Seoul National U. Will Launch Japanese Studies Program

In what is considered a breakthrough, Seoul National University has announced plans to start a Japanese studies department next year, ending what many have considered an unusual hole in the institution's curriculum, The Korea Times reported. Many Koreans remain ambivalent about studying Japan, given the treatment of their country by the Japanese during the first half of the 20th century. Several years ago, the university abandoned plans to start an undergraduate program in Japanese studies, in the face of anti-Japanese sentiment.