The GCC Institute

Greetings from the Director

The GCC institute, a subsidiary research institute at Dankook University, is a unique research body specializing in six countries affiliated with the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic alliance of six Gulf countries — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, and was established in May of 1981 with the goal of achieving unity among its members.

For the last 30 years, the GCC members have intensified their solidarity through entering into a customs union and creating a common market. The GCC is expected to organize a greater united economic block, like their counterpart, the EU, in the near future. Taking the growth potential of the GCC as the global leading economic union as well as energy strategies and their impact on the global economy into consideration, we should not hesitate to make a strategic alliance with the GCC at various levels to best position ourselves for the future.

As for the size of the exchange between Korea and the GCC countries, we have recently seen outstanding achievement in various areas including energy, security, commerce, and even culturally. Needless to say, regarding Korea's energy dependency on GCC countries, the total amount of trade volume between these countries and Korea has steadily increased, reaching $112.8 billion USD in 2011 alone. However, in spite of the increasing significance of the GCC as Korea's potential strategic partner, we have had few GCC specialized research bodies until now.

Considering the current situation Korea is in with regards to the research field of Gulf countries. The GCC Institute was opened in 2011 as the first research body specialized only in the GCC. The purpose of our institute is to aim not only to support the Korean government, companies, and NGOs from both the academic and practical levels, but also for promoting a mutual understanding between Korea and the GCC countries. I hope that the GCC Institute at Dankook University makes a significant contribution to the enhancement of relations for both parties in the near future.

Thank you

Chang, Se-Won
Director of The GCC Institute at Dankook University

1 July 2015

Purpose of Establishment

The main purpose of the GCC Institute at Dankook University is to conduct research on political, economic, and socio-cultural issues of the GCC members, which include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. Although GCC members are important trade partners for Korea and the cultural exchange between Korea and the GCC members has been considerably expanded, there is little research available on the GCC.

GCC members are now preparing for the Post-Oil era by diversifying their economy and positioning themselves as a global hub for trade, logistics and tourism. They are strengthening their political power based on their economic power in the Middle East. To achieve the continuous economic growth and political leadership, GCC members are putting effort into human resource development. The GCC Institute was established in 2011 under the expectation that professional research on the GCC countries, which have high potential economies based on huge oil revenues, can contribute to the development of an amicable partnership between GCC members and Korea.

The details are as follows:

● Employing a holistic research approach to GCC member countries' political, economic, socio-cultural, and historical issues
● Managing cooperative academic and educational programs with major institutes in GCC countries
● Promoting a linkup cooperation program involving various levels of industrial-academic-governmental research bodies with regard to GCC affairs
● Participating in future-oriented research on GCC issues for the development of Korea
● Expanding academic exchange with other departments and research entities through cooperative research

History

Main Activities

▣ Regular Colloquium

Since the establishment of the GCC Institute, it has actively organized a regular colloquium with the participation of governmental agencies, universities, institutes, and companies. Through the participation of these parties, the GCC Institute tries to discuss major issues of GCC countries and to contribute to the development of an amicable relationship between Korea and the GCC countries based on the establishment of a strategic partnership.

Participants of the GCC Institute’s colloquium are as follows:

● Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
● Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA)
● The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry(KORCHAM)
● The Institute of Middle Eastern Affairs at Myongji University
● Jeju Peace Institute (JPI)
● Research Institute for Middle Eastern Politics and Economy
- Korea-Arab Society
- The Europe-Africa Institute at Hanyang University

▣ Homepage (http://gcc.dankook.ac.kr/)

The GCC Institute provides both institutional and individual subscribers with a systematic and intensive GCC news database and other information related to the GCC.

On-line Services provided by the GCC Institute are as follows:

● GCC News
● GCC Report
● Issue Paper
● GCC countries’ information database

Publications

[News Letter]
News Letter provides institutional and individual subscribers with current news from the GCC countries on a biweekly basis.

[GCC Report]
GCC Report, written by researchers at the GCC Institute, provides biweekly institutional and individual subscribers with deep insights for understanding each GCC country by analyzing the contemporary issues that have occurred in the GCC countries at various levels.

[Issue Paper]
The quarterly magazine Issue Paper analyzes contemporary political, economic, and social issues of GCC countries and also provides Korean companies with updated information on industrial trends in the GCC region.

[Annual GCC Policy Report]
The Annual GCC Policy Report examines the strategies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in strong political leadership in the Middle East, human resource development, economic diversification and the establishment of logistic and commercial hubs in the world. It suggests how Korean companies can succeed in business in the region.

[The Gulf Area Studies]
The Gulf Area Studies is an academic journal, covering scholarly research articles on GCC area studies. It aims to represent the wide range of research interests concerning GCC area studies in the field of political science, economics, sociology, culture, history and other interdisciplinary works.

Affiliated Researchers

▣ Eum, Ik-Ran(PhD)

● PhD in Middle East Studies, University of Exeter in the UK
● Recent Publications:
-Article: The Arab Spring and Paradigm Shift of Saudi Women's Self-Awareness for Women's Movement (2014)
-Article: UAE's Nationalization of Labor Force Policy and its Influence on Marriage and Divorce Pattern (2014)
-Book: Islamic marketing and Halal business (2014)
● Contact: +82-31-8005-2711~12 ( malakeum@hanmail.net )

▣ Nam, Ok-Jeong(PhD)

● PhD in Middle East Politics, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Korea
● Recent Publications:
-Article: A Study on the Possibility of Iraqi Kurdistan Independence through Kirkuk Issue, the Disputed Territory (2014)
-Article: Hawza 'Ilmiyyah's Educational System and Its Political Role (2013)
-Book: Walk the way of the Islamic civilization during 1,400-The Great Muslims’ stories (2012)
● Contact: +82-31-8005-2711~12 ( happy2oj@hanmail.net )

▣ Kim, Kangsuk(PhD)

● PhD in Middle East Politics, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Korea
● Recent Publications:
-Article: Internal Identity Conflict and External Foreign Intervention: A Study of the Fundamental Causes of Democratic Instability in the Middle East(2016)
-Article: Nixon's Termination of Balancing Policy and Territorial Disputes over Islands in the Gulf (2016)
-Book: A Study on the Political Power Structure of the Middle Eastern Countries (2011)
● Contact: +82-31-8005-2711~12 ( ssalomi@naver.com )

Plan for Lecture Program

1) Arabic Language
Practical Arabic courses for Korean businessmen and students to improve their Arabic conversation and reading skills:
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced level

2) History and Culture in the Middle East
A series of lectures covering history, religion, and business etiquette in the Middle East

3) GCC Area Studies
A series of lectures providing political, economic, social and cultural understandings of GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE)

4) Islamic Finance
A series of lectures introducing the basic concept of Islamic finance and its services with practical investment cases in GCC countries

Address of the GCC Institute

152, Jukjeon-ro, Suji-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, 448-701, Korea
The International Hall 610,  Director's Office/The International Hall 611, The GCC Institute
Jukjeon Campus, Dankook University
Tel : +82-31-8005-2711/2712