Last weekend’s free seminar at SOAS ranged from Silla dynasty lion dances to last month’s tour of Taiwan by BEAST, and from ancient Confucian ceremonial music to Samulnori and hip-hop via Trot. Juhae Gu introduced us to the dying musical form of Akkeuk (악극) – a form of stage musical using Trot music. It is … [Read More]
Category: Conference reports (page 5)
On Pyongyang University of Science and Technology
My time in Korea as a British English teacher was all spent in South Korea (or Republic of Korea). In the South, North Korea is a land no one talks about (although many still have family in) which became divided from the South as a result of the 1950-3 war. I decided to attend the … [Read More]
Are the six party talks a waste of time? Pyongyang won’t give up its nukes, says Choe Tae Bok
We all have our private thoughts on that question. The Chatham House talk this week (29 March) by Choe Tae Bok, Speaker of the North Korean Supreme People’s Assembly, was off the record, so I have not reported anything specific from the event. But given the timing of the visit, coinciding with the implementation of … [Read More]
The BKVA Annual Report 2010-11
Here is the text of the BKVA’s annual report, presented to the Anglo-Korean Society’s AGM yesterday. CHAIRMANS REPORT TO THE AGM OF THE ANGLO-KOREAN SOCIETY HELD AT THE KOREAN CULTURAL CENTRE ON TUESDAY 29 MARCH 2011 INTRODUCTION 1. I am pleased that I am able to attend this AGM to present the BKVA report for … [Read More]
Conference report: Korean War study day at Asia House
The 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 has given rise to a number of commemorative events this year. In November it was the turn of BAKS to present their own event at Asia House – an all-day seminar entitled Reflections on War and Peace: Sixty Years after the Korean War. … [Read More]
Korean art – two millennia of globalisation
“Why did it have to end so early?” asked a member of the audience at the conclusion of the British Museum’s study morning “Korea at the Crossroads” last weekend, 13 November. Strictly, the event had overrun by about five minutes, but you knew what she meant. More to the point would have been the question … [Read More]
Dr Yeon’s introduction to Korean
Not only am I lucky enough to be studying Korean for free at the Korean Cultural Centre in London, but I managed to obtain a ticket to a special lecture (again free) on the Korean Language by Dr Jaehoon Yeon, Senior Reader in Korean Language and Literature, SOAS, on Wednesday, 27th October 2010. The Centre … [Read More]
The Three Ambassadors: what next on the Korean peninsula?
For the second year running, the Anglo Korean Society organised a fascinating Korea update in the Houses of Parliament, provided by three ambassadors: Martin Uden and Peter Hughes, our representatives in Seoul and Pyongyang respectively, and Choo Kyu Ho, Seoul’s representative in London. Simon Hughes MP hosted at the event held on 8 July. Sir … [Read More]
An evening with Changrae Lee
LKL reports from the evening with Korean American author Changrae Lee, chaired by Erica Wagner, as part of the Asia House Festival of Asian Literature, 24 May 2010. The Asia House Festival of Asian Literature, now in its fifth year, for the first time included Korean representation this year. With such a title, you might … [Read More]
Double entry, poison and murder: historical sources examined at SOAS
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 … [Read More]
Korean missionaries: Protestant churches and their global vision
Saharial reports from the recent talk at the Korean Cultural Centre: Dr Kirsteen Kim (Theology at Leeds Trinity University College) Wednesday 31st March 2010 In the summer of 2007, a group of missionaries from the Saemmul Presbyterian Church, South Korea, were kidnapped by the Taliban, an incident that left 2 of their members dead and … [Read More]
Conference Report: Joseon Dynasty Court Painting
LKL reports from the one-day seminar on Joseon Dynasty Court Painting held at SOAS on 29 March 2010. Last year, SOAS in conjunction with the Academy of Korean Studies and the British Museum presented a one-day workshop on folk art. As a follow-up event, this year the workshop looked at work from the other end … [Read More]
Korean Adoptee Artists: Discourses of Migration, Exile and Transversality
Further details of Friday’s seminar at SOAS: Friday, March 19th, 5pm, room G50 (main building) Dr. Aino Rinhaug, University of Oslo Korean Adoptee Artists: Discourses of Migration, Exile and Transversality Abstract: In view of how the development of large-scale globalisation changes our perception of family structures, nationhood and sense of belonging, my presentation seeks to … [Read More]
The BKVA annual report 2009
With the kind permission of Colonel GM Gadd OBE, National Chairman of the British Korean Veterans Association, we reproduce here the annual report of the BKVA’s activities, as presented to the annual general meeting of the Anglo-Korean Society yesterday. CHAIRMANS REPORT TO THE AGM OF THE ANGLO-KOREAN SOCIETY HELD AT THE CULTURAL CENTRE, NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, … [Read More]
Cuisine, Colonialism and Cold War: Food in 20th Century Korea
This Friday’s lecture at SOAS looks like a must-see. See you all there. Friday, March 12th, 5pm, room G50 (main building) Dr. Katarzyna Cwiertka, Leiden University Cuisine, Colonialism and Cold War: Food in 20th Century Korea Abstract: In this talk, I will introduce my forthcoming book Cuisine, Colonialism and Cold War: Food and Eating in … [Read More]
Life as a banana – Korean adoptees speak at Cambridge
LKL reports from last Saturday’s half-day conference at Cambridge: “60 years of overseas Korean adoption and the Korean adoption issue”. What is it like to be yellow on the outside but white on the inside? Adoptees freely joke about the banana analogy. But simply being a white person in a yellow skin is only part … [Read More]