[Roundtable Discussion] Korean Studies and the Philippines

Ateneo de Manila University Faculty discuss Korean studies in Philippines and its perspective.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026
2:15 PM - 3:45 PM

Royce Hall, Room 243

Roundtable Panel Information 

The Korean Studies Program at Ateneo de Manila University The Korean Studies Program (KSP) is an interdisciplinary hub for examining, engaging, and experiencing Korea in Philippine academia. It was first set up in 2012 as the Ateneo Initiative for Korean Studies (AIKS) - a platform for consolidating all Korea-related initiatives in the university and for incubating an autonomous academic program on Korea.

Within a shot span of tow years, the initiatives resulted to a Minor Program in Korean Studies, which was incubated in and by the Department of Modern Languages of the School of Humanities, and another year later, to the creation of a full-fledged Korean Studies Program under the School of Social Sciences, the first of its kind in the Philippines.

Guided by its three-pronged framework, KSP endeavors to promote the critical study of Korea and contribute to the strengthen of Philippines-Korea relations through research and active development of Korea-related courses and programs both for students and educators. Currently, it has the widest course offerings on Korea, covering themes across various disciplines in Social Sciences and Humanities.

The roundtable features three presentations by Ateneo de Manila University faculty:

Aurea C. Javier (Director of the Korean Studies Program, Ateneo de Manila University)

 - Sustaining Korean Studies Beyond the Center: A Local Realities Model from Philippines

Jeremiah Estela Magoncia (Instructor, Korean Studies Program, Ateneo de Manila University)

  - Recontextualizing Koeran: Short-Form Media and Language Practice in the Philippines 

Diana I. Mendoza (Director, Ricardo Leong Institute for Global and Area Studies; Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University) 

  - Implementing the Seasonal Workers Program between the Philippines and Korea: Critical Junctures and Institutional Change

Aurea C. Javier is Director of the Korean Studies Program at Ateneo de Manila University , where she also serves as faculty. She teaches Korean language and culture courses as well as Korean Studies content courses. Her research focuses on sustainability of Korean Studies in higher education, contextualized Korean language education, Philippines-Korea trade, and Filipino migrant in Korea.     

Jeremiah Estela Magoncia is an early-career researcher and junior faculty member at Ateneo de Manila University, where he teaches Korean language and Korean Studies courses in the Korean Studies Program, as well as film and media production courses in the Department of Communication. His research focuses on transnational Asian media cultures, particularly questions of identity, representation, and media labor across borders. His work also engages with Korean language pedagogy and language teaching in cross-culture context. 

Diana J Mendoza, PhD is an associate professor of political science and the director of the Ricardo Leong Institute for Global Area Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University. Her academic and research engagements focus on comparative politics, Southeast Asian Studies, gender and public policy, and ASEAN-EU relations. She is a member of the  Editorial Board of Suvannabhumi: Multidisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies and the Board of Directors of the Ateneo Center for Asian Studies.    

The Ateneo de Manila Korean Studies visit to UCLA is part of the UCLA Center for Korean Studies' "Koreans in the World" Project. It aims to build Korean Studies connections with institutions across the Pacific Rim, in particular Southeast Asia and Latin America. Through academic and institutional exchange, it is opportunity for UCLA and Ateneo de Manila University to showcase its programs and discuss the future development of their programs. 

The "Koreans in the World" project hosted by UCLA's Center for Korean Studies. This event is supported by the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS Award Number: AKS-2023-SRI-2200001) as part of its Strategic Research Institute Program for Korean Studies.  

Sponsor(s): Center for Korean Studies, Asian Languages & Cultures, Academy of Korean Studies