Historical

Raindrops over Joseon – Sejong’s Cheugugi

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by Matthew Jackson on 22 October, 2011

in Historical | Joseon Dynasty | Technology

King Sejong is most famous for the creation of the Korean alphabet, Hangul, which remains in use today. His whole career as king was underpinned by the philosophy that a king must serve his people, and this philosophy gave rise to many advances in science and culture that benefited the people of Korea. One less [...]

Tagged as: Korea's Treasures

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Is there a doctor in the peninsula? – Heo Jun and the Donguibogam medical textbook

by Matthew Jackson 26 August 2011
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Known as one of the greatest books in the history of Eastern medicine, the Donguibogam was composed by Heo Jun, a court physician in the early 17th century, and is today included as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Despite the huge advances in medicine since that time, it is still referred to by doctors [...]

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Rediscovering the Lost Kingdom of Baekche

by Matthew Jackson 3 August 2011
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History, according to the saying, is written by the victors. The unification of the three kingdoms of Korea under Silla in 668 AD solved the problem of constant war in the peninsula, but created a significant problem for modern day historians, in that very little of the culture and heritage of Baekche (BC 18~AD 660) [...]

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The Changdeokgung’s Injeong Hall – Welcome to the Rock Show!

by Matthew Jackson 20 July 2011
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When I visited Changdeok Palace in Seoul, my attention was naturally focussed mainly on the buildings themselves. One of these buildings is the Injeong Hall (Injeongjeon), which was used for important celebrations and ceremonies. The unassuming forecourt one walks through to enter the hall was been designed with great care, but for the unsuspecting observer [...]

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The Life and Teachings of Master Wonhyo

by Matthew Jackson 13 June 2011
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The life of Master Wonhyo (617-686 A.D.) is a typical Korean paradox. He was a scholar who composed over 100 works on Buddhist philosophy, whose influence in scholarship and teaching was felt in China and other surrounding countries. He is acknowledged today as the foremost figure in the history of Korean Buddhism. And yet, many [...]

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Korea in the mid-fifties – historic slides

by Philip Gowman 25 March 2011
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Two upcoming opportunities to see historic photographs of the Korean peninsula in the 1950s. First, courtesy of the Anglo Korean Society, photos of South Korea at the KCC. Details below. Watch this space for photos of North Korea at SOAS in May. KOREA IN THE MID-FIFTIES – HISTORIC SLIDES A talk and slide show by [...]

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Three Korean traditions named world treasures

by Philip Gowman 21 November 2010
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Three Korean traditions named world treasures: gagok (lyrical songs), daemokjang (wooden architectural craftsmanship) and maesanyang and (falcon hunting). That UNESCO list keeps getting longer! http://bit.ly/9Ia99y #

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BAKS Symposium: ‘Reflections on War and Peace: Sixty Years after the Korean War’

by Philip Gowman 23 October 2010
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The British Association for Korean Studies announce their 2010 symposium at Asia House: ‘Reflections on War and Peace: Sixty Years after the Korean War’ Asia House, London Saturday 20 November 2010 10:00 Opening Ceremony: Emeritus Prof. James H. Grayson, President of BAKS HE Dr Choo Kyu-Hoo, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, ’60 Years [...]

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Five Royal Tombs. Destination: Seooreung (Goyang)

by Chris Backe 30 August 2010
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A few days ago LKL wrote about a Silla dynasty royal tomb in Sancheong County: the Last King of Kaya. Power K-blogger Chris Backe reports on a visit to five Joseon dynasty royal tombs in Goyang Just across the Seoul border rest some once-royal dead people. UNESCO certified as being significant to world culture, these [...]

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The Last King of Kaya

by Philip Gowman 27 August 2010
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Korea is rightly proud of its heritage, and submits the most select elements of its long history to UNESCO for inscribing in the list of important world heritage items. One of the most recent items to have been so listed is the Joseon Dynasty Royal Tombs. They are beautifully peaceful places to visit. Perfectly manicured [...]

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Remembering the Battle of the Imjin at the KCC

by Philip Gowman 28 July 2010
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“I’ve met Tom Cruise, and now I’ve met Sam Mercer. And when I met Sam I was truly star-struck. The man’s a legend.” So said a member of the audience at the Korean Cultural Centre after an instructive talk by Andrew Salmon on the battle of the Imjin on 15 July. Sam Mercer was sitting [...]

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Heo Jun and Sancheong’s herbal heritage

by Philip Gowman 12 July 2010
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Thursday 6 May 2010. The mayor hurries off for an appointment: not only is the Sancheong Medicinal Herb Festival in full swing, but elections are approaching in a month’s time. In fact I’m amazed he has found time to meet with this foreign blogger at all. He leaves the rest of us to finish the [...]

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To the Last Round: Andrew Salmon to talk about the Imjin Battle

by Philip Gowman 2 July 2010
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News of a topical talk to be given at the KCC on 15 July. To the Last Round: The Epic British Stand on the Imjin River, Korea, 1951 By Andrew Salmon Date & Time: Thursday, 15th July 2010 6.30pm Venue: Multi-purpose Hall, Korean Cultural Centre UK Email to info@kccuk.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7004 2600 [...]

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2010 Travel Diary #17: The Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation

by Philip Gowman 19 June 2010
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Tuesday 4 May 2010. As part of my trip to Korea, I wanted to understand more about the way in which Korea goes about preserving its ancient culture and presents it for modern audiences. Is it possible to market traditional culture to foreigners as a theme for tourism? How is it possible to market traditional [...]

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Double entry, poison and murder: historical sources examined at SOAS

by Philip Gowman 17 June 2010
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LKL reports from the 21 May conference at SOAS – Historians, clerks and accountants: Methodological issues in the use of sources on Chosŏn History. The one-day seminar at SOAS examined the value and danger of using alternative historical sources. The types of sources discussed ranged from family and guild accounting records, via personal travelogues, ancient [...]

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Historians, clerks and accountants: Methodological issues in the use of sources on Chosŏn History

by Philip Gowman 20 May 2010
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News of a one-day workshop at SOAS this Friday. Historians, clerks and accountants: Methodological issues in the use of sources on Chosŏn History Date: 21 May 2010 Time: 10:00 AM Room: 4421 [4th floor Russell Square: College Buildings, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG] Type of Event: Workshop The aim of this workshop is to discuss [...]

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The Korean War – a special interest weekend in Oxford

by Philip Gowman 9 April 2010
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Details of an interesting couple of days next weekend at Christ Church, in an event organised by Holt Tours. Wish I’d known about it earlier. Special Interest Weekend Christ Church, Oxford 15th April – 18th April 2010 The Korean War was fought 60 years ago, and next year will be the anniversary of the Chinese [...]

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Korean Soldiers in the Japanese Army – talk at the Senate House

by Philip Gowman 23 February 2010
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The Comparative Histories of Asia Seminar is pleased to present: Global Japan Series: Professor Takashi Fujitani, University of California, San Diego ‘Korean Soldiers in the Japanese Amy: Some Reflections on Inclusionary or Polite Racism in WWII’ Thursday 25 February 2010, 5:30-7pm Room G37, South Block, Senate House Building, University of London All welcome.

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Two Korea-related talks at the Senate House

by Philip Gowman 26 January 2010
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News of two upcoming Korea-related seminars in the Comparative Histories of Asia Seminar hosted by the Institute of Historical Research at Senate House, University of London. Thursday 28th January, 5.30pm Dr Owen Miller (Cambridge / SOAS) “The Idea of Stagnation in Korean History from Fukuda Tokuzo to the New Right” Thursday 25 February, 5.30pm Professor [...]

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Kim Jeong-ho’s Daedong Yeojido online

by Philip Gowman 25 January 2010
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Amazingly detailed 1861 pictorial map of the Korean peninsula available online. Well worth a look. # The Daedong yeojido was produced by the great Korean geographer Kim Jeong-ho. The map is at a scale of about 1:162,000 and is a wood block print that includes two inset maps of Seoul, texts and diagrams. The map [...]

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A belated look back at 2009

by Philip Gowman 9 January 2010
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For the past 3 years LKL has concocted a quiz of the year as a way of gathering together some of the news stories which have most caught our eye. This year, as I came to draw up the list in mid December I found it hard to think of anything amusing or diverting: most [...]

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