ABSTRACT
Anthropology as an imported discipline has a relatively short history in Korea. Its major academic body in the country, the Korean Society for Cultural Anthropology, celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 1998 and its first department was established in 1961 at Seoul National University. After some 40 years of history, however, there are still only nine university departments teaching the subject (five as independent degree courses and four as joint courses with archeology), and one graduate course offering master and doctoral degrees in cultural anthropology. Compared with related disciplines such as sociology whose first department was established in 1946 yet now has 39 departments with independent degree courses, or political science with 55 departments throughout the country,1
we may note that the growth of anthropology has been extremely limited in Korea. While it is true that university politics often reflect power relations other than those of a more academic nature, we can hardly deny that the present institutional status of anthropology indicates the obvious fact that the subject has failed to gain its due recognition in the intellectual world in Korea.
