Roanoke College Students and Faculty Leaving for ASIANetwork Fellowship Research Trip to South Korea

Six Roanoke College students and two faculty members will embark to South Korea on Wednesday, May 3rd to conduct a three-week research project called Strangers in Their Imagined Motherland: North Korean Refugees in South Korea.

The trip is made possible through the ASIANetwork Fellowship Award. Only eight colleges were awarded the grants totaling more than $40,000 in 2018; it is the second time since 2012 that Roanoke College has received the award.

"The whole world has been watching the Korean Peninsula for the past three months. The issue of North Korea is not only about the nuclear safety, but more about the peace for East Asia and global world," says Dr. Stella Xu, history professor and faculty fellow attending the trip.

"With the promising step for a peace treaty 65 years after the Korean War, there is a chance we can cautiously talk about the real ending of the Cold War. Dr. Leeson and I are so happy for our students to have the opportunity to witness the historic moments in Korea and be more proactive in global sensitivity."

The research will conclude on May 24th, though a few of the students participating will continue research or will volunteer-teach in Korea and Japan after the three weeks.

Though Roanoke College has been hosting Korean students since the 1890s - and graduated one of the first Korean student from an American college or university in 1898 - this is the first official student trip to South Korea.