Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Institute for Korean Diaspora (Director Sangwon Yoon, Professor, Department of History) has been selected for the National Research Foundation of Korea's 2026 Humanities and Social Science Research Institute Support Program. Accordingly, the Institute will receive research funding of KRW 1.8 billion from the National Research Foundation of Korea and will build a Koryo-saram media database and a historical-cultural map over six years through August 2032.

The Institute for Korean Diaspora has long focused on diaspora issues and has been committed to preserving the records and cultural heritage left by Koryo-saram. Based on materials collected to date, it plans to database Korean-language media and records published by Koryo-saram from 1908 to 1990 by subject and region. It also plans to combine these data with modern Eurasian transportation network data to provide visual materials in the form of a historical-cultural map.

This project is significant in that it will systematically organize foundational materials for research on Koryo-saram communities in Russia and Central Asia. It is expected to serve as a source for uncovering new research projects and to attract attention from scholars not only in history but across multiple disciplines. Furthermore, the digital historical-cultural map is expected to be widely utilized, including through linkage with domestic historical data platforms.

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Yonhap News: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260914111800371?section=news