The accelerated globalization necessitates the general training for professionals with language skills, international knowledge, and a sense of internationalization. At this stage when the importance of interdisciplinary research and education is being stressed, an educational method is needed to ignite cooperation and communication among humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Particularly in light of increasing globalization, any scholarship about this complex phenomenon demands a pluralistic approach and holistic understanding. Appropriately, the Graduate School of Area Studies (GSAS) has developed a joint education system that includes four separate colleges, the College of Humanities, the College of Social Sciences, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Law, as well as the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University.

GSAS was established in 1997 to meet growing demand for area experts in the globalizing world. The GSAS consists of five programs: Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, European Studies, and Russian Studies. The GSAS is an interdisciplinary program in which many relevant fields of study participate such as economics, business administration, political science, sociology, law, language and literature, history and international studies.