Master's Degree programme

Degree: Master of Social Sciences

Duration: 2 academic years, 120 ECTS credits

Mode of study: Full-time

Faculty / Department: Faculty of Social Sciences, Centre for East Asian Studies

Location: Turku, Finland

Language of instruction: English

Tuition fee for citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland:  None

Tuition fee for citizens of non-EU/EEA countries:  €8,000 / academic year

Scholarships available: check the website

Please also check our FAQ before applying to our Master's Degree Programme.

Academic director of the Master’s Programme,
University lecturer Sabine Burghart
sabine.burghart@utu.fi

Education coordinator Tuula Karjalainen (application process)
tuusah@utu.fi

The University of Turku has bilateral agreements with several partner universities in East Asia: China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

Further information about exchange studies and the application process is available at Applying for Exchange pages (UTU Intranet - requires a UTU account) of the International Office.

Master's degree theses (pro gradu) written by the students of the Centre for East Asian Studies.

2024

Liu, Siyue: Shaping the New China : The International Propaganda of the People’s Republic of China during the Korean War, 1950-1953

Wu, Cuifeng: Exploring Significant Factors in Chinese Women’s Decision-Making about Birth Outside Marriage

Lama, Phurba Lhamu: Analyzing the perception of young Koreans towards radical feminism and their anti-feminist sentiments

Puomisto, Heidi: “Golden rice bowl of racial discrimination” : racialization of black Africans in Chinese online discussion

Kovalska, Tereza: Factors influencing plastic overconsumption in Japan from consumers’ perspective : A social experiment

Ylinen, Hanna-Mari: Development-Based Human Rights? : The Normative Endeavors of China in the United Nations Human Rights Council

Hrivnacova, Kristyna: Tradition in a New Costume: (Re)Presenting Masculinity in Japanese Figure Skating

Monllor, Maria: Imagining the Nation from the Outside : The Imagination of South Korea by Hallyu Content Consumers in Spain and Their Student Migration

2023

Turunen, Tino: Organic Without Certification : A Case Study on the Motivations of Farmers in the Village of Ogawa Machi to Become Non-Certified Organic Farmers

Kubincova, Maria: Messages from Behind Closed Doors : Exploring the First Self-published Media of Japanese Hikikomori

Jiang, Yueyang: An Analysis of Social Mobility in Contemporary Shanghai

Matsui, Hinako: Living in the Bubble of Privilege : Sociological Imagination of Japanese Elite Youth from the Stories of Exchange Students in Finland

Hanhikangas, Helena: Korean Politics vs. Taekwon-Do in 1966-2002 : The Organisational History of The International Taekwon-Do Federation in the Context of Korean Political Division, and How to Protect Your Institution Against Political Appropriation

Ignaczak, Anna: Numerous faces of feminism and their meaning in contemporary South Korea through the lens of the country’s young adults

Jayasundara, Jayani: China’s soft power and its cultural implication for Sri Lanka: Exploring Students’ perspectives

Peippo, Pauliina: Serving a Piece of National Nostalgia : Female Foreign Workers in the Multiculturazing Hospitality Sector in Japan

Pesola, Ella: Reconceptualizing Japan's Role During Economic Shocks : A Role Theory Analysis of Japan's National Role Conceptions and Shifts during the Global Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 Economic Recession

Zhou, Zhiyu: A research and analysis of the reasons of the education reform in China from different perspectives

Kuznetsov Daniil: Challenges and Opportunities of Japanese Higher Computer Science Education from the Graduates’ Perspective

Kaarna, Laura: “We Will Establish a Virtuous Cycle in Which Jobs Attract People and People Attract Jobs” : Analysis of Abe Administration’s Regional Revitalization Documents from 2014 to 2020

2022

Lavikainen, Laura: The EU-China relationship through public discussion on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment

Eronen, Tessa: Pandemic Models and Image Management: South Korea’s Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jungner, Frank: Perceptions of the Deployment of the Thermal High Air Area Defense in the Republic of Korea and the Discussion of Experts and Scholars

Kauranen, Pihla: The War at Home, the War Abroad : (Trans)Formations of Far-Right Activism in Contemporary Japan

Rönkkö, Tanja: Breaking the Silence: Current discussion on sexual violence in Japan and in the West in connection with intersectional feminism

Selonen, Lauri:  “If they were my son I’d have to apologize” An Examination of Masculinity in Terrace House: Opening New Doors

2021

Dao, Ngoc: The Impacts of the South China Sea Disputes between Vietnam and China on the Vietnamese Government’s Perspectives on Joining the Belt Road Initiative

Haapala, Milja: Love with Flaws : A Qualitative Study on LGBTQ+ Representation in South Korean Drama

Henttonen, Heikki: CONSTRUCTING SOCIAL IDENTITY UNDER DICTATORSHIP — DEPICTION OF YOUTH AND MESSAGES TO THEM IN NORTH KOREAN CINEMA BETWEEN 1971—2016

Lampione Gombas, Noemi: “Arashi for Dream” : Idol—fan relationships in Japan

Lehto, Roosa: Rise of the China Threat: The Development of the China Discourse in the U.S. Administrative Documents in 2010-2021

Ludwiczak, Izabela: How South Korean female university students perceive women’s beauty standards and their connotations

Saarinen, Fred: PROPAGANDA IN DEMOCRACY CASE STUDY : How South Koreans in Their 20s Detect and Understand Propaganda

Sava, Ville: Manufacturing The Meiji Era : Portrayal of The Meiji Restoration in Kagoshima Museums and Heritage Sites 

Siivonen, Johanna: Robotics in Japanese elderly care - attitudes of young university students and the Japanese government, and their implications

Suomalainen, Eveliina: Reducing Stigmas : How the South Korean Government Aims to Reduce Mental Health Stigmas and Stigma-based Discrimination?

Väisänen, Laura: Qualitative Content Analysis of North Korean Defectors' Self-Representations On Youtube

Ying, Hao: A Study about Impacts of China’s Universal Two-child Policy on Chinese Professional Women

Bernardi, Nicholas: While Searching for a Scoop - Developing an Understanding of Working Conditions of Journalists in Japan Through an Analysis of Firsthand Accounts

2020

Arki, Petra: Framing the Comfort Women: Non-governmental organizations and the United Nations framing the issue from 2008 till 2018

Eason, Brooke: The Okinawa Problem and Okinawa Movement: Contemporary Views and Identities

Kastepohja, Jussi: The Effect of China’s Political Reforms on Taiwanese Third Sector: Qualitative Study of Religion Affiliated Taiwanese NGOs: Border-crossing Civil Society across the Taiwan Strait

Katajamäki, Sasu: Voluntary departures, expulsions, or profitable extortion? : The politics of expulsion and the ethnic Chinese Vietnamese refugees 1975 - 1979

Kääriäinen, Lotta: China's Changing Role in the New Era, a Case Study Based on China's First Overseas Military Base in Djibouti

Santiago, Antonio: COMMUNIST SEX CULTURE AND LEWD MARXIST FEMINISTS: The Protestant Response to the 16th Seoul Queer Culture Festival

2019

Heikkinen, Milla: Attitudes Toward Future Japanese Families among Japanese University Students: Tradition, Ideals and Stigmas

Huh, Seyeon: Perception of Contemporary History in South Korea: The Formation of Contested Legacy of Syngman Rhee

Kwon, Jung Ah: The Programme "Now on My Way to Meet You" and its Impact on Exchanges between North Korean Defectors and South Koreans

Nguyen, Minh Nga: Regional initiatives for Japanese Entrepreneurs: A study on the Tokyo metropolis area

Ranta, Mika: Japan's Official Development Assistance: Case Philippines and Human Security

Sidz, Malgorzata: Reproduction of Mothering in East Asia

2018

Cahill, Samantha: Building Better Tourists? Insight into China´s Civilized Tourism´campaign

Gouiffès-Santarelli, Perrine: Road to Nowhere: Transitions to Adulthood and the New Social Vagrants in post-1997 South Korea

Hakulinen, Noora: Human Trafficking in China – An analysis of national policies and their impacts on punishment levels in human trafficking court cases between 2012-2016

Hautala, Iina: Commemorative Landscape of Dokdo in South Korea – Reflections on Dokdo's importance in the South Korean national narrative

Isohanni, Heikki: Mythology Marches to Modernity : Yōkai in Contemporary Japan

Kurki, Suvi: Finding a New Narrative of Chinese Business Leadership

Liu, Bayoing: Factionalism in the CCP and the DPP -One´s Obstruction, the Other´s Impetus

Morozova, Aleksandra: Illicit Drugs in Modern China: Production, Trafficking and Consumption

Pihl, Marko: Dependent Autonomy: A Study of Chinese Environmental Social Organisation's Operational Autonomy

Pitkänen, Ari-Joonas: A Dichotomy Dismantled – Reflections on National Identity among Supporters of Third Force Political Parties in Taiwan

Šilhánová, Barbora: From the Village to Heaven – The development of the social role of Taiwanese Bunun prayer pasibutbut in the course of the modernization of the tribe

Tuorila, Eero: Opposition Discourse on Security Policy in Japan: Case of the 2015 Legislation for Peace and Security

2017

Ilo, Reetta: Hidden Pride, Crouching Nationalism? The Worldview of Japanese Private University Students

Kuzina, Viktoriya: Protecting the Right to Know in Japan: Social Advocacy versus the Special Secrecy Law 

Pence Jr, Gary Leon: A History to Open the Future: Obstacles and Possibilities of Joint History Books in Northeast Asia

Schüssler, Fabien: Assessing Travel Motivations, Satisfactions and Branding Success in Heritage Tourism: Fang Gu Jie in Chengdu, Sichuan

Yoochadchawan, Tais: Chinese Public Intellectuals' Call for Constitutionalism - Yu Jianrong's and Xu Zhiyong's Advocacy and Engagement

2016

Alexeeva, Anna: Towards Interdependence? – Russian-Chinese Economic Relations 1990–2014 with the Focus on Energy Trade​

Coratella, Eva: From the Great Famine (1958-1962) to the Food Waste Problem: the Role of Memory to Enhance the Awareness in the City of Shanghai

Jokinen, Risto: The Cheonan Incident: The Contested Fate of the South Korean Ship

Jämsä, Heli: ​Remembering the War and Aggression: A Discourse Analysis of Japan's State Apologies and Commemoration Speeches on August 15th 1995–2015​

Lapshina, Tatiana: The Contemporary Image of Hikikomori and Otaku Phenomena in Mass Media​

Miao, Shiyu: A Power for Peace and Development - The White Papers of the Chinese Government from a Public Diplomacy Point of View

Männistö, Maria: Government-foreign industry relations in China: How Finnish companies perceive China's officials

Piantadosi, Tina: Japan's Shining Women: Young Women Negotiating the Transition to Adulthood in Japan

Pinchuk, Anastasiia: Loneliness and Ageing Society in Japan: Case Study of Burari Elderly Care Center

Shushina, Lidia: The image of the Russian Federation in the Japanese Newspapers : Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun publications concerning the Russian militray operation in Syria

Song, Mary Hyunhee: Cosmetic Surgery and Rites of Passage in Korean Society – A Study on Cosmetic Surgeries after the University Entrance Exam

Yin, Yilin: Ethnic Koreans in China – Korean School Closings and Losing Korean Ethnicity

2015

Fagnoni, Federica: Molded Identity: Manchu Sinicization and Self-Perception of the Bannermen's Descendants

Hankamäki, Mikko: Supply Chains' Environmental requirements in China in 2025: Scenario Analysis

Kamppuri, Virpi: Grassroots Charity in China: Case Analysis of a Charity Project Organised by Jane Zhang Fan Club​

Kiema, Eveliina: Trivial Pursuit? Asian Antics in the Arctic – Securitization in Northeast Asian Power Struggle in the Context of Arctic Cooperation

Pankakoski, Paula: Place and Belonging - An Ethnography of Rural Migrant Children in Beijing

Scibilia, Adèle: The Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Dispute: An Integrated Factor Of Instability In The Asia-Pacific Region

Wang, Yue: China's War Memory: From Victor to Victim - The Portrayal of Japanese Figures in Chinese "Anti-Japanese War" Film 

Xiang, Jingbei: The Role of Chinese TV Media in Popularising Chinese Traditional Culture - In the Case of Lecture Room

2014

Cheung, Shun: Sinicization and Chinese Language and Culture Education (CLCE): A Case Study of Confucius Institute in Wellington, New Zealand

Haverinen, Anna-Kaisa: From Invisibility to Twitter - Four Decades in the Life of Japanese Lesbians

Ma, Jing: A Study on the Implementation Effects and Upgrading Paths of Export-oriented Economy Strategy of China's Coastal Areas

Maezono, Junko: The Influence and Transformation of a Long Term Residence Abroad on Self-Identity and Gender: A Case Study of Japanese Wives Married to Finnish Men Living in Turku, Finland

Peltonen, Jenny: South Korean presidents and the alliance with the United State 1998-2012 - A case study of the Free Trade Agreement

Volkova, Anastasia:  New Directions of the Japanese Management System: Case study of two Japanese corporations

2013

Ganina, Irina: "Cool Japan" Strategy: What Kind of Coolness?

Heikkilä, Jukka-Pekka: Change of Power Dynamics in North Korea: Three Scenarios

Jaatinen, Nina: No Money and no Pressure? Policies, their Implementation and Implications: The Case of Unemployed Return Migrant Workers in Southern Jiangxi Province

Kauppila, Liisa: "Use the Past to Serve the Present!" - PRC History Politics and the Hong Kong handover 1997

Kelhu, Johanna: Democracy and Human Rights Beyond Borders: The Meaning of the Nobel Peace Prize 2010 for Chinese Transnational Democracy and Human Rights Activists

Kettunen, Annemari: Language of the Future, Language of the PRC - Representations of Putonghua in South China Morning Post

Kuramitsu, Kanako: The Problem of ''Skills'' in Japan's Disguised Guest Workers Program and Its Implications

Kynsilehto, Anni: Suematsu Kenchō and Japan's Struggle for Civilized Status

Laaksonen, Iris: Japan's renewable energy policy in the third industrial context

Lappalainen, Erja-Liisa: The role of microblogs behind the Great Firewall of China - Chinese urban youth and the microblog bandwagon

Liu, Le: Promoting Employment Opportunities of the Elderly Employees in Japan's Aging Society

Montonen, Mikko: On Transformation of Bugei Culture from Sengoku to Modern era

Spezza, Gianluca: North Korea Approaches Modernity: Science, Education and Ideology in the DPRK. An Exploratory Study of International Cooperation for Knowledge Sharing with North Korea, 1997-2012

Vainio, Anna: 20 Years of Making Babies that Were Never Born - Japanese Family Friendly Policies for the Diminishing Social Ideal

Zhang, Baoqi: Analyzing China's High-Speed Rail Strategy from a Geo-Strategic Perspective

2012

Ahonen, Pilvi: Animal Lovers, Bridge-Builders and Supervising Watchdogs : Framing and Civil Society Construction by Japanese Pro-Animal Orgnizations in the Kansai and Tokyo Areas

Hakkio, Christine: In Search of the Way: Kokugaku and Its Influence on Meiji Policies

Hartonen, Olavi: Taiwanese English Language Newspapers' Partisan Communication on National Identity Issue - Text Mining Editorials From the First Decade of the 2000s

Li, Miaozhu: Hiding behind the Mass Media: How did the Chinese Government React to the Emergence of the Middle Class through the Mass Media  

2011

Kolehmainen, Samu: A bridge builder or raconteur? : how Japan manoeuvres the global development discourse within the TICAD process

Glogan, Timothy: China’s ‘Assertive’ South China Sea Policy And Rhetoric: Proactive, Reactive Or Myth?

Hakanen, Kari: “Xiamen Commits Suicide” – the framing of the Xiamen PX incident

Mäenpää, Marjaana: Pushing the Boundaries and Siding with the Government: Construction of Chinese Nationalism in the Internet

Wang, Rui: Post-Disaster Reconstruction in Qianag Ethnic Group Rural Communities of Maoxian County, Sichuan Province, China

Sillman, Tanja: Redefining cultural subjectivities: Japanese women artists and strategies for power in contemporary Japanese society

2010

Kärkkäinen, Annina: Propping Up Pariahs or Building a Brighter Future for All? The Effects and Framings of China's Foreign Aid in Namibia, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe 2000-2008

Lindholm, Niko: Does Nikkyoso have a political opportunity now that the DPJ  is governing?

Mutanen, Anne: LGBT Activism in Urban China: Online, Underground or Under Construction?

2009

Setälä, Mikko: Demystifying Face: the significance of ’face’ in negotiating with the Chinese 

Tsai, Natalia: Constructing Ainu Identity within Law: Negotations between the Collective, the State, and External Bodies

2008

Haverinen, Hanna:Discursive Effects of Anti-prostitution Law in Korea​

2007

Koskenranta, Hanna: Migrant Workers at Perlos Factory in the Context of Rural-Urban Migration in the Pearl River Delta​