Abstract:
Korean Studies in New Zealand has grown steadily in New Zealand both with domestic needs and external support from the South Korean government funding agencies such as the Korea Foundation and the Academy of Korean Studies. Researchers and educators have contributed to the development of Korean Studies with their research and education activities in the last three decades. Recently, number of students taking Korean language and culture courses at the University of Auckland grew rapidly. This, without doubt, is related to the Hallyu (Korean Wave) phenomenon. However, deeper analysis reveals that this has something to do with the trends in international students and transnational migration. The growing number of Chinese students in New Zealand explains the rapid growth of Korean language learners. Meanwhile, the recent decline in enrolments numbers in Chinese language programme of the university also can be explained by the decreasing number of Korean students. Thus, there are transnational connections in the growth and decline in area studies such as Korean Studies.
