The French Research Institute on East Asia (IFRAE/UMR8043) is a new team affiliated with Inalco, the University of Paris, and the CNRS. It was founded on January 1, 2019.
IFRAE gathers specialists studying a vast geographic area. It includes strong cultures and identities such as Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Taiwan, Tibet, Vietnam, and so on, countlessly brought together through History, sometimes peacefully, sometimes violently.
The institute was created by the merger of two laboratories: ASIEs & the Centre for Japanese studies (CEJ), both part of Inalco, joined by several lecturers and researchers from the University of Paris (previously called University Paris 7 Diderot). It is one of the major research centres on East Asia in Europe.
Our research falls in the field of area studies. Members have in common an excellent command of at least one East-Asian language, a thorough understanding of the country and/or area they study, along with strong disciplinary skills in one (or more) of the human social sciences’ fields. All of which enables them a privileged access to local sources.
They look upon the contemporary world in its historical context. Thus, adopting a comparative, regional and/or cross-disciplinary approach.