Save Korean/Asian Language and Culture Programs

Dear Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Waugh and Dean Stowell:

We, the students and the undersigned, protest the drastic cuts recently made to the Korean Language and Literature programs in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA. UCLAs Korean studies program is the undisputed international leader in the field, playing an indispensable role in UCLAs vibrant Asian Studies program, and we call on the esteemed administration to take note of the programs significance as a world leader and to reestablish its commitment to support the program painstakingly built up over the past two decades.

We, the students and the undersigned, call on the administration to 1) Commit to reinstate the single tenure-track faculty position in Korean literature which was abruptly closed this year without notice and 2) Immediately abandon suddenly announced plans to further cut language programs in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Southeast Asian). The budget cuts will mean not only a drastic reduction in course offerings, but will severely cripple UCLA Korean Studies standing as the worlds leader, as well as the well-being of the Asian studies program at large. These short-sighted decisions based on Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggers assault on higher education in California are doing a great disservice not only to the student body but also to the local and global community at large.

UCLA as an institution with its established leadership serving international and Pacific Rim communities cannot afford to abandon the future of one of the strongest Asian Studies programs in the world, which is constituted by the diverse membership of reputed programs in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Buddhism, and Christianity. UCLA constitutes one of the most diverse communities in the world, with Asian and Asian-Pacific communities making up over 40\% of the student body, and the administration cannot deny this community the access to diverse representation in its curriculum. The greater LA area boasts a community of further diversity, including the largest ethnic community of Korean and Korean Americans outside of Asia. These communities in and beyond UCLA continue to contribute to the economic and cultural vibrancy for the areas and constituencies served by UCLA. We claim that cuts in the Korean program as well as in other languages in the department negatively affects the diversity of the entire Asian Studies program and will do a great disservice not only to the students of the College of Arts and Letters but to a wider constituency ranging from students in the Schools of Management, Law, Science and Engineering, and Medicine.

The Korean language program specifically as well as other languages in the Asian program in general have been suffering reductions in class sizes, instructors, and teaching assistants for several years, despite rising student demands for these courses. Further budget cuts recently announced will exacerbate the condition in which students who wish to enroll in such courses are refused access based on such reductions regardless of rising student demand and interest. The abandonment of the administrations commitment to an Asian Studies program at large and to the Korean studies program in particular means the universitys failure to fulfill its fundamental educational mission to its own students as well as to the community at large.

The administration cannot continue to disregard the steady rise in student demand for such courses as well as the growing international standing of the Korean program. We call on the administration to begin to advocate on behalf of its student constituency to the state legislators rather than reroute the burden of the budget crisis to the students themselves as evident in recent fee hikes despite further cuts in programs offered. We are further outraged at the irresponsible timing of such announcements in cuts which came only as the academic year is winding down, making it impossible for instructors whose jobs are on the line to seek redress or alternative solutions and difficult for students to have rightful access to information on how the budget cuts will negatively affect the quality and timely progress of our educational careers at UCLA.

We, the students and the undersigned, demand that the administration acknowledge UCLA Korean Studies programs undisputed standing as the worlds leading research and educational institution and to further take note that what has made it possible for this programs standing above other renowned institutions such as Harvard, Stanford and Columbia has been the quality and diversity of its Korean language and literature classes. We urge you to immediately reverse the drastic cuts and assault on Korean language and literature classes to avoid sending a negative message to current and potential students at UCLA as well as to the Pacific Rim community of students, scholars, opinion-makers, and donors that UCLA is abandoning its commitment to a painstakingly built Korean Studies program in particular and to a vibrant Asian Studies program at large.

We, the students and the undersigned, strongly ask that you commit to 1) Reinstate the single tenure-track faculty position in Korean literature and 2) Abandon the decision to drastically cut language and literature course offerings in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures for the coming years. We, the students and the undersigned, urge you to work with faculty and students who are committed to a diverse Asian Studies program, toward an alternative and wiser solution that will reestablish UCLAs support to further its Korean Studies program and the preservation of the quality of programs in Asian Languages and Cultures.