Researcher Bio
Kyung-Chul Jou is a scholar in Western Modern History and his field of research has been the Western world’s maritime expansion. By examining history from the perspective of the sea, he has aimed to discover aspects that have been over-looked in history and, by doing so, build a new worldview. An emphasis on the perspective of the sea makes it possible to demonstrate how each civilization did not grow independently, but developed through mutual influence. This is where Jou has found contact points for the study of ‘Mega-Asia’ as a process. His major topic of research has been the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the waters of Asia and its role in establishing economic reciprocal relations. He has also published several papers and monographs using Columbus as an example to reveal not only the material elements, but also the unusual religious mythical structures that were used since the Middle Ages for European overseas expansion. An examination into the piracy phenomenon as a means to understand how informal sectors may play an important role behind official maritime activities has also been a topic of interest, for it can be another way to explore the formation and development of modern international relations. Finally, he is exploring the possibility that silver from the Americas and Japan may have flown into international trade and the money market, interconnecting and revitalizing the global economy while also accelerating domination and exploitation.