Before I get into the article proper, can I ask of you who are reading this: are you a member of the Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch? If not, why not? If you read LKL, you should should definitely join the RASKB, whether you happen to live in Korea or not. Why? For starters, you’ll […]
Category: Joseon Dynasty
Some non-fiction titles we can’t wait to read in 2020 [updated]
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Outside of the wide range of upcoming literature and fiction titles, there’s plenty of non-fiction to look forward to as well. I’ve already highlighted three titles on Korean film which look worth exploring, and here’s the remainder of my 2020 reading longlist (which includes some titles from very late in 2019), split between (1) Books […]
SOAS seminar – Small China concept in the T’aengniji by Yi Chung-hwan
The last SOAS seminar before Brexit… The Small China concept in the “T’aengniji” by Yi Chung-hwan (1690-1756?) Dr Nataliya Chesnokova (National Research University Higher School of Economics) 31 January 2020, 5:15 – 7:00 PM Paul Webley Wing (Senate House), Alumni Lecture Theatre, SOAS Free | Registration link on SOAS website Abstract The late Chosǒn period […]
The World’s First ‘Active’ Greenhouse
The greenhouse is an ancient invention, dating back 2,200 years. Modern ‘active’ greenhouses are distinguished from older ‘passive’ ones by the fact that they allow for the adjustment of air and soil temperature. Previously, the first such greenhouses were believed to have been built in Germany in 1619, using a stove to regulate air temperature, […]
Samuel Hawley’s Imjin War comes to YouTube
One of my most enjoyable reads so far this year has been Samuel Hawley’s Imjin War, originally published in 2005. At 664 pages long it might seem a bit intimidating, but in my view it could probably be twice as long and still be as gripping. But for those who like their history in nibble-sized […]
Nine Confucian academies listed at UNESCO
For visitors to Korea (such as myself) who like to try to get round all the UNESCO-listed world heritage sites, the list just got longer. On Saturday 6 July, the World Heritage Committee included nine Seowon, or Neo-Confucian Academies, in the list. The nine seowon are dotted around the central and southern parts of the […]
Brief review: Samuel Hawley — The Imjin War
Samuel Hawley: The Imjin War – Japan’s Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China 2nd Edition, Conquistador Press 2014 Originally published by Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch, Seoul, 2005 How is it that a 664 page book only merits a brief review? Well, because as an historical book a proper review should only […]
2018 travel diary 4 – Gayasa and the tomb of Namyeon-gun
Yesan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 11 November 2018. In the first half of the 19th century, although the Yi family was on the throne, much of the power in the land was actually wielded by the Andong Kim family who had intermarried with the royal family. One member of the royal family, Yi Ha-eung, resorted to rather unusual […]
SOAS seminar: The Re-Organization of the Rural Economy in Modern Korea
The first, and possibly only, seminar of the new term: Empire by Association: The Re-Organization of the Rural Economy in Modern Korea, 1870-1945 Dr Holly Stephens (University of Edinburgh) Friday 26 April 2019, 5:15 – 7:00pm SOAS Brunei Gallery Room B104 | Registration required via SOAS website Abstract The late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries were a […]
SOAS seminar: Remembering a dissident Confucian Monk
This is a seminar I’m particularly looking forward to, as I’ve been interested in the story of King Danjong since I came across the burial site of his placenta a few years ago. Remembering a dissident Confucian Monk: How Kim Sisŭp became Sŏlcham, and Sŏlcham the Boyi of Korea Dr Dennis Wuerthner (Ruhr-University Bochum) Friday […]
Eleanor Hyun on Korean Munbangdo Paintings (OCS members + guests)
A special lecture given by the BM’s Eleanor Hyun for the Oriental Ceramics Society: Picturing Possession: Korean Munbangdo Paintings A lecture by Dr. Eleanor Soo-ah Hyun, curator of Korean collections at the BM Tuesday 12th February: The annual Sonia Lightfoot Memorial Lecture 5:45 for 6:15 pm with welcome drinks sponsored by Woolley & Wallis Society […]
Carlo Rossetti’s photographs as social and historical narratives
Continuing this term’s series of seminars at SOAS: Carlo Rossetti’s photographs as social and historical narratives about Korea at the beginning of the 20th century Assistant Professor Giuseppina De Nicola (Sapienza University of Rome) 1 February 2019, 5:15 – 7:00 PM SOAS, Brunei Gallery Room: B104 | Online Registration required Abstract Italy first established its […]
Kingdom of Pines: State Forestry and the Making of Korea, 1392-1910
Part of the Autumn 2018 season of seminars at SOAS: Kingdom of Pines: State Forestry and the Making of Korea, 1392-1910 John Lee (Manchester) Friday 23 November 2018, 5:15 – 7:00pm SOAS Brunei Gallery Room B211 Abstract For almost every society before the twentieth century, the forest ecosystem was the main source of fuel, construction […]
Yi Han-eung remembered at BKS Seollal celebration
The British Korean Society gathered on the newly refurbished top floor of the South Korean embassy yesterday for a belated celebration of Seollal, courtesy of the Deputy Head of Mission, Minister Sun Nahmkook. Apart from the generous buffet, a splendid selection of innovative cocktails and the opportunity to socialise, the highlight of the evening was […]
Seminar: Yeoju and King Sejong the Great
Late notice of a seminar about the achievements of King Sejong, and about the city of Yeoju. Yeoju has a special association with Sejong – among other things he is buried there. The seminar will be conducted by the vice-mayor of Yeoju at the Korean Cultural Centre UK. Please RSVP under this Facebook post if […]
Book review: Frontier Contact Between Chosŏn Korea and Tokugawa Japan
James B. Lewis: Frontier Contact Between Chosŏn Korea and Tokugawa Japan Routledge, 2003, 340pp What a relief to return to some non-fiction. And although at LKL we are wholly unqualified to review academic works, we don’t mind saying why we it is that we like a particular book. Frontier Contact paints a fascinating picture of […]
The world’s first newspaper?
“Why did no one inform me that this was being made?” said King Seonjo (r. 1567–1608) on 28 November 1577. Concerned “that information about the court could potentially be circulated to wider circles in the elite” the king exiled the people responsible for the news-sheet. Jieun Choi of Korea Exposé has the fascinating story. Kim […]