In 1989, professor
Siegfried Englert founded the model degree program
Marketing East Asia as a part of the University of Applied Science in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The program offered a combination of business administration courses with Chinese cultural and language studies. In 1992, the program expanded into a regular degree and included a focus on Japan. Korean studies would later be included in 2016. In 1997, the program was renamed the East Asia Institute and moved in a new building constructed on the banks of the
Rhine River. In 2004, the diploma was converted into the current
Bachelor degree program. The Institute has received visits from notable political figures since moving into the Rhine building, including German federal presidents
Roman Herzog in 1997 and
Johannes Rau in 2000. Discussions took place with former Japanese prime minister
Naoto Kan in 2015. ==See also==