From Jeju, a Refugee-Haven Island, to Archipelagos and Hybridity: 'Kumda Humanities' Expands Its Research Scope

Kumda Humanities, which has studied the history of Jeju Province and refugees, is entering a new research phase that broadens its scope to include archipelagos, migration, cultural hybridity and coexistence, building on six years of research achievements.
According to the Research Institute for the Tamla Culture at Jeju National University (JNU) on the 26th, the institute held a midterm briefing for 2026 on the 21st at Building No. 2 of the College of Humanities at JNU and reviewed first-half research and project results as well as its research direction for the second half of the year.
The briefing was organized to share this year's research achievements under JNU's National University Development Project and to discuss links among individual research tasks and the institute's mid- to long-term development direction.
Special researcher Kim Jin-cheol of the Research Institute for the Tamla Culture explained the progress and results of the Tamla Culture Capacity-Building Project and shared plans for research and projects in the second half of the year.
The institute's next research pillar was presented as the expansion of Kumda Humanities. Special researcher Kim Jin-seon introduced the research agenda and direction submitted for the National Research Foundation of Korea's Humanities Korea 3.0 Support Project for 2026. The institute submitted "A Humanities of Kumda in an Age of Global Anomie: Through the Life of Archipelagos and the Knowledge of Hybridity" as its research agenda.
Anomie refers to a state in which social norms and order weaken, deepening anxiety and confusion. The institute is focusing on the relationships and forms of coexistence that emerge on islands and in archipelagos in an era when complex crises such as climate change, war, migration and refugees have become part of everyday life.
The new agenda is a follow-up to the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Institute Support Project, "The History of Jeju Island and Refugees Through Kumda," which was carried out for six years starting in 2019.
While the previous research centered on the history of Jeju Province, refugees, migration and the issue of the other, the new project aims to broaden the scope to include how islands and knowledge are formed, as well as migration, refugees, cultural hybridity and coexistence.
In particular, the institute plans to examine how life and knowledge are formed from the perspective of an "archipelago," where multiple islands and regions are connected through movement and exchange rather than viewing Jeju as a single isolated island. It also intends to expand its domestic and international research network, which it has built over time, in connection with the new agenda.
A roundtable on research achievement evaluation and feedback, held after the briefing, brought together special researchers and academic research professors. Participants shared first-half research results and the progress of major tasks, and discussed ways to link research projects, spread outcomes and energize research in the second half of the year.
Kim Chi-wan, head of the Research Institute for the Tamla Culture at Jeju National University, said, "Based on the first-half research achievements and today's discussion, we will strengthen the substance of our second-half projects and work to expand research outcomes."
[email protected] Jung Yong-bok Reporter