On May 25th, the Humanities Korea Plus Agency (HK+) from Pukyong National University, along with professors from the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, visited National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU). They signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NTOU's Institute of Oceanic Culture(IOC) to promote academic exchanges in the field of oceanic culture. Dr. Tsung-Yuan Hsiao(蕭聰淵), the dean of NTOU's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, expressed anticipation for fruitful academic results through this collaboration. Professor Son Dong-Ju(孫東周), the former dean of Pukyong National University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, also attended the event as a witness.

The signing ceremony was conducted by Director Chih-Hsiung Wu(吳智雄) from IOC at NTOU and Team Leader Kim Chang-Kyung from Pukyong National University. They engaged in discussions regarding the specific details of the collaboration and held the "East Asian Oceanic Culture and Humanities Network" international academic conference on the same day, facilitating in-depth exchanges on the academic research of East Asian oceanic culture and humanities between the two universities.

Director Wu Chih-Hsiung highlighted that since its establishment in 1999, Pukyong National University's Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences has been conducting research in various fields of humanities and social sciences. Based on the unique regional characteristics of Busan, they have continuously generated achievements and deepened the understanding and sharing of humanistic and social scientific issues related to the connection between "ocean" and "human life." As a result, the Humanities Korea Plus Agency was established in 2017, focusing on research topics related to the "dynamics of Northeast Asian maritime areas and humanistic networks."

As the first and only academic and research unit in the national higher education system that prioritizes the development of oceanic culture, NTOU's Institute of Oceanic Culture has been dedicated to the study and promotion of domestic oceanic culture for over a decade. Through the integration and division of interdisciplinary fields such as literature, history, and social sciences, IOC aims to expand its academic perspective and enrich the content of oceanic cultural research. By engaging in interactive exchanges with Pukyong National University's Humanities Korea Plus Agency, this collaboration will further enhance the international vision and academic exchanges of the Institute of Oceanic Culture, as well as broaden the various aspects and intrinsic value of oceanic cultural research.