Han characters are or have been shared between multiple East Asian languages, representing a truly unique linguistic phenomenon. Han characters are taught as “Hanja” in Korean and still see usage despite Hangul predominating today. Han characters are taught as “Kanji” in Japan and are widely used today. Mainland Chinese and Singaporeans of Chinese extraction use simplified Han characters today while Chinese in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and many overseas Chinese communities retain the use of traditional Characters. There are also multiple variations of Han characters ranging from those used solely in Japan to a multiplicity of variant characters used in Mainland China and Taiwan.

This Conference aims to bring together scholars, researchers, and practitioners from different Asian countries to foster international knowledge exchange and research collaboration regarding Han characters education and research. Building upon accomplishments and successes of the first twelve conferences, the thirteenth conference will be held in Honolulu, Hawai’i from February 16-17, 2024.

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