The Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) is the only academic research centre in Finland that focuses on contemporary East Asia from the perspective of social sciences in both research and teaching. CEAS was established in 2006 but the minor programme in East Asian Studies has been offered since 1998.
CEAS has research and teaching expertise especially in politics, sociology and contemporary history of the region with a focus on China, South Korea, North Korea and Japan. CEAS offers three different study programmes (minor, master's and doctoral level) and also coordinates the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies (Asianet).
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The next application period for the Master's Degree Programme in East Asian Studies (EAST) is in January. You'll find further information and updates here. We look forward to your application!
The Nordic Asia Podcast is a podcast series co-hosted by Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) in Copenhagen and its partners in the Nordic countries, including the Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Turku. Experts join us in every episode to share their insights about timely topics within Asian Studies.
Check out the latest episodes of the Nordic Asia Podcast here:
Are you a student of the Korean language? Would you like to share your skills with others and improve your speaking? If so, we invite you to participate in our 2025 Korean Speech Contest at the University of Turku!
📅 Date: Friday, 25 April 2025, 13-15.30 pm
📍 Location: Calonia Cal2 (2106), Calonia building 2nd floor, UTU
🎤 Who Can Join? Students of Korean at any level! You do not have to be a university student to participate.
🔹 How to Register: Please fill out this registration form to participate in the contest. The first twenty registered participants will be admitted in the order of registration.
🔹 Deadline: Deadline for the registration is 11 April (23:59).
Welcome everyone! This is a great chance to upgrade your Korean skills – don’t miss it! *^^*
Click here to find more information
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Taru Salminen at taru.u.salminen@utu.fi
EPEL Talk by Seunghwan Ryu, Free University Berlin, 16-18hrs, Pub209 (funded by AKSE)
Summary: Rooted in Juche Ideology, which emphasizes self-mastery and independence, self-reliance has long been recognized as a fundamental principle of North Korea. However, this perception has often overshadowed Pyongyang’s cooperation with foreign countries to achieve self-reliance on an international scale during the later phase of the Cold War. This lecture examines North Korea’s collaboration with African nations, particularly Tanzania, to promote collective self-reliance within the postcolonial Cold War context. While North Korea and African states forged diplomatic ties and pursued anti-imperialism in the 1960s, Pyongyang actively engaged in rural Tanzanian agriculture to advance this initiative in the 1980s.
Compared to its military training programs and monumental statues provided to various African countries, North Korea’s agricultural initiatives—aimed at fostering food security and economic independence—have received relatively little scholarly attention. These efforts were particularly significant in the context of the global food crisis and widening inequalities between the Global South and North, which fueled calls for a New International Economic Order in the 1970s. After joining the Non-Aligned Movement in 1975, North Korea sought to promote its agricultural and rural development abroad, particularly through adopting the controversial “Juche farming method.” While Western diplomats expressed skepticism toward this approach, Pyongyang established Agro-Science Research Institutes in Guinea and Tanzania and dispatched experts to develop localized farming techniques tailored to African conditions.
Despite financial and technological limitations, North Korea’s agricultural initiatives aligned with the urgent needs of African countries struggling with chronic food shortages and a lack of self-sufficiency. Drawing on historical analysis of North Korea-Tanzania agricultural cooperation, this lecture introduces the concept of “Self-Reliance Internationalism” to explore how marginalized actors in Asia and Africa pursued international cooperation to counter the rise of neoliberal globalization in the final stage of the Cold War.
Bio: Seung Hwan Ryu is a Doctoral Fellow at the Graduate School of East Asian Studies, Freie Universität Berlin. His research discusses international cooperation between North Korea and Tanzania during the Cold War, examining how they practiced the idea of self-reliance in food production and agricultural development. He holds a BA in History and Economics from Sogang University, South Korea, and an MA in Global Studies from the University of Vienna and Leipzig University. His article “Between Second and Third World: North Korean Use of “Imagined Affinity” in the Socialist Globalization Project with Regard to Tanzania,” was recently published in the global history journal Comparativ (2023).
EPEL Talk by Dr. Dan Gudgeon, University of Vienna, 16-18hrs, Pub209 (funded by AKSE)
Summary: This lecture explores how the North Korea nuclear program’s meaning has changed according to the recognition the DPRK receives internationally as North Korea and the U.S. went from being enemies during the Cold War, to two states that could sign the Agreed Framework and make preparations to normalize relations, before returning back to a state of extreme enmity. At several key points during this process the DPRK re-constructed the meaning of nuclear weapons domestically and attempted to incorporate those changes into their biographical narrative. In recent years Pyongyang has found itself in a contradictory spot whereby nuclear weapons provide stability in sustaining a biographical narrative of autonomy, while undermining stability in preventing wider international recognition. The lecture provides insights into processes of change and the importance of language in international relations in general and in the DPRK-U.S. relationship specifically.
Through the lecture students should be able to question or explore; essentializing tendencies in international relations, how actors construct meaning to fit into espoused biographical narratives, and how even something as bluntly material as nuclear weapons are always mediated through language.
Bio: Dan Gudgeon is a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul where he was a recipient of a Ministry of Unification scholarship. He previously worked for the inter-Korean peacebuilding and humanitarian cooperation NGO, the Korean Sharing Movement on peace education and international cooperation projects.
CEAS is honored to welcome Japan’s Ambassador to Finland HE Takashi Okada to the University of Turku to discuss on topic:
“Japanese Foreign and Security Policy in the Changing Global Security Situation”
Time and place: Thursday 27.2.2025 at 14.15-15.45, Educarium, Edu3
Assistentinkatu 5, University of Turku
You are most welcome!
No pre-registration required.
Please note that photos will be taken in the event.
November 14-15, 2024, Tampere University
In a multipolar world, where power and influence are dispersed across multiple nations, Asia stands as a critical region to study. With its diverse economies, complex geopolitical dynamics, and growing influence in global governance, understanding Asia is essential for addressing the “wicked problems” of our time—issues like climate change, economic inequality, and technological disruption. Asian countries play a major role in shaping the global economy, environmental policies, and security frameworks.
For Finland, comprehending this shifting global landscape is especially important. The country must navigate the complexities of a world where global power balances are in flux. By deepening our understanding of Asia, we can better analyse the evolving global landscape, contribute to problem-solving initiatives, and engage responsibly in the increasingly complex international environment.
Arranged in cooperation between Tampere University and the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies.
Navigating the Nexus: South Korean Foreign Policy, Domestic Dynamics, and Deterrence Strategies in a Changing International Environment
Seminar at the University of Turku, October 3rd, 2024, 9-12.30
How does South Korea navigate its foreign policy in a changing international environment? What role does domestic politics play? How do we need to understand the extended deterrence strategy, also from a comparative perspective (East Asia and NATO)? This seminar discusses the interplay between South Korea’s foreign policy, domestic politics and external strategies. Join us and discuss these and related questions with leading IR scholars from the University of Seoul in South Korea.
The seminar is organized by the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku and co-sponsored by the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku and the Department of International Relations, University of Seoul.
Welcome!
Date: Thursday 3rd of October, 2024, 9.00-12.30
Venue: University of Turku, Educarium building, Assistentinkatu 5, Turku. Lecture hall EDU2, hybrid-event (zoom invitation is sent to registered participants before the event)
Register to the event by October 1, 2024: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/7282B72AE8CF3853
Seminar Program
9.00 coffee
9:15 Opening words
Prof. Lauri Paltemaa, Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku
9:30 – 10.15 "Korean foreign policy in a changing international order"
Professor Seokwoo Kim, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, former president of Korean Association of International Studies, IR and IPE major.
10.15 – 11.00 "Korean domestics politics and Korean foreign policy"
Professor Sunghack Lim, PhD, Pennsylvania State University, former president of Korean Political Science Association, Korean Politics and Comparative Politics major
11.00-11.15 short break
11.15 – 12.00 "Extended deterrence strategy: Comparison between NATO and East Asia"
Professor Jiwhan Hwang, PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder, advisor to Department of Unification, Security studies and Inter-Korean Relations major
12:00 Closing remarks
Speakers’ Bios
Seokwoo Kim is Professor in the Department of International Relations at the University of Seoul. He received a B.A. in Department of French Language and Literature from Seoul National University and his M.A. in Political Science from IOWA State University and his Ph.D. in Political Science from University of North Carolina. Professor Kim’s research interests include International Political Economy and International Political Science. He has published articles including "A Journal of Our Own Making", "Theories and Realities of FTA Formation between Korea and Canada", "Evaluating the Korean Bargaining Power: The Case of the Financial Crisis in 1997" and so on.
Sunghack Lim is Professor of International Relations at the University of Seoul. Before joining UOS in 2004, Professor Lim served as Researcher Professor at Center for Leadership, Yonsei University. He received an B. A. in Political Science and Ph.D. in Political Science from Pennsylvania State University. Professor Lim’s current research interests focus on Political Parties and Election in Korea, Political Economy, with a particular emphasis on East Asia, Political Finance, Governance and so on, He has published on several topics including: Democratization and Economic Development in Korea and Taiwan, Political Finance during the General and Presidential Elections, and so on.
Hwangji Hwan is Professor in the Department of International Relations at the University of Seoul. He received a B.A. in Diplomacy from Seoul National University and his M.A. in Political Science from Seoul National University and University of Colorado. He received a Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Colorado. Ji Hwan Hwang’s research interests include diplomatic policy and relationship between South and North Korea. He has published articles including "The Paradox of South Korea’s Unification Diplomacy: Moving beyond a State-Centric Approach", "The Two Koreas after U.S. Unipolarity: In Search of a New North Korea Policy", The Political Implications of American Military Policy in Korea: Learning from Theoretical and Empirical Evidences" and so on.
The Nordic Korean Studies Days (NKSD) were founded by the universities of Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, Stockholm, and Turku. Due to its huge success, this international teaching collaboration was expanded to include teachers and students from universities in the Baltics. The (new) Nordic-Baltic Korean Studies Days (NBKSD) are co-organized by scholars from the universities in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Kaunas, Oslo, Riga, Stockholm, Trondheim, and Turku. It is an intensive Korean Studies course covering different disciplines such as history, cultural studies, anthropology, sociology and political science.
The Nordic-Baltic Korean Studies Days (NBKSD, 5 ECTS) create synergies of the rich knowledge and academic competence dispersed over small Korean studies units in the Nordic and Baltic countries, strengthen teaching collaboration between the participating universities, and further strengthen the academic community in the field of Korean studies. By combining various teaching and learning formats as well as innovative pedagogical approaches, the course provides multidisciplinary Korean studies including, but not limited to, humanities, social sciences and international relations.
Organizers in 2024: Sabine Burghart (University Lecturer, Turku), Erika Griučkaitytė (Vytautas Magnus University), Sonja Häussler (Professor, Stockholm), Zoran Lee Pecic (Associate Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Antti Leppänen (Researcher, Turku), Andrew Logie (Associate Professor, Helsinki), Ildze Šķestere (The University of Latvia), Vladimir Tikhonov (Professor, Oslo), Barbara Wall (Associate Professor, Copenhagen).
The next Nordic-Baltic Korean Studies Days will be organised in 2025.
Book on China's political system nominated as the Scientific Book of the Year by the Finnish Association for Scholarly Publishing. CEAS' professor Lauri Paltemaa is one of the authors together with Prof. Mikael Mattlin and Prof. Juha A. Vuori.
Kiinan poliittinen järjestelmä -kirja on ehdolla vuoden tietokirjaksi!
CEASin professori Lauri Paltemaa on yksi Kiinan poliittinen järjestelmä -kirjan kirjoittajista yhdessä tutkimusprofessori Mikael Mattlinin ja professori Juha A. Vuoren kanssa.
Suomen Tiedekustantajien liitto arvioi kirjaa nimityslausunnossaan näin: "Perusteellinen, loogisesti etenevä kokonaisuus, joka toimii hyvin paitsi oppikirjana myös tieteellisenä yleisteoksena. Kirjassa on tiivistetty erinomaisesti Kiinan historiallinen ja ideologis-poliittinen tausta, joka on luonut maan poliittisen järjestelmän ja muokannut sitä. Teos kuvailee Kiinan hallintorakenteen ja sen kehityksen yksityiskohtaisesti, mutta selkeästi. Järjestelmän nykytilan ja tulevaisuuden haasteiden jäsennelty kuvaus tuo Kiinan lähemmäs suomenkielistä lukijaa." Kirjan on kustantanut Vastapaino.
The CEAS' Finnish language MOOC Johdatus Itä-Aasiaan (Introduction to East Asia) was selected course of the year 2022 at the University of Turku!
Congratulations to Silja Keva and her team! The University of Turku (UTU) and the Student Union of the UTU selected the MOOC-course Johdatus Itä-Aasiaan (Introduction to East Asia) as the course of the year 2022. The course is produced by the Centre for East Asian Studies for the national Finnish University Network for Asian Studies.
The selection arguments highlighted the inspiring and versatile study materials of the course, the varied and flexible assignments and their good interplay with the course text book. The course received excellent student feedback.
Johdatus Itä-Aasiaan is a Finnish-language MOOC-course that is free of charge and open to everybody. The course introduced the key issues and challenges of East Asian (China, Japan, South and North Korea) countries in politics, economy, social issues and regional relations.
See below how to sign up to the course (for Finnish speakers)!
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Johdatus Itä-Aasiaan -MOOC-verkkokurssi on Turun yliopiston vuoden 2022 opintojakso!
Turun yliopisto ja Turun yliopiston ylioppilaskunta valitsivat Itä-Aasian tutkimus- ja koulutuskeskuksen ja Yliopistojen Aasia-verkoston -verkkokurssin “Johdatus Itä-Aasiaan” vuoden opintojaksoksi 2022.
Valintaperusteita kuvattiin näin: ”Johdatus Itä-Aasiaan -MOOC-verkkokurssi oli innostava, kaikille avoin itseopiskelukurssi. Kurssilla oppimista tukivat omassa aikataulussa suoritettavat pienet ja vaihtelevat tehtävät, joiden yhteyteen oli merkitty arvioitu kesto. Erilaiset tehtävät nivoutuivat kurssin oppikirjaan ja monipuoliseen verkkomateriaaliin. Kurssisivuston visuaalinen ilme lisäsi motivaatiota. Opiskelijapalautteet kurssilta olivat kiittäviä.”
Johdatus Itä-Aasiaan on kaikille avoin ja ilmainen massaverkkokurssi. Tällä kurssilla opit ymmärtämään Itä-Aasian yhteiskuntien avainpiirteitä ja keskeisimpiä haasteita, jotka määrittävät alueen maiden (Kiina, Etelä-Korea, Pohjois-Korea ja Japani) nykypolitikkaa, talouksia ja maiden välisiä suhteita.
Kurssi perustuu oppikirjaan nimeltä Lohikäärme, tiikeri ja krysanteemi – johdatus Itä-Aasian yhteiskuntiin. Erilaiset verkossa suoritettavat tehtävät tukevat ja täydentävät oppikirjaa ja auttavat opiskelijaa soveltamaan ja pohtimaan oppimaansa. Kurssi on kokonaan suomenkielinen.
Kurssille kirjautuminen: Syksyn 2022 kurssille voi kirjautua 3.10 -20.11.2022 aikana. Kurssia voi suorittaa ajalla 3.10-18.12.2022.
Kirjaudu kurssille osoitteessa: https://digicampus.fi/course/index.php?categoryid=240
Tervetuloa mukaan!
CEAS together with a European consortium secured a four-year, four-million Euro EU Horizon grant to collaborate on ReConnect China, a path-breaking research project to address the lack of China knowledge in Europe and the urgent need to upgrade and promote independent European knowledge on contemporary China. There were more than a dozen applications for funding under this Horizon call, and ReConnect China consortium involving CEAS is one of only two selected. Starting from November 2022, the project aims to clarify in which domains the EU’s cooperation with China is desirable, possible or impossible. Ghent University in Belgium will coordinate the work of 14 universities and knowledge centres in 12 European countries, of which UTU is the only Nordic University.
According to Professor Lauri Paltemaa, in the current geopolitical situation, China is increasingly identified as a rival, so it’s imperative to carve out a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial European policy vis-à-vis China. This task will be supported by a tailor-made database collecting data from government sources both at national and local levels. Professor Lauri Paltemaa also emphasised the importance of getting a better understanding of what’s going on beyond Beijing, in provincial cities and villages. The project breaks new ground by linking this new digital repository with computational methods of data collection and analysis. Paltemaa ensures that CEAS researchers are well prepared to utilise the collected data to their full, as CEAS has in a pioneering manner initiated training for students and staff members in computational research methods.
CEAS will also co-lead one of the consortium’s work packages aiming to produce Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) for European students. University lecturer Outi Luova, who is in charge of the development of the MOOC courses, describes this as an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to the development of Chinese studies in European universities. Based on the robust experience of CEAS in four much-praised MOOC courses via the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies, the aim of ReConnect is to provide introductory courses in Chinese politics, society and economy that are easily accessible. Outi Luova points out, that the excellent scalability of the MOOC courses, and their efficient ability to mainstream China-knowledge among university students and the general public, was one of the key aspects that secured the funding.
In addition to creating and disseminating knowledge about China for Europe and its citizens, Senior researcher Hermann Aubié with researchers from CEAS and the ReConnect Consortium will deliver policy briefs, podcasts and workshops to inform the strategic priorities of the European Union and the Commission in key EU-China issue areas such as green and digital technology, human rights, geoeconomics, global health, development financing, foreign aid, and the nexus between China’s domestic politics and international relations. As China researchers are often scattered all over Europe, this project also intends to bring them together, with policy experts, students and other key stakeholders through a new Europe-China Knowledge Forum. To sum up, the five main outputs of the ReConnect China project are:
1. Providing an independent understanding of China and its overall defining social, cultural, political and economic characteristics.
2. Identifying the EU’s current strengths and urgent needs within the new global narratives on China.
3. Developing a database of online open sources enabling day-to-day insights into policies, narratives, and public discourses in China.
4. Mainstreaming knowledge on China within the EU to help offset the stagnating number of European students in Chinese studies while enhancing awareness on China among the general public and youth.
5. Contributing fact-based knowledge in four key policy fields: Science & Technology, Economy & Trade, Domestic Politics, and China in the World.
CEAS is very much looking forward to the official kick-off of this highly interesting new research endeavour in the company of excellent European partners!
This book authored by Mikael Mattlin, Lauri Paltemaa and Juha A. Vuori offers a comprehensive analysis of China's political system (in Finnish).
Based on the latest research, the book provides its readers with a key terminology to understand Chinese politics. It deals with relations between the state and society, the role of the state in the economy and China's foreign policy. The book also presents the key political institutions of the People's Republic of China, their historical backgrounds and functional features.
Kiinasta on muodostumassa globaali poliittinen mahtitekijä, jonka vaikutus näkyy myös Suomessa.
Kiina on vaurastunut ja voimistunut, mutta Kiinan autoritaarinen poliittinen järjestys ei muistuta länsimaiden toimintatapoja. Siksi on oleellista ymmärtää Kiinan poliittisen järjestelmän perusteet ja sen toimintaperiaatteet.
Kiinan poliittinen järjestelmä on ainutlaatuinen yhdistelmä keisarillista menneisyyttä, leninististä (jälki)totalitarismia ja nykyaikaisia julkisjohtamisen oppeja. Sen toiminnassa korostuvat sekä muodolliset puoluevaltion instituutiot että epämuodolliset poliittisen kulttuurin piirteet.
Kirja tarjoaa lukijalleen uusimpaan tutkimukseen perustuvan keskeisen käsitteistön Kiinan politiikan ymmärtämiseksi. Siinä käsitellään valtion ja yhteiskunnan välisiä suhteita, valtion roolia taloudessa sekä Kiinan ulkopolitiikkaa. Kirjassa esitellään myös Kiinan kansantasavallan keskeiset poliittiset instituutiot, niiden historialliset taustat ja toiminnalliset piirteet sekä tutkimuksessa käytetyt keskeiset käsitteet.
Kirjoittajat ovat Kiinan tutkimuksen asiantuntijoita: Mikael Mattlin on Turun yliopiston valtio-opin professori. Lauri Paltemaa on Turun yliopiston Itä-Aasian oman aikamme historian ja politiikan professori sekä Itä-Aasian tutkimus- ja koulutuskeskuksen johtaja. Juha A. Vuori on Tampereen yliopiston kansainvälisen politiikan professori.
Saatavilla myös e-kirjana. https://vastapaino.fi/sivu/tuote/kiinan-poliittinen-jarjestelma/3858480
The second revised edition of "Lohikäärme, tiikeri ja krysanteemi - - Johdatus Itä-Aasian yhteiskuntiin", the Finnish texbook for studying contemporary East Asia, is now out!
You can purchase the electronic and printed version of the book from Utu-shop.
LOHIKÄÄRME, TIIKERI JA KRYSANTEEMI – Johdatus Itä-Aasian yhteiskuntiin
Kirjoittajat: Silja Keva (toim.), Annamari Konttinen, Kristian Kurki, Lauri Paltemaa ja Sungju Park-Kang
Lohikäärme, tiikeri ja krysanteemi tarjoaa johdatuksen Kiinan, Etelä-Korean, Pohjois-Korean ja Japanin historiaan ja näiden tämän hetken polttavimpiin yhteiskunnallisiin ja taloudellisiin haasteisiin. Kirjassa käsitellään mm. nopeasti ikääntyvän väestön vaikutuksia Japaniin, Kiinan politiikan ja hallinnon erityispiirteitä, ja Koreoiden tilannetta. Lisäksi kirjassa valotetaan tämän yhden maailman dynaamisimman alueen keskinäisen yhteistyön ongelmakohtia, joita historialliset jännitteet edelleen vaikeuttavat.
Kirja sopii kaikille kansainvälisistä aiheista ja Itä-Aasiasta kiinnostuneille ja Itä-Aasian opintoja aloittaville opiskelijoille.
Kirjoittajat toimivat tutkijoina ja opettajina Turun yliopiston Itä-Aasian tutkimus- ja koulutuskeskuksessa, joka on Suomen ainoa Itä-Aasian nyky-yhteiskuntia yhteiskuntatieteellisestä näkökulmasta tutkiva akateeminen yksikkö.
Kirja on jo myynnissä e-kirjana Turun yliopiston UTUShopissa 10€ hintaan.
UTUShopissa on myös myynnissä painettu teos 15€ hintaan.
We are delighted about the Academy of Finland's decision to fund the Security in China research consortium led by CEAS Professor Lauri Paltemaa and Professor Juha A. Vuori form the University of Tampere. More information on the project webpages:
Security in China (in English)
Turvallisuus Kiinassa (in Finnish)
