Guess the folks at the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Washington didn't get the memo. It seems the very first, and once biggest, Korean Studies program in the states is suffering from underfunding and loss of key personnel:

When the UW's Korean Studies program was established in 1968, it was the largest program in the country.

Bigger programs have since been established at other universities, but the UW library still houses North America's third-largest academic collection on Korea, second only to the Library of Congress and Harvard University.

More and more students took Korean-language classes at the UW. By 2001, more than 200 students were enrolled each quarter in language and literature classes.

Then James Palais, a Korean history professor, decided to retire four years ago. Faced with budget cuts, the university chose not to fill his state-funded position.

In a larger department, it might not have made a difference. But the Korean Studies program, part of the UW's Jackson School of International Studies, had only three professors. Eliminating one would have killed the program.

The Korean-American community and former UW President Richard McCormick gathered in December 2002 and decided to raise money themselves to build a $2 million endowment for a professorship. Palais agreed to put off full retirement and continue teaching key courses until 2004.