Seoul National University's Department of Russian Language and Literature will be renamed the Department of Russian and East European Languages and Literatures, according to local media reports Tuesday.
The change was approved by the university's academic council on June 18 and is expected to take effect in 2028, pending final approval by the university's board of trustees.
It will mark the department's first name change since it adopted its current name in 1984.
Originally established in 1946 following Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the department was abolished in 1949 as the Cold War intensified. It was reinstated decades later.
The renaming is intended to broaden the department's academic scope beyond Russia to include Eastern Europe and Slavic languages, literature and culture, according to the reports.
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