London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

From Eternity to Eternity: Memoirs of a Korean Buddhist Nun [forthcoming]

From Eternity to Eternity is the story of Bulpil Sunim, arguably the most respected female Seon (Zen) master in Korea. Written with candor and an unpretentious sense of humor, her memoir provides both a fascinating record of her life and a deeply accessible window into Buddhist thought and spirituality. Describing and reflecting on her own experience … [Read More]

I Decided to Live as Me [forthcoming]

The million-copy Korean bestseller read by BTS’s Jungkook on Bon Voyage, the hit reality TV show following K-pop sensation BTS! Don’t be kind to those who aren’t kind to you. Remember that no one lives a perfect life. Don’t be swayed by what others say. Don’t try too hard to get along with everyone. As soon as … [Read More]

Koryŏsa: The History of Koryŏ, the Annals of the Kings, 918–1095

Among all the Korean dynasties, the Koryŏ dynasty (918-1392) was the first to have contact with the Western world. It was from these interactions that the current appellation of “Korea” was derived from the Koryŏ name. The Koryŏsa, or the History of Koryŏ, is one of the most significant historical texts on the Koryŏ Dynasty of the Korean … [Read More]

Comfort Women of the Japanese Empire: Colonial Rule and the Battle over Memory

This is an important and controversial book, hitherto available only in Korean, Japanese and Chinese, a book which has been subject to court cases attempting to have some parts of the book deleted. The author reconsiders the issue of the “comfort women”, that is the Korean women who were compelled to provide sexual comfort to … [Read More]

Song of Arirang: The Story of a Korean Rebel Revolutionary in China

Song of Arirang tells the true story of Korean revolutionary Kim San (Jang Jirak), who left colonized Korea as a teenager to fight against Japanese imperialism and fought alongside Mao’s Red Army during the Chinese Revolution. First published in 1941, this remarkably intimate memoir (as told to the American journalist Nym Wales aka Helen Foster … [Read More]

I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki

The sequel to the Sunday Times and international-bestselling South Korean therapy memoir, translated by International Booker Prize–shortlisted Anton Hur When Baek Sehee started recording her sessions with her psychiatrist, her hope was to create a reference for herself. She never imagined she would reach so many people, especially young people, with her reflections. I Want to Die but I … [Read More]

Passcode to the Third Floor: An Insider’s Account of Life Among North Korea’s Political Elite

Thae Yong-ho was a leading North Korean diplomat to the United Kingdom and Northern Europe—until his dramatic defection to South Korea in 2016. In this gripping tell-all, he reveals the inner workings of the North Korean regime and shares the story of his decision to leave. Thae spent nearly three decades working under three generations … [Read More]

A Gospel for Workers: Cho Chi Song, Yeongdeungpo Urban Industrial Mission, and Minjung

This book tells three overlapping stories: first, the life story of Rev. Cho Chi Song, a pioneer of urban and industrial missions, which served Korean society’s working population; second, the Urban Industrial Mission (UIM) in Korea, which Cho Chi Song pioneered; and third, the story of how UIM provided the roots for Korean Minjung Theology. … [Read More]

Korean Women Philosophers and the Ideal of a Female Sage: Essential Writings of Im Yungjidang and Gang Jeongildang

Korean Women Philosophers and the Ideal of a Female Sage introduces the lives and ideas of two female Korean Confucian philosophers from the late Joseon Dynasty (18th-19th century), Im Yunjidang (1721-1793) and Gang Jeongildang (1772-1832), examining how their writings contribute to contemporary philosophical inquiry. Both philosophers are known for arguing that women are as capable as … [Read More]

BTS on the Road

In just a decade since their debut in 2013, BTS has achieved remarkable impact beyond the music and entertainment activities of a K-pop group. They have succeeded in gaining interest and popularity as an icon of the contemporary global youth generation, not as fictional characters but as real people with Asian faces who are facing … [Read More]

Indeterminate Inflorescence

“Poetry is the restoration of the whole through details. Think of it as making a sketch of a face only briefly seen. Just as one puts together a shattered skull or an earthenware pot, poetry is the creation of the pieces that go in the spots where the original pieces are missing.” Indeterminate Inflorescence is a … [Read More]

Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS

THE FIRST EVER OFFICIAL BOOK: Published in celebration of BTS’s 10th Anniversary, stories that go beyond what you already know about BTS, including unreleased photos, QR codes of videos, and all album information. After taking their first step into the world on June 13, 2013, BTS will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut in … [Read More]

A Korean Confucian’s Advice on How to Be Moral: Tasan Chŏng Yagyong’s Reading of the Zhongyong

Tasan Chŏng Yagyong (1762–1836) is one of the most creative thinkers Korea has ever produced, one of the country’s first Christians, and a leading scholar in Confucian philosophy. Born in a staunchly Neo-Confucian society, in his early twenties he encountered writings by Catholic missionaries in China and was fascinated. However, when he later learned that … [Read More]

Voices of the Korean Comfort Women: History Rewritten from Memories

An innumerable number of young women were taken from Korea during the Pacific War to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers. These women including teenagers, euphemistically referred in Japanese documents as Comfort Women, were shipped to the vastly expanded battle fronts throughout the Japan-occupied territories covering from Northern China to Myanmar and to the South … [Read More]

The Master from Mountains and Fields: Prose Writings of Hwadam, Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk

The Master from Mountains and Fields is a fully annotated translation of the prose texts from the “collected works” of Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk (1489–1546), an influential Confucian scholar from the early Chosŏn period (1392-1910). A native of Songdo (also known as Kaesŏng) in present-day North Korea, Sŏ has loomed large in the Korean cultural imagination and appeared … [Read More]

The Letters of the Venerable Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop

An English version of the letters of Father Ga Gyeong-ja Choi Yang-eop (1821-1861), the seminarian colleague of the first Korean priest Sung Kim Dae-geon (1821-1846) and the second Korean priest. The Korean Church History Institute (Chairman: Bishop Son Hee-song, Director: Father Cho Han-geon) published the English version of the letters of Father Thomas Choi Yang-eop, … [Read More]