COLUMBIA — MU and five universities in South Korea have forged a strong connection through an exchange program that’s been going on for 20 years. The program sends between 60 and 70 Korean students annually.

That program was one of the catalysts for the newly created Institute for Korean Studies at MU, which will focus on educating the community and creating research opportunities in the field. Starting about a year ago, assistant professor of political science Sheena Chestnut Greitens and assistant professor of history Harrison Kim worked for its creation. After developing the proposal, Greitens and Kim contacted relevant faculty members.

"We realized that we had a great group of research faculty in the social sciences who work on both sides of the Korean peninsula, North and South," Greitens said. "We thought that the best way to support that research and to highlight it was to create a focal point: a research institute to showcase and support that work by our faculty."