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South Korea has taken relatively efficient measures since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, keeping the number of positively infected cases low. At the same time, the Western industrialized countries have great problems in coping with the problem. In the western media, one often reads "what can we learn from Korea?
Such views from the West are new since the opening of the country in the second half of the 19th century. For in the age of imperialism, Korea was depicted as a barbaric country. In the Cold War era, the country was considered underdeveloped and was the object of extensive development aid. In the 1997 financial crisis, the country had to be rescued from bankruptcy with massive IMF aid. The West has always been regarded as a model for Korea, be it civilization, modernity, democracy or welfare. In the age of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, Korea suddenly became a model for the West and significantly changed Korea's self-image. It will trigger a new discussion about Korea's position in the world, in which Korea will not just follow the Western model.
Professor Lee studied History, Korean Studies, Philosophy, and Political Science in Berlin (FU Berlin, HU Berlin), Seoul (SNU), and in Erfurt. He received his Dr. phil. in History with a dissertation on Christian missionary work in the colonial era. After spending some time as research associate at the Free University of Berlin and at the University of Bonn, he worked as junior professor for Korean Studies from 2010 to 2016 at Eberhard Karls University Tübingen. From October 2016 to March 2018, he held the position of deputy professorship for the W3-professorial chair in Korean Studies until he was appointed for the W3-professorial chair in April 2018. His research focus lies in Postcolonial Studies, Cold War, migration, and diaspora.