Yonsei University Institute of Korean Studies received the tenth Tasan Academic Award by Tasan Cultural Foundation on December 11, 2009. The institute was recognized by its merits in contributing to the research on Sil-Hak and Tasan studies and bridging the gap between the academic field and the public. The institution’s public lecture on Sil-Hak, which was offered as a series of 20 lectures from 1967 to 1987, is considered to have played a pivotal role in stimulating the Sil-Hak studies in Korea and raising the academic level to a higher dimension. The institute also provided Tasan memorial lecture from 1998 to 2006, sharing academic results from various fields of Korean studies as well as Tasan studies. Baik Young-seo, the director of Yonsei University Institute of Korean Studies, said in the award speech, “Yonsei University Institute of Korean Studies has substantial material and human resources to conduct studies on Sil-Hak” and “the institute will continue to endeavor at systemizing Tasan’s idea of Sil-Hak from a modern perspective and to connect Sil-Hak studies with the contemporary society and the world.”