Abroad

한국학진흥사업단 해외한국학씨앗형사업의 지원을 통해

FLACSO Ecuador를 운영하셨던 Richard Salazar 전문가님의 인터뷰 입니다.

Richard Salazar

해외한국학씨앗형사업 전문가

● 사업명

해외한국학씨앗형사업

● 과제명

FLACSO Ecuador 한국-동아시아학 전공개설

● 연구수행기관

FLACSO Ecuador (에콰도르)

● 연구기간

2022-11-01 ~ 2025-10-31 (36개월)

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Meeting with Korean Studies Scholars Abroad

Richard Salazar

(FLACSO Ecuador)

Q. First, could you please introduce yourself to the readers of the Korean Studies Promotion Service online newsletter?

  My name is Richard Salazar, and I am a scholar specializing in Korean and East Asian Studies, with a particular focus on the interactions between East Asia and Latin America.

I hold a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Granada (Spain), which included an international research placement at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). I also hold an MA in Anthropology, with a concentration in East Asian Studies, from UCI, and an MA in Political Science from the Università degli Studi di Bologna (Italy). My doctoral research was supported by a Fulbright fellowship and a prestigious doctoral research grant from the Korea Foundation, which enabled me to conduct extended research as an affiliate of the Institute for Global Korean Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul. I have also held a visiting scholar appointment at the Center for Korean Studies at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Complementing my work on East Asia, I have taught courses on critical development studies at universities in Italy, Spain, Ecuador, and Peru.

My journey in advancing Korean Studies began during my undergraduate studies, at a time when academic opportunities in this field were virtually non-existent in Ecuador. Later, in 2014, I took the first concrete step by implementing and coordinating the Korea Foundation's e-School Program for Korean Studies at the Universidad Internacional del Ecuador (UIDE)—the first program of its kind in the country. I later continued with the program as a professor, teaching a course on "Innovation, Public Policy, and Culture in South Korea" to undergraduate students from across Latin America—from Mexico to Argentina—until 2023. At the graduate level, I have taught Korean and East Asian Studies at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (UASB), where I created the Asian Studies Program, as well as at FLACSO Ecuador. This sustained engagement, spanning over 13 years, has shaped my commitment to teaching, research, and regional academic collaboration.

During the implementation of the Korea Foundation Seed Program for Korean Studies at FLACSO Ecuador (2022–2025), I served as Expert Professor and Principal Researcher, contributing to the development of teaching and research initiatives on Korea and East Asia while promoting academic networks across Latin America.

Currently, I am an Adjunct Professor of East Asian Studies at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Ecuador. I also serve as the Director of the Center for East Asia–Latin America Studies (CEAL), an academic think tank dedicated to fostering stronger ties between the two regions. At CEAL, we develop teaching programs, conduct research, publish scholarly work, and provide specialized advisory services. In a significant new initiative, we are collaborating with UASB to launch Korean Studies and Asia–Pacific Studies, an academic space designed to cultivate specialized expertise in the field here in Latin America. My long-term academic goal is to continue building these institutional bridges and to train the next generation of scholars dedicated to the Korea–Latin America relationship.

Q. What led you to participate as a key expert in the Seed Program for Korean Studies at FLACSO Ecuador?

  From the moment I began working on Korean Studies in Ecuador, it was a long-standing aspiration of mine to apply to the Seed Program for Korean Studies and other academic initiatives supported by the Korea Foundation. The underlying goal was clear: to help establish a program dedicated to Korean Studies in a country where, unfortunately, no prior academic offer on Korea existed.

My early experience implementing the e-School Program for Korean Studies in Latin America at UIDE in 2014 provided valuable insights into student interest and academic feasibility, which later informed the design of the Seed Program. Earlier activities at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (UASB), such as the 2016 seminar on South Korea with Professor John Duncan from UCLA, and the 2018 International Congress “Latin America – Korea: Challenges of an Emerging Agenda,” helped establish a network of scholars and generate broader academic awareness of Korean Studies in Ecuador.

The importance of such a program is not only related to South Korea’s role today as a major economic and technological power. Equally important is the modern history of Korea and East Asia, which has profoundly shaped contemporary geopolitics and global economic transformations. However, in Ecuador, awareness of this historical trajectory and of the development processes experienced by Korea and the broader group of Asian Tigers remained very limited. Likewise, the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific axis in global geopolitics and economic dynamics was insufficiently understood.

For these reasons, from UASB we began exploring opportunities to develop Korean Studies initiatives, with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. The response from students was remarkable—not only from UASB, but also from undergraduate students at other universities, and even from some secondary school students. Since I first began promoting Korean Studies activities in Ecuador, I have observed a steady and growing interest in the field.

During my visits as a scholar to the Center for Korean Studies at UCLA, I also had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Korea Foundation in Los Angeles, which coordinates many of the Foundation’s activities in Latin America. Later, in 2021, CEAL began collaborating with FLACSO Ecuador to develop an online course on Korean Studies, supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. These courses, which covered history, economy, culture, innovation, and geopolitics, quickly reached full capacity and confirmed the growing demand for Korean Studies in the country.

This experience reinforced my conviction that it was essential to apply for the Seed Program for Korean Studies and to contribute, as Expert Professor, to shaping what would become the first program of its kind implemented in Ecuador. The initiative sought to create the institutional foundations for the long-term development of Korean Studies in Ecuador, building on prior efforts while establishing new opportunities for research, teaching, and regional academic exchange.

Q. What were the primary goals you aimed to achieve at FLACSO Ecuador through the Seed Program?

  The general objective of the Seed Program for Korean Studies (2022–2025) was to establish an academic space for Korean and East Asian Studies at FLACSO Ecuador from a multidisciplinary perspective. The project aimed to introduce Ecuadorian graduate students to the field, strengthen research, and build a scholarly network connected with Latin America and Korea. It built on earlier initiatives at UASB, including the 2016 seminar with Professor John Duncan (UCLA) and the 2018 International Congress “Latin America – Korea: Challenges of an Emerging Agenda,” which helped generate broader awareness and academic interest in the field.

The project implemented graduate-level lectures, short intensive seminars, conferences, forums, workshops, and academic exchanges with scholars from the region and Korea, consolidating research networks across Latin America.

Key achievements include the publication of América Latina y Corea del Sur: perspectivas y desafíos tras seis décadas de relación (Salazar, López Aymes & García Serrano, Coord., 2025, FLACSO Ecuador, https://doi.org/10.46546/2025-71savia), the first comprehensive book on Korea–Latin America relations in Ecuador, with contributions from leading scholars across the region. The project also created the radio and podcast program “Pali-Pali: Dialogues on Korea and East Asia” (produced until October 2025), and ran intensive eight-hour seminars that drew growing participation each year.

Overall, the Seed Program strengthened an emerging academic platform for Korean Studies in Ecuador, connecting students and scholars with regional and international networks. These efforts continue to support new initiatives and collaborations in Korean and East Asian Studies in the country.

Q. We understand that some components of the Seed Program were conducted in collaboration with CEAL. How was this inter-institutional cooperation structured, and what significance does this collaborative model hold for the sustainable development of Korean Studies in Ecuador?

CEAL began collaborating with FLACSO Ecuador in 2021, when we jointly developed a Korean Studies course supported by CEAL’s academic network and with the backing of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ecuador. The course was offered for three consecutive years and addressed diverse topics such as Korean history, economic development, geopolitics, innovation, culture, and public policy. The program brought together lecturers from Ecuador, South Korea, Chile, Argentina, the United States, and Mexico.

This collaboration was an important step that eventually enabled FLACSO Ecuador to apply for the Seed Program for Korean Studies, since the institution previously had no academic experience, specialized faculty, or infrastructure dedicated to Korean Studies.

The inter-institutional cooperation was structured around my participation in the program as Expert Professor and Principal Researcher. The program director, Professor Fernando García, had been a professor at FLACSO with an interest in Korean culture, though he had no prior experience in Korean or East Asian Studies. This made our collaboration a strong match, especially since he also served as FLACSO’s Coordinator for Social Outreach. This position helped expand the program’s reach beyond FLACSO students, opening courses and activities to students from other universities.

Building on this foundation, the initiative sought to establish an Area of Korean and East Asian Studies at FLACSO. As this was a long-term objective, we initially built upon the collaborative model developed by CEAL by creating a Center for Korean and East Asian Studies within FLACSO, which operated during the period in which Professor García served as Coordinator for Social Outreach.

This type of collaborative model can be particularly effective in countries such as Ecuador, where Korean Studies are still emerging. Many universities still lack the resources and specialized faculty needed to sustain these programs independently. In this context, inter-institutional collaboration plays an important role in building the initial academic foundations for the field, while future sustainability will depend on the gradual incorporation of faculty specializing in Korean and East Asian Studies.

Q. Since 2014, you have worked across various institutions to expand the reach of Korean Studies in Ecuador. How do you view the evolution of the field over the past decade?

  Over the past decade, Korean Studies in Ecuador have gradually moved from being largely absent in the academic landscape to becoming an emerging field of interest among students and a small but growing group of scholars. The first formal academic activity was the e-School Program for Korean Studies supported by the Korea Foundation, implemented in 2014 at the Universidad Internacional del Ecuador (UIDE), which helped generate initial interest among undergraduate students. Subsequent activities at UASB, including a 12-hour seminar in 2016 and the International Congress “Latin America – Korea: Challenges of an Emerging Agenda” in 2018, further strengthened academic awareness and helped consolidate a network of scholars.

Over time, student interest has steadily increased. Each year, more students have participated in Korean Studies courses and academic events, particularly younger generations increasingly aware of Korea’s global cultural influence, technological development, and geopolitical relevance. Courses and programs have reached students from multiple universities in Ecuador and across Latin America, reflecting this growing demand.

Programs such as the Seed Program for Korean Studies contributed to consolidating these efforts by creating new courses, research activities, publications, and academic events. These initiatives helped introduce Korean Studies into graduate-level discussions and encouraged students from different disciplines to explore Korea from multidisciplinary perspectives.

Korean Studies in Ecuador remain in an early stage of development, with a continuing need to strengthen institutional support, expand research opportunities, and train new specialists. Nevertheless, the progress over the past decade, supported by early programs and ongoing initiatives, provides a foundation upon which future academic developments can build—initiatives that CEAL continues to advance today, including collaborations with UASB.

Q. While promoting Korean Studies projects locally, did you encounter any significant obstacles or institutional limitations?

  In Ecuador, structural limitations have historically constrained the development of academic programs focused on regions outside the United States and Europe. Countries such as Mexico or Argentina have developed Asian and other world studies for decades, while Ecuador has lagged behind. Convincing university authorities to support Korean and East Asian Studies has often been challenging, despite the geopolitical, economic, and cultural significance of these countries for Latin America and the Pacific region.

During the implementation of the Seed Program for Korean Studies at FLACSO Ecuador, these limitations became evident. The previous leadership provided direct support to Korean Studies, and it was precisely because of this commitment that we were able to apply to the Seed Program in 2022 and implement courses, research activities, and academic events successfully. However, in 2024, a change in leadership shifted institutional priorities, reducing emphasis on Korean Studies. As a result, the Center for Korean and East Asian Studies was closed, and the podcast “Pali-Pali: Dialoguing on Korea and East Asia” was formally suspended at the conclusion of the project, despite the possibility of continuing it.

Although these challenges affected some activities, the Seed Program still met its planned objectives, thanks to the dedication of the technical team and ongoing academic efforts. More broadly, this situation highlights a structural issue in Ecuador: leadership changes at universities or in government often alter priorities, limiting the sustainability of long-term initiatives. To ensure lasting impact, institutions must establish mechanisms for consistent support, independent of personnel changes. This underscores a lesson that Ecuador and other Latin American countries could learn from Korea: strategic academic programs thrive when backed by stable institutional commitment and long-term planning. It is precisely this kind of foundation that CEAL continues to pursue through partnerships with committed universities, ensuring the ongoing development of Korean Studies in Ecuador.

Q. In your view, how has the impact of the Seed Program been sustained since its formal completion?

  Since its formal completion, the impact of the Seed Program for Korean Studies has continued through outreach and academic activities developed over the past decade. These initiatives have steadily increased student interest, created connections with scholars in Latin America and Korea, and introduced Korean Studies into the Ecuadorian academic environment. Year after year, the number of students participating in courses, seminars, and other activities has grown significantly, demonstrating the sustained demand for knowledge on Korea and East Asia.

Building on this foundation, CEAL continues to support research, teaching, and public engagement in Korean and East Asian Studies. Current initiatives include collaborative courses, academic publications, and the development of new programs with universities such as UASB. In 2026, through an alliance with Fulbright, a Fulbright Specialist in Korean Studies will visit the UASB, and a new version of the online Korean Studies course will be offered. These efforts aim to strengthen institutional capacity, train new specialists, and ensure that Korean Studies in Ecuador can expand in a sustainable and multidisciplinary manner.

Q. Thank you very much for your time and insights. To conclude, do you have a final message for our newsletter readers, fellow Korean Studies scholars worldwide, or the Korean Studies Promotion Service?

  I would like to encourage readers, fellow Korean Studies scholars worldwide, and students to continue exploring Korea from diverse perspectives and to engage in collaborative research, teaching, and cultural exchange. I remain available to support and strengthen networks from the Spanish-speaking world with other regions and cultures globally, fostering dialogue, shared learning, and academic collaboration.

The programs and academic activities supported by the Korean Studies Promotion Service (KSPS) and the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) play a vital role in fostering understanding of Korea. These initiatives are crucial for nurturing new generations of scholars, connecting experts and students across the world, and building bridges between regions and cultures. At a moment when soft power—through dialogue, research, and cultural exchange—is more important than ever, supporting such programs helps build knowledge, foster cooperation, and contribute to peace.