5th humanities research support program draws record 341 applications

Participants pose for a group photo at the 5th Humanities Research Support Program award ceremony, held Thursday at the Dong-A Publishing headquarters training room inside the Korea Federation of SMEs building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Hanse YES24 Cultural Foundation Chairwoman Baek Su-mi (center) stands alongside foundation officials and the selected researchers. [Hanse YES24 Cultural Foundation]
Participants pose for a group photo at the 5th Humanities Research Support Program award ceremony, held Thursday at the Dong-A Publishing headquarters training room inside the Korea Federation of SMEs building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Hanse YES24 Cultural Foundation Chairwoman Baek Su-mi (center) stands alongside foundation officials and the selected researchers. [Hanse YES24 Cultural Foundation]

The Hanse YES24 Cultural Foundation announced Friday it had selected 10 research projects for its humanities research support program.

The foundation held the 5th Humanities Research Support Program award ceremony Thursday at the Dong-A Publishing headquarters training room inside the Korea Federation of SMEs building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

The humanities research support program has been the foundation's flagship academic grant initiative since its launch in 2022. This year's call for applications drew 341 submissions — a record high and an increase of 137 from the previous year.

Each of the 10 selected researchers will receive 12 million won ($8,690) in funding, for a combined total of 120 million won. Lee Ji-yeon, a Seoul National University researcher selected for the program, said she was grateful to the foundation for creating conditions that allow researchers to focus on their work, and expressed hope that its mission of supporting researchers would become more widely known.

Research projects backed by the program have gone on to produce notable academic results, including publications in international journals. A standout example is a study by KAIST Professor Ahn So-yeon, selected in the second round of the program, titled "An Exploratory Study on Language Play in Elementary English Classrooms." The paper was published in Applied Linguistics, a globally recognized SSCI journal issued by Oxford University Press.

To share that research with the public, the foundation also held a humanities lecture by Professor Ahn at YES24 Gangseo bookstore on Thursday, titled "The Power of Learning English with a Smile."

Chairwoman Baek Su-mi said the foundation would continue supporting outstanding research so it can translate into world-class academic achievements, and would expand programs that bring research findings to the general public.


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