Online only: Fondren receives gift of Korean encyclopedias

By Joey Capparella     2/11/10 6:00pm

In a ceremony last Thursday in the Kyle Morrow Reading Room of Fondren Library, South Korean Consul General of the city of Houston Yun-soo Cho presented the library with a set of Korean dictionaries and encyclopedias that will soon be available to students as part of the reference section.Howard R. Hughes Provost Eugene Levy, Vice Provost and University Librarian Sara Lowman and Director of the Chao Center for Asian Studies Tani Barlow accepted the gift. These dictionaries will fill a gap in the library's collection, Cho said about his first visit to Houston and the Fondren Library, because Fondren has few South Korean-published reference books.

"I was surprised and disappointed to find only one dictionary from Korea," Cho said. "The single dictionary was from the 1960s, a time when South Korea was very different than it is now."

The new dictionaries are an important update, better reflecting South Korea in its present state, Cho said. Also, because the books were published in South Korea, they provide new Eastern perspectives to complement the many Western perspectives already present in the library, Assistant University Librarian and Head of Collections for the Fondren Library Kerry Keck said.

---

---

"This contribution is an important addition to the Library's collection because it supplements our existing collection of South Korean materials," Keck said. "Many of the faculty in the Asian Studies program specialize in China or Japan, and these South Korean-published books help develop our overall regional collection."

This contribution is not only significant for Fondren, but also for the Chao Center for Asian Studies. Barlow said this contribution is especially timely considering last Friday's Transnational Asia Graduate Student Conference, which emphasized transnationalism, the flow of ideas between countries, and was hosted by the Chao Center.

As the South Korean aspects of the Asian Studies program at Rice grow, Barlow said she hopes the gift will support a continuing relationship between the Chao Center and Cho. Likewise, Cho said he hopes to strengthen his relationship with Rice, especially his involvement with the Chao Center and the South Korean Studies program.

Two graduate students representing the Chao Center and the South Korean Student Association were present at the ceremony.

"Although the South Korean population at Rice is small, Rice's relationship with South Korea is growing, and this gift extends the invitation to the Asian Studies program to continue this affiliation," graduate student Sung-Hyun Moon said after the ceremony.

Overall, the ceremony emphasized how the contribution would affect the future of Rice's relationship with South Korea.

"I want to stress our appreciation for this gift," Provost Levy said at the ceremony. "Looking to gain appreciation for the history and contributions of South Korea, we accept this gift as seminal for the future of the University.

---