The HK+ Mega Asia Research Group seeks to go beyond existing perspectives and approaches to Asia and establish new perspectives and perceptions of Asia by defining the concept of “mega Asia.” In response to rapid changes in global affairs, one of the important goals of this research group is to shift away from a Northeast Asia-centric perspective and find new growth opportunities in the “New Asia.”
The HK+ Mega Asia Research Group has come one step closer to achieving these goals by launching “Asia Brief” in March 2021. The Asia Center at Seoul National University, which has been collecting data and building a foundation for Asian studies for the past 10 years, contributes to existing research, while working towards finding resolutions to current issues in Korean society and Asia more broadly. As a part of this effort, “Asia Brief” analyzes new phenomena and changes in each region of Asia as well as responses by countries and their peoples to such changes.
“Asia Brief” is a “knowledge community,” where knowledge related to humanities, society, and nature is accumulated and a common vision, recognition of problems, and methodologies related to Asia research are shared, while analyzing and developing solutions to major issues in Asia. Therefore, “Asia Brief” forms a network of experts who directly or indirectly influence each country’s policy- making decisions and their implementation. It also intends to contribute to the establishment of an active Asian strategy in Korea. To this end, we intend to present an integrated perspective on Asia, covering Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and Central Asia. A variety of issues, including politics, diplomacy, military, security, economy, society, culture, environment, cities, science and technology, history, education, youth, women, and health care are addressed. In “Asia Brief” provides a timely source of information for those interested in Asia as well as those wishing to address issues related to governments, companies, universities, media, and social groups in Asia, and, in addition, seeks to foster researchers and experts in relevant fields.