Professor James Grayson – Professor of Modern Korean Studies and Director of Centre for Korean Studies, Sheffield University Ch’udo yebae: a Protestant substitute for Confucian ancestral rituals Abstract: An early resolution of a conflict of values is necessary if a missionary religion is to find acceptance in the culture of the receiving society. In East … [Read More]
LKL articles by Philip Gowman (page 196)
Dec 07 BAKS conference report #4: James B. Lewis
Dr James B. Lewis – University Lecturer in Korean History, Oxford University Korean expansion and decline from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century: a view suggested by Adam Smith Abstract: The first price runs for Korean rice help us develop a Smithian physiocratic model to explain the low, stable prices of the eighteenth century and … [Read More]
Dec 07 BAKS conference report #3: Peter Kornicki
Professor Peter Kornicki – Professor of East Asian Studies, University of Cambridge Publishing and translation in the Chosŏn period Abstract: Korea is famous in the global history of printing not only for the concrete evidence of printing in the eighth century found at the Bulguksa but also for the development and use of movable type … [Read More]
Dec 07 BAKS conference report #2: Anders Karlsson
Dr Anders Karlsson – Lecturer in Korean, SOAS Royal benevolence and disaster relief in Choson Korea No abstract is available Notes (the usual caveats about my amateur efforts apply) AK started with a brief account of the severe floods in Pyongan province in 1859. The records indicate that the central government sent an “admonishing magistrate” … [Read More]
Dec 07 BAKS conference report #1: Martina Deuchler
Professor Martina Deuchler – Professor of Korean Emerita & Professorial Research Associate, SOAS The social in society: some reflections on the meaning of descent groups in Korean history Abstract: The presentation will focus on the history of what I call the Korean “descent group” (ssijok) and trace its evolution from early Korea (Silla and Koryŏ, … [Read More]
The Korea Yearbook 2007
First, to note the publication of the 2007 Year Book, and to draw your attention to the call for papers for the 2008 Year Book. Articles in the 2007 yearbook deal with online grassroots journalism and participatory democracy, the Lone Star scandal, changing perceptions of inward direct investment, the impact of China’s economic ascendance, modern … [Read More]
Seasonal gift ideas
As there are only 3 weeks left, here are some thoughts for solving some of your gift dilemmas: Book ideas James Church’s second novel in the Inspector O series: Hidden Moon. The first one was a corker. The second one: a bank robbery in Pyongyang, in broad daylight, by men in silk stockings? A lively … [Read More]
Us and Them in Kenkanryu
Wednesday’s talk on the Japanese manga Kenkanryu was packed to overflowing — a strong contrast with the generally much sparser attendance at the Centre for Korean Studies seminars. Whether that’s a reflection of the greater number of people enrolled in Japanese Studies courses, or the popular culture subject matter I don’t know. In these few … [Read More]
December events 2007
In the run up to the festive season we have the following events: Visual arts / crafts Sung Hwan Kim continues showing at the Wilkinson Gallery project space, a short stroll from Bethnal Green Tube Arcadia continues at I-MYU The Korean Contemporary Arts show returns to the Jerwood space, 171 Union Street London SE1 0LN, … [Read More]
Thank goodness for that
I’m not sure what audience BBC World TV is aimed at, and I’m not sure that the BBC know either, which is why it is so bland. And because the channel is done on a budget, the programmes are in part funded by advertisements, and the content is padded out by trailers and is endlessly … [Read More]
Mime at Barton Green with Ko Jae-kyung
It was a cold and frosty evening in New Malden (1). But inside the Barton Green Theatre it was warm and cosy. From the outside, the building looks like a cricket pavilion, but if so the green itself would not be large enough for a proper game. Inside it’s a small, welcoming community theatre, with … [Read More]
Suicide Notes – a brief review of Kim Young-ha’s I Have the Right to Destroy Myself
Kim Young-ha: I have the right to destroy myself Originally published 1996 Translation by Kim Chi-young, Harcourt, 2007 An entertaining book to read, but somehow difficult to distill and digest. The narrator, who makes a macabre living as a self-employed suicide counselor, bizarrely seeks out clients whose exits he facilitates. A small and eccentric cast … [Read More]
Book review: Brother One Cell
Cullen Thomas: Brother One Cell — Coming of Age in South Korea’s Prisons Pan Books, 2007 A “powerful, harrowing and moving memoir”, proclaims the blurb on the back. “A Korean tear in the muscle round the ribs, a Korean hernia…” reads the selective quote. The cover design, a Getty image of hands grasping prison bars, … [Read More]
Coming soon: LKL albums of the year
Fed up with mediocre K-pop acts being showered with awards? December is the month when LKL critics, and hopefully readers as well, will be awarding prestigious accolades to Korean musicians based on their artistic merit rather than the skills of their choreographers, publicity managers and plastic surgeons. LKL Critics’ Choice A couple of months ago … [Read More]
Concert notes: Choi Jin at SOAS
Concerts at SOAS always seem to have a good turn-out. Monday (19 November) was no exception when Choi Jin and colleagues presented a programme of modern compositions and arrangements of music for traditional Korean instruments. Keith Howard provided some informative introductions to the music to be performed, which provided useful context as well as some … [Read More]
Technology in the wrong hands – a review of Robert A Kaiser’s Project Yellow Sky
Robert A Kaiser: Project Yellow Sky — A Korean Conspiracy (Authorhouse, November 2006) Those who visit websites with Korea-related content may have come across advertisements for this book in the Google Ads panel. A topical thriller, about the North Koreans trying to steal nuclear secrets… it must be worth putting in the suitcase for a … [Read More]