Hi. I'm in East Asian Studies, and to be quite clear my response is... absolutely not.

People who work in East Asian Studies need to be fluent in multiple languages. I study X Topic which requires me to know the following...

• Modern Japanese

• Classical Japanese

• Korean

• French

• English

I also need to know some Chinese as well. This isn't know how to order food at a restaurant level, but actual full fluency except for French where being able to read journal articles is enough. You cannot just jump into this field without spending a significant portion of your life dedicated to these languages. You need to also live in the country you're studying, at least for a year or more, a few summers, and then visit regularly, for two weeks once or twice a year. If you have any ties or caretaker roles, you are expected to drop them to live overseas. If you don't do this, a student who grew up in CJK and already knows these languages, yes all of the ones I listed above, can and will take your place.

I also want to state that non-Asians/Asian-Americans who enter this field may not have grown up in Asia or visited there constantly as a kid, but they have a very deep love and passion for the region. I've been interested in the topic I do research in since childhood, yes childhood. I have an intimate understanding because I entered this subculture early and as a result can do research other people cannot do. To think you can just stroll in is fucking insulting. To think that of any field is absurd really, but I find it even more insulting with East Asian Studies due to the politics that led to this field being developed.

Feel free to read books or think you can self teach yourself CJK where you can compete with native speakers, but do not go for a second PhD. Maybe visit CJK every spring break or something instead.