruiting the younger generation of Korean-Americans and to provide them the opportunity to work out their identity problems by actively participating in the seminars and discussions related to the Korean American affairs. We invite all the one-half and the second generation of Korean Americans to take part in the activities of the ICKS. We also solicit bright new ideas from the Korean-American community for the advancement of Korean studies when we conduct academic research, publish the journals, and organize the conferences and seminars. With the help of the Korean American Community, the ICKS would be able to achieve the established goals in the age of globalization in the twenty-first century.

The history of ICKS has been made by voluntary service of all members of Board of Directors and Executive Board as well as ICKS members, supporting individuals and institutions, Korean American communities, and many others. We appreciate for the supports of all participants, with which the history of ICKS has been and will be created continuously toward harmonious civilization of the world.

Leadership History

Chairman of Board of Directors 
2004 - Present
2002 - 2004
1999 - 2002
1996 - 1999		 Dr. Hang Yul Rhee
Dr. Youn-Suk Kim
Dr. Ung Soo Kim
Dr. Woong B. Lee

President
2004 - Present
2000 - 2004
1996 - 2000		 Dr. Hong Nack Kim
Dr. Hang Yul Rhee
Dr. Ilpyong J. Kim

Vice President
2002 - Present
1999 - 2000
1998 - 1999
1998 - 2002
1998 - 2002		 Dr. Soon Paik
Dr. Hyung-Kook Kim
Dr. Hang Yul Rhee
Dr. Eui Hang Shin
Dr. WheeGook Kim

Secretary General
2003 - Present
2002
2000 - 2001
1996 - 1997
 Dr. Jae Ok Kang
Dr. Jacqueline Pak
Ms. Julie JK Park
Dr. WheeGook Kim

IJKS

Editer-in-Chief
2004 - Present
2000 - 2004
1996 - 2000		 To be appointed
Dr. Hong Nack Kim
Dr. Ilpyong J Kim

Auditors
2001 - Present
1998 - 2001		 Ms. Eun Kim
Dr. Soon Paik

 


MISSION


The International Council on Korean Studies (ICKS) is a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of Korean studies and related academic and professional activities in the United States and abroad through conferences, seminars, publications, and other relevant activities.

The Council aims to promote consciousness of the significance of Korean affairs, Korean heritage, and issues of Korean Reunification among professionals and the public alike. The Council also aims to help Korean Americans learn about their special problems and possible remedies, and encourage them to join the main stream of American society. The Council holds the annual conferences and publishes the International Journal of Korean Studies (IJKS) twice a year.

COMMITTEES

1. Nominating Committee: The Nominating Committee shall consist of five (5) Board members including the Chairperson of the Board and the Council President. The Committee shall be named at least thirty (30) days in advance of an election. The Committee shall send the roster of nominees and their qualifications to the President in writing at least fifteen (15) days in advance of each election. The Nominating Committee shall be dissolved as soon as the election is over and all of the newly elected officers are announced.
2. Planning Committee: The President shall name the Planning Committee, which consists of the Senior Vice President (Chairperson), three additional Board members, and the Secretary General. The Committee shall consider long- and short-range plans for the Council.
3. Publication Committee: The President shall name the Publication Committee chaired by the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Korean Studies (IJKS). The Publication Committee may negotiate with appropriate publishers for the publication of conference proceedings or other materials.
4. Academic Committees: Academic Committees shall be named by the President in major academic fields as deemed necessary to promote academic goals and objectives of the Council. Academic Committees shall advise the President in finalizing annual conference plans.
5. Regional Committees: Regional Committees may be designated by the President in the major regions of the United States and the world.
6. Other Committees: Ad Hoc Committees may be created by the President as needed.

ICKS PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

Annual Conferences

The International Council on Korean Studies (ICKS) hosts annual conference independently or jointly with other organizations at designated time and place. The annual conference is the first of two major activities in order to achieve ICKS goals and objectives. The Board of Directors creates the Program Committee of the Conference each year to develop the conference program according to available fund. The theme of conference has been recommended by the Board of Directors based on the Five Year Program of ICKS.

ICKS Conference 2003: “U.S.-Korea Alliance: Continuity and Change”
Jointly with The Institute 21 for Peace Studies of The Dong-A Ilbo

ICKS Conference 2002: “The Korean Americans: Past, Present, and Future”
Jointly with the Centennial Committee of Korean Immigration to the U.S.A.

ICKS Conference 2001: “Korean War after Fifty Years: A Retrospective”
Jointly with the Institute for Peace Studies, South Korea

ICKS Conference 2000: “Current Status and Future of Korean Americans”

ICKS Conference 1997: “Korean Peninsula: Critical Issues at the Time of Change”
Jointly with the Council on U.S.-Korea Security Studies

ICKS Conference 1996: “The Two Koreas in World Affairs”

Journal Publications

The International Journal of Korean Studies (IJKS) is a biannual journal of Korean studies, published by the ICKS. The publication of IJKS is the second of two major activities of ICKS. The journal has been funded by the organizations such as Korea Society, Korea Foundation, and Korea Research Foundation to promote Korean Studies in America. The Editorial Committee reviews submitted papers, which were sent to the Editorial Advisory Board Members for further reviews if necessary. The qualified papers from the ICKS annual conferences were published.

Other Activities

Other activities contributing to objectives of the Council are organized by various committees. In 2001, the Council published the conference proceedings jointly with the Institute of Peace Studies <Chumgon Kim and Hang Yul Rhee, ed., North-South Korean Engagement and Perspectives of International Relations, Seoul: Institute for Peace, 2001>, a Korean version.
In 2003, the Council published the conference proceedings by the efforts of Dr. Soon Paik, Program Chair of the Annual Conference of the year as well as Vice President of ICKS.

SUPPORTING LINKS

History
Mission
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