Today, we are living through a polycrisis. Slow growth, poverty, inequality, war, pandemics, and climate change are no longer separate problems; they compound each other across local and global scales. As uncertainty deepens, we are in a broader period of transition that invites us to rethink what counts as crisis, what resilience asks of us, and what kinds of collective life can sustain a good life.

The Humanities Institute of Chonnam National University was founded with these challenges in mind. We develop humanities-based agendas for addressing global social issues, and we build interdisciplinary collaborations with the social and natural sciences. By strengthening integration within the humanities and partnering across fields, we support scholarship that is both intellectually rigorous and publicly engaged. A core part of our mission is to train the next generation of scholars and practitioners who can work across disciplines and develop creative, responsible responses to complex problems.

Since our establishment in 2017, the Institute has led major initiatives funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea. From 2018 to 2024, we carried out the HK+ project, Family-Community Humanities for the Integration and Communications in the Hyper-Individual Era. From 2025 to 2030, we are advancing the HK3.0 agenda, Building a Pluresilience Paradigm through Family-Community Humanities. This research examines how complex vulnerabilities are socially produced, revisits what a good life can mean under conditions of crisis, and develops a relational account of resilience grounded in family-community life, focusing on renewal and transformation.

We have also expanded our capacity for interdisciplinary training and professional development. The Institute supports this work through the Graduate Program in Community Studies in Humanities and the Competency Coach of Humanity-Community certificate program. Working with regional and international partners across the public sector, civil society, and academia, we connect research with education and practice, contribute to strategies for addressing complex social challenges, and develop sustainable, community-based models of resilience and renewal.

Building on our work in research, education, and public engagement, the Humanities Institute of Chonnam National University will continue to grow as an internationally connected center for humanities-based interdisciplinary research that links theory with practice. We appreciate your continued interest and support. Thank you.