The Unveiled Realities of Korean Southeast Asian Historiography Amid the Pandemic: Trends in Korean Southeast Asian History Research from 2020 to 2023

Southeast Asian historiography in South Korea in 2020-2023 followed a similar pattern to the previous years. However, throughout the pandemic, structural contradictions became more obvious. First, there has been a rise in research on national history, with a heavy emphasis on Vietnam; second, academics studying Northeast Asian history – in particular, China and Japan - have strengthened their interest in exchange between Northeast and Southeast Asia through their own primary sources. Third, the total number of journal articles has increased significantly. The quantitative changes are outstanding and the infusion of researchers who continue publishing work on Southeast Asian history represents a substantial shift. However, the fact that more than half of all research articles were published by scholars who do not specialize in Southeast Asian history, as well as the significant decrease in the number of trans-border studies, a key feature of Southeast Asian studies, raises concerns about Southeast Asian historiography in Korea. Rather than being reassured by the quantitative rise, we should focus on qualitative evaluation and reflection on achieving the diversity of Korean Southeast Asian historiography in the future.