Hands up, anyone who had actually heard of the Cairo Declaration before this SOAS conference designed to mark its 80th anniversary? I certainly hadn’t. Winston Churchill was in Cairo with a contingent of over 100 diplomatic and administrative staff, in late November 1943, where along with Chang Kai-shek and President Roosevelt they were starting to … [Read More]
Category: Periods > (page 2)
Conference: The Korean Independence Movement and the United Kingdom
To commemorate the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and the United Kingdom and the 80th anniversary of the Cairo Declaration, SOAS University of London and the National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government are jointly holding this international academic conference. Scholars from Korea and the UK will gather to engage … [Read More]
The Korean War: 70 Years On
Dr Grace Huxford reflects on the events and legacy of the Korean War 70 years since the conflict ended. On 27 July 1953, an armistice agreement was signed, bringing an end to the Korean War (1950-53). However, tensions on the Korean peninsula remained high and the legacies of the conflict continue to this day. In … [Read More]
Veterans of the Korean War – event at National Army Museum
Hear what it was like to serve in Korea from veterans of the conflict as they gather to mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice. The Korean War was one of the ‘hot wars’ of the Cold War era. Although largely forgotten today, its legacy continues to have a huge global impact. … [Read More]
Book talk: William Franklin Sands in Late Choson Korea – At the Deathbed of Empire, 1896-1904
William Franklin Sands was the highest-ranking foreign adviser in the Korean government in the twilight years of the Choson dynasty. His book, entitled Undiplomatic Memories, first published in 1930 and now nearly a century old, has been the seemingly definitive account of his life and career in Seoul. However, his Papers in the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary outside … [Read More]
Open rehearsal: What Are You Going To Do With Your One And Only Youth?
Based on the true story of Hoe-Young Lee, a Korean independence activist who fought against the Japanese colonial empire in the early 20th century, What Are You Going To Do With Your One And Only Youth is a rehearsed reading of a musical play. Performed by young English artists, British East and South East Asian … [Read More]
SOAS 2022 Autumn seminars
The Tradition of Commons: Two Magna Cartas of England and Korea Prof Hang-Nyeong Oh (Jeonju University) 18 November ‘Magna Carta’ was a charter approved by King John of England in 1215. And there was a constitution called the Great Compendium of Statecraft (經國大典) in Korea in 1485. Article 33 of Magna Carta stipulates that “In … [Read More]
SOAS seminar: Making “Aristocracy” of Koryŏ Dynasty
Since the early twentieth century there has been an ongoing discussion regarding the ruling class in Koryŏ dynasty (918-1392). This debate is very much related to the arguments about the development of Korean history. In this talk I will discuss how the debate defining Koryŏ’s ruling class as the aristocracy has developed since the 1960s. … [Read More]
Modern Korea Documentary: K-pop Genesis | K pop 창세기
Through this documentary, we review the history of Korean pop music in the 1980s, along with the stories of the teen musicians, who first experienced the changes in the 1990s when ‘music’ was changed to ‘music industry’. In the 1980s, the Korean music industry had a pattern of overworking musicians, and when profits were made … [Read More]
An Event to Meet and Honour Korean War Veterans
The British Korean Society, in collaboration with the National Army Museum, will hold an event on Thursday 5 May to show our appreciation of and to honour British veterans of the Korean War – and to hear something of their experiences. The doors will open at 18.00 for a 18.30 start at the National Army … [Read More]
Modern Korean history documentary double bill at the KCC
Korean Film Nights presents four episodes of the television documentary series Modern Korea 2, produced by the KBS television channel. Each episode uses footage selected from the vast KBS archives to create compilation narratives that look back at the social, political, and cultural themes that have marked Korea’s history over the decades. The footage and … [Read More]
Seminar: The Political and Social Role of Confucian Thoughts in Koryŏ Dynasty
How did bureaucrats as intellectuals ruling Koryŏ dynasty (918~1392 C.E.) shape their political thoughts to govern the country and what kinds of thoughts influenced them? This talk will try to find the answer. Koryŏ dynasty located on the Korean peninsula is generally regarded as a Buddhist society. Of course, people of Koryŏ dynasty lived their … [Read More]
Japanese Nativism and Its Colonial Legacy
Thanks to 앤서방 for drawing this interesting-looking talk to our attention: Japanese Nativism and Its Colonial Legacy: Imagining Divine Origins of the Korean Writing System Cambridge University East Asia Seminar Speaker: Dr Nuri Kim Monday 7 February 2022 – 5:30pm via Zoom | Register to attend In this talk, Dr. Kim traces how Japanese nativist … [Read More]
Cliff Richard in Seoul, 1969
OK, here goes… possibly LKL’s first ever Cliff Richard post. While searching for vintage Korean vinyl records sold in the UK on the Discogs record collectors website (they do crop up now and then, but if you’re a fan of Songolmae or Lee Mija, forget it: you’re too late!), I found this intriguing item – … [Read More]
BKS talk: A whistle-stop archaeology and history of Korea
The British Korean Society is hosting a talk on early Korean history and archaeology. Open to non-members. A whistle-stop archaeology and history of Korea: from the Palaeolithic to the Three Kingdoms Period Presentation by Hari Blackmore Hosted by Martin Uden – Chairman of the BKS Thursday 18th February 2021, 6.30pm Via Zoom | Register here … [Read More]
Book review: Yi In-hwa’s Everlasting Empire
Some time ago I watched Park Chong-wan’s 1995 historical mystery movie Eternal Empire on DVD, having purchased it on the strength of its inclusion in Darcy Paquet’s list of top films from the 1990s. I must have been tired when I watched it: I simply have no recollection of what I thought of it, though … [Read More]