London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Dec 07 BAKS conference report #6: Owen Miller

Dr Owen Miller – Research Fellow, Centre for Korean Studies, SOAS The crisis of Seoul’s traditional commercial system, 1876-1895 Abstract: The guild system of late Chosŏn Seoul and the guild-government trade underpinned the commerce of the capital city and represented a significant slice of national commerce as a whole. This premodern commercial system rested on … [Read More]

Dec 07 BAKS conference report #5: James Grayson

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]

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 Chosŏn 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]

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]

The Japanese anti-Korean wave, at SOAS

Although this is a bit last minute, readers might be interested in tomorrow’s Japan Research Centre Seminar, which concerns the nationalist manga phenomenon ‘Kenkanryu’ and the so-called ‘Anti-Korean Wave’ in Japan. Wednesday 28 November, 5pm, SOAS main buildings G51 “Surfing the neo-nationalist wave: a case study of the manga Kenkanryu” Dr Nicola Liscutin (Birkbeck College) [Read More]

Leonid Petrov at Chatham House

Korea Discussion Group Thursday 6th December 2007 “Squaring the Circle in North Korea: Pyongyang Strives for “Economic Miracle” (Domestic Politics and Socio-Economic Realities) Speaker: Leonid Petrov Lunch: 12.30-1.00 (£10.00 charge) Meeting: 1.00-2.00pm Film Screening: 2.15 — 4.15pm Chair: Jim Hoare The talk will draw heavily on the findings of a recent visit to the DPRK … [Read More]

Call for papers – 2008 BAKS conference

Call for Papers: The 2008 Conference of the British Association of Korean Studies The next conference of the British Association of Korean Studies (BAKS) will take place between the 8th and 10th of September 2008. The venue will be Clare College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. The theme of the proceedings will be “The Koreas … [Read More]

Conference news: Social and Cultural Change in late pre-modern Korea

A one-day conference at the British Academy organised in collaboration with the British Association for Korean Studies Convenors: Professor Peter Kornicki, FBA – Professor of East Asian Studies, University of Cambridge Professor James H. Grayson – Professor of Modern Korean Studies, University of Sheffield Friday 7 December 2007 9.30am – 5.00pm The British Academy, 10 … [Read More]

Amnesty International spotlights Comfort Women issue

Just received Comfort Women: Still waiting for justice after 62 Years 13 November 2007 at 7pm Amnesty International UK | Human Rights Action Centre | 17-25 New Inn Yard | London EC2A 3EA Entry Free but booking essential at www.amnesty.org.uk/events Please note doors will close at 7pm and no latecomers will be admitted Gil Won … [Read More]

Event news: a one-week course on Asian Contemporary Art

Designed to coincide with Asian Art in London, there’s an intensive five-day course at SOAS, University of London, focusing on Asian Contemporary Art. Well worth exploring if you have the opportunity: Asia Contemporary 5th — 9th November 2007 Course includes: Lectures and seminars by leading experts and working artists Visits to galleries and auction houses … [Read More]

October talks at Chatham House

Two talks at the Korea Discussion Group at Chatham House in October. Firstly: The Six-Party Talks & the Future of the Korean Peninsula Yuri Kim Monday 15th October 2007 Meeting: 2.00-4.00pm Chair: Jim Hoare Yuri Kim is chief of the DPRK (North Korea) Affairs Division at the U.S. Department of State. Her portfolio covers the … [Read More]