Details of the below conference just arrived in my inbox – organised by SOAS Centre of Islamic Studies in collaboration with Salam Nuri, an Islamic NGO based in Korea. Muslims in Korea – Past, Present and Future Sunday 6 June 2021, 9am UK time (5pm Korea time) Online | Register via SOAS website Conference Schedule … [Read More]
Category: Foreigners in Korea
Foreigners, mainly Brits, in Korea
UK military develops plans for rescuing Brits
Apparently the MoD have been doing some contingency planning, and sent some top brass over to check out the lie of the land: Based on the information [Senior British military officers] collected, they are devising an evacuation plan for some 8,000 British civilians in South Korea (Chosun Ilbo). I suppose it was the responsible thing … [Read More]
Ambassador Hay talks to Korea Times
There’s a nice interview with Ambassador Hay in the Korea Times this week. In it, he gives us news about the UK participation in military exercises on the peninsula that had the North Koreans so riled (four Eurofighters will join in an aerial drill with Korean and US planes at Osan air base in Gyeonggi-do), … [Read More]
Looking back at 2015: Domestic news
Our final look back at 2015: mainly domestic news stories from South Korea. In the news After 62 years of adultery being a criminal offence in the ROK, the constitutional court decided to decriminalise it by a vote of 7 to 2. Four out of ten married Korean males heaved a sigh of relief and shares … [Read More]
Brother Anthony awarded honorary MBE
Congratulations to Brother Anthony of Taizé for his honorary MBE, awarded by ambassador Charles Hay on 2 December at the ambassador’s residence in Seoul. The official citation reads as follows… Brother Seon Jae AN For services to the Royal Asiatic Society and to furthering the study of English Literature in Korea. …but equally we all … [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 2: The Drawing hand | Seooreung | Tea Museum | Makgeolli at Kim Sakkat
Myeongdong, Seoul, 30 May. Two hours sleep on the plane, and only another two on my first night in Seoul, means that I’m groggy on Saturday morning. A quick session in the hotel gym doesn’t do much to remedy that. Coffee with The Drawing Hand My brain is gently kick-started by a coffee in the hotel lobby, … [Read More]
LSE lecture: Is the multicultural state a doomed project in South Korea?
The cynics will say that multiculturalism in South Korea consists of teaching foreigners how to make kimchi. The upcoming talk at SOAS will examine the matter in a bit more depth. Constructing the Multicultural States in South Korea & Japan: Chimera or Reality LSESU Korean Society Annual Lecture Series 31 January 2015, 14:00–16:00 Room 7.02, … [Read More]
Travelling the length of Korea by motorbike
For those who haven’t come across this yet: a project by some bold Kiwis to travel the length of the Korean peninsula, from Baekdusan to Hallsan, by motorbike. The journey took place this summer. Here’s a quick (12 minute) podcast they produced just after they crossed the DMZ into South Korea. and a video documentary … [Read More]
Local Foreigners’ Story: Souvenirs from Seoul Exhibition
An interesting exhibition coming up at Goldsmiths focusing on non-Koreans’ impressions of Seoul: ‘Local Foreigners’ Story’: Souvenirs from Seoul Today, we travel to countries all over the world with great ease. When we begin living outside our usual environment we become foreigners, engaging with our surroundings in new ways depending on where we are, but … [Read More]
John Stark’s shamanistic “Field Work” on show in Milan
John Stark, a British artist based in South Korea, currently has an exhibition in Milan. His paintings are based on his experiences travelling around many of the remote areas of South Korea and exploring the folk culture and landscape – particularly in Yeongyang County, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the site of Ilwol san (“The Haunted Mountain”), which is … [Read More]
A new trend in Korean-speaking Brits?
As an inspiration to the many British Koreaphiles out there who don’t speak the language, look no further than X-factor winners Little Mix. According to the Chosun Ilbo, a contestant performing a cover version of their song Wings on K-pop Star prompted them to release their own Korean version: Rather more proficient is 영국남자 or … [Read More]
Kahoidong gets a Royal Visitor
HRH the Duke of Gloucester has been in Seoul representing the Queen for the formalities which mark the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War ceasefire on 27 July. With Ambassador Wightman and the veterans minister Mark Francois he met with President Park Geun-hye, who said she was looking forward to her state visit to the … [Read More]
Ten years of The Marmot
There’s a nice feature on Robert Koehler of The Marmot’s Hole in the Joongang Ilbo (along with a couple of other bloggers too), marking 10 years of the blog’s existence. Here’s to the next ten. [Read More]
Happy 150th Birthday, James Scarth Gale
James Scarth Gale – missionary, translator, and one of the founders of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch – was born 150 years ago on 19 February 1863. His birthday has been marked by an upgraded Wikipedia page, a special page with photos on Brother Anthony’s site, and a memorial service at Yeondong Church (which … [Read More]
British diplomat on roller coaster ride with Kim Jong Un
According to Mother Jones, the mystery Westerner photographed with Kim Jong Un on a funfair ride in the Rungna People’s Pleasure Ground last week was Barnaby Jones, a diplomat with the British Embassy in Pyongyang. Sounds like a change from a normal day in the office. [Read More]
Clifford Chance to be the first foreign law firm in Korea?
UK law firm Clifford Chance is at the head of the pack as potentially the first foreign firm to get a Korean legal licence from the Ministry of Justice: http://t.co/HcQTKXDz [Read More]