Abstract

This article examines the cases of archive development by research institutions for overseas Korean studies from the perspective of documenting the locality and explores development plans. The study investigates the impact of the solidarity between overseas Korean studies institutions and Korea-related communities in the region on the expansion of archives and the practice of locality documentation, using the case of the Korean War Archive Collection at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library. For this, it reexamines the implications of locality and locality documentation. In addition, it discusses the methods of Korean studies locality documentation emerging abroad, such as the locality where the two geographical areas of Korea and Hawaii are fused. Since 2023, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library has been forming a network with the Korean War Veterans Association Hawaii Chapter 1 (KWVA) to collect and archive materials related to the Korean War. This is a case where the relationship between the archivists and the donor community has been developed to practice documenting the locality regarding Korean studies abroad. It proposes locality documentation as a way to expand archives in overseas Korean studies institutions that inevitably rely on the collection of records and discusses the importance of solidarity with Korea-related local communities. Finally, it shares the role of the record management subject and the implications found through the case.