Institute for Regional and International Studies
The Wisconsin Sijo (WiSiJo) Poetry Contest Opens for its Sixth Year! MADISON–Wisconsinites of all ages will have the opportunity to learn a new poetry form and possibly win a prize! With the generous support of the Sejong Cultural Society of Chicago, the UW–Madison Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) will once again hold the Wisconsin …
The signature condiment for Kikkoman made it to the Final Four of the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) “2025 Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin” contest, held August-October through statewide rounds of voting. Though headquartered in Japan, Kikkoman Foods, Inc., has had a large presence in Wisconsin manufacturing since 1973, when it opened its first North …
The Center for East Asian Studies is excited to announce the release of its newsletter for the 2024-2025 academic year!
Sports diplomacy became a special focus for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) in 2025 through an $80,000 public service grant to organize an exchange of hockey coaches. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the exchange featured ten Chinese hockey coaches visiting Wisconsin in March, followed by ten American hockey coaches (mostly from Wisconsin) traveling to northeastern China in June. “The world would be more peaceful if we had more such programs,” said Wu Lanfeng, president of the Jiamusi Hockey Association in China and a member of the delegation of coaches that visited Wisconsin.
By Elizabeth Jorgensen, KM Global School As someone who regularly teaches sijo (Korean) poetry, I am often asked if I have ever been to Korea. Now I can answer “YES!” Last summer, I was fortunate to be one of thirty teachers who traveled with the World History Digital Education Foundation (WHDEF) to South Korea as …
by Cherise Fung, CEAS project assistant On April 15, 2025, the Center for the Humanities welcomed 800 high school students and their teachers from 27 schools across Wisconsin to the UW–Madison campus for the annual Great World Texts (GWT) in Wisconsin student conference. The 2024-25 program focused on Cho Nam-joo’s third novel Kim Jiyoung, Born …
by Cherise Fung, CEAS project assistant Sawyer Getschman knew she loved Korea before she had ever set foot in the country. Her love affair began in Germany, where she attended high school after spending six years in Japan. She started listening to J-pop as a way to stay connected to Japanese language and culture and …
The Center for East Asian Studies at UW–Madison and The Sejong Cultural Society are pleased to announce the results of their 5th annual Wisijo competition. This annual competition aims to engage talented Wisconsin writers and encourage them to learn and write a sijo, a Korean poetry form. Through this competition, UW–Madison and The Sejong Cultural …
CEAS is delighted to announce that esteemed British journalist David Rennie will be the CEAS Professional Series speaker for 2025. This high impact lecture series brings individuals who do significant work in East Asian studies outside the context of a university to campus. It highlights authors, journalists, policymakers, film-makers, etc. who have made serious contributions …
by Cherise Fung, CEAS project assistant At the end of 2024, CEAS sat down with Jane Rotonda, the current Wisconsin Book Festival (WBF) director, to reflect on the festival’s partnership with the Center so far and her hopes for further collaboration in the new year. Rotonda, who succeeded Conor Moran as festival director in Winter …