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Goodbye Sydney, annyeonghaseyo Seoul!

ACU Professor Melissa Bellanta has been appointed as the inaugural Visiting Professor of Australian Studies at Seoul National University (SNU).

If your knowledge of South Korean culture is limited to skincare products and K-pop choreography, ACU Professor Melissa Bellanta is about to transform your world view.

Recently announced as the inaugural Visiting Professor of Australian Studies at SNU, Melissa is poised to spend a year in Seoul gathering stories of Korean history and culture and spreading the word about life in Australia.

The position, which is funded by DFAT'S Australia-Korea Foundation and Woodside Energy, is designed to promote knowledge of Australian culture and democratic values to Korean students. It's also intended to become a pathway to new research collaborations between the two countries.

Melissa is a researcher in the National School of Arts and Humanities at ACU. She says her overarching goal for the year-long appointment is to strengthen Australia's relationship with South Korea, Australia's fourth-largest trading partner.

"My primary aim is to promote understanding of Australian society and culture broadly, as well as in the university context, so that's encouraging people in the Republic of Korea to see our two societies' futures as interlinked," she says.

"There has always been talk of [our] two countries being underappreciated allies, but I think that's going to change. [The Australia-Korea] relationship that's going to be increasingly significant, and the appointment of this new role is an example of the Australian Government leaning into that [opportunity]."

Melissa's role will involve teaching, research and engagement activities, including delivering an Australian studies seminar for students of the Master of International Studies (she describes the course as "a multidisciplinary introduction to Australian politics, culture and history.").

While students will largely be Korean, the SNU Graduate School of International Studies also welcomes master's candidates from across the Indo-Pacific region.

Melissa will also support new research connections in the social sciences and humanities. This includes expanding her own research remit to launch a new project on fashion diplomacy, which she will present as part of the university's longstanding Global Prominence series.

"I plan to make rich use of visual resources as a way of interacting with students. I want to showcase Australian creativity and culture by focusing on its fashion and crafts in my research and teaching. And more broadly, I'll be involved in social media storytelling about discovering Korean fashion as an Australian historian," she says.

On the engagement front, Melissa will also work with the Australian Embassy in Seoul to arrange and host a series of events. These will welcome visiting Australian scholars as well as researchers from across the globe with a shared interest in fashion studies, gender and social history.

The Visiting Professorship is just the latest international achievement for ACU, a global top 100 young university with big goals when it comes to expanding its global partnerships. Already, ACU boasts more than 200 connections with international partners that deliver critical student, staff and academic development opportunities.

ACU is actively pursuing new partnership opportunities across the globe. Read more about our partnership types and get in touch to find out more how we can work with your institution.