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Transnational Korean Studies Minor 

The Korean Studies minor is an inter-departmental and interdisciplinary program that allows students to explore and deepen their interest in and knowledge of Korea. Korean Studies at UC San Diego places special emphasis on modern Korea as a transnational formation, exploring how Korea has been shaped and constructed itself under changing historical circumstances and in relation to other nation-states, empires and their histories and cultures. Course offerings for the minor include the disciplines of History, Literature and Language, Culture and Popular Culture Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Political Science, International Relations and Globalization Studies.

For advising questions, please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC). 

To schedule a one-on-one Zoom meeting , email at koreanstudies@ucsd.edu with your name, PID, available days and times, and reason for an appointment.

Requirements

The Korean Studies minor requires that students complete a minimum of 28 units of Korea and/or Korea-related courses. Normally 28 units add up to 7 courses, if each course is a 4-unit course. If courses taken offer more than 4 units (i.e., some Korean language courses), then more than 28 units may be needed to fulfill the program’s minimum requirement.

Korean Studies Minor degree check list (Fillable PDF)

  • 7 courses, with a maximum of 3 lower-division courses.
  • All courses must be taken for a letter grade.
  • The minor does not require  language or lower-division courses. Students are not required to take Korean, but we strongly recommend that they take language courses as part of their overall specialization.
  • The approved list of courses is divided into two categories: Korea courses (100% Korea content) and Korea-related courses (at least 1/3 Korea content).  For Korea-related course, students need to petition to have these courses count toward the minor. The courses can be seen at the bottom of the page. 
  • For “topics courses,” make sure the content is on Korea and Korea-related issues as only those courses will count toward the minor.
  • Graduate courses offered by GPS faculty allow enrollment of undergraduate students on a limited basis with the instructor’s permission.
  • Students are encouraged to take advantage of Korean Studies courses when they study in the Education Abroad Program at Yonsei University, a participating institution in the UC EAP program.  The number of Korean Studies classes taken outside of UC San Diego is limited to 2, upper-division non-language courses. The Program Director will review and approve whether these courses taken from the Education Abroad Program can count toward the Minor.

Please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) for advising questions.

Approved List of Courses

This information is subject to change.  Check the UC San Diego General Catalog and speak with the Program Director and/or Coordinator for more information regarding the Korean Studies Program

1. Courses on Korea

History

  • HIEA 150. Modern Korea, 1800–1945 (4)
  • HIEA 151. The Two Koreas, 1945–Present (4)
  • HIEA 152. Histories and Cultures of the Modern Korean Diaspora (4)
  • HIEA 153. Social and Cultural History of Twentieth-Century Korea (4)
  • HIEA 154. Korean History through Film (4)
  • HIEA 180. Topics in Modern Korean History (4)

Literature

  • LTEA 140. Modern Korean Literature in Translation from Colonial Period (4)
  • LTEA 141. Modern Korean Literature in Translation from 1945 to Present (4)
  • LTEA 142. Korean Film, Literature, and Popular Culture (4)
  • LTEA 143. Gender and Sexuality in Korean Literature and Culture (4)
  • LTEA 144. Korean American Literature and Other Literatures of Korean Diaspora (4)
  • LTKO 100. Readings Korean Literature and Culture (repeatable if taken on different topics) (4)

Visual Arts

  • VIS 103A. Contemporary Arts in South Korea (4)
  • VIS 103B. Architecture and Urbanism of Korea (4)   

Anthropology

  • ANTH 44. Gender, Sexuality, and New Media Fandom in the Korean Wave
  • ANSC 101A. Korean Wave Media and Cultural Change (4)

Korean Language Courses

  • LTKO 1A. Beginning Korean: First Year I (5)
  • LTKO 1B. Beginning Korean: First Year II (5)
  • LTKO 1C. Beginning Korean: First Year III (5)
  • LTKO 2 A-B-C. Intermediate Korean: Second Year I-II-III (5-5-5)
  • LTKO 130F. Advanced-Korean: Third-Year I (4)
  • LTKO 130W. Advanced-Korean: Third-Year II (4)
  • LTKO 130P. Advanced-Korean: Third-Year III (4)
  • LTKO 135. Readings in Sino-Korean Characters (4)

Korean Politics and Security 

  • ECON 169. Economics of Korea (4)
  • GPPS 408. Korean Security (4)
  • GPPS 484. Korean Politics (4)
  • GPEC 485. The Korean Economy (4)
  • POLI 133J. Korean Politics (4)

2. Korea-Related Courses (petition required for all Korea-related courses and 1/3 Korean content)

Asian Cultural Studies

  • LTCS 133. Globalization and Culture (4) when topic is Globalization and Culture in East Asia

Asian History

  • HILD 10. East Asia: The Great Tradition (4)
  • HILD 11. East Asia and the West, 1279–1911(4)
  • HILD 12. Twentieth-Century East Asia (4)
  • HIEA 125. Women and Gender in East Asia (4)

Asian American Studies

  • ETHN 20. Introduction to Asian American History (4)
  • ETHN 122. Asian American Culture and Identity (4)
  • ETHN 123. Asian American Politics (4)
  • HILD 7B. Race and Ethnicity in the United States (4)
  • HIUS 124/ETHN 125. Asian American History (4)
  • LTEN 28. Introduction to Asian American Literature (4)
  • LTEN 181. Asian American Literature (4)

Critical Gender Studies Program

  • CGS 122. Advanced Topics in Comparative Perspectives (4) when topic is Queer Contact Zones in Asian, Intra-Asian, and Asian American Studies

Sociology

  • SOCI 133. Immigration in Comparative Perspective (4)