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]
Category: Silla
Some non-fiction titles we can’t wait to read in 2020 [updated]
![Thumbnail for post: Some non-fiction titles we can’t wait to read in 2020 [updated]](https://i0.wp.com/londonkoreanlinks.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/non-fiction.jpg?resize=120%2C120&ssl=1)
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 … [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 7: A King, two generals and a gisaeng
Sancheong-gun, Thursday 4 June Having over-indulged the previous evening, I didn’t sleep well. Although I had set the alarm to wake me up for my early morning hike, I didn’t really need it. I get up at 6am, and Kyung-sook emerges from the other room soon afterwards. We are shortly on our way along the … [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 4: the Danoje rituals on Daegwallyeong ridge
Gangneung, Monday 1 June. I turn up at the Chilsadang, Gangneung’s elegant Joseon dynasty town hall building, at 8:30, backpack stuffed with camera equipment, bottled water and snacks to see me through the day. Ten days earlier at the same spot there had been a ceremony which launches the whole Dano month: a ritual called … [Read More]
The Art of Printing: Korea’s Evolving Printing Types
Organised to coincide with the London Book Fair, this exhibition at the KCC is curated by the Korean Publishers Association: The Art of Printing: Korea’s Evolving Printing Types Exhibition Dates: 07 April 2014 – 14 June 2014 Venue: Korean Cultural Centre UK The World’s Oldest Wooden and Metal Printing Technologies – Korea’s Printing Culture presented … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Lotions and potions in old Joseon
The current exhibition at the KCC gives us an historical overview of the methods used by Korean womanhood to beautify themselves. Clearly it’s not possible to exhibit the original ancient cosmetics themselves, but the containers used to store them have survived: from Silla and Baekje kingdom earthenware powder bowls and oil jars, via beautifully inlaid … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary #19: Beopgyesa Temple and those Japanese feng-shui stakes
Beopgyesa Temple (법게사) is the highest in Sancheong County and at least the third-highest in Korea. The good people of Sancheong believe that Beopgyesa is the highest temple in South Korea, a claim which is supported by Beopgyesa’s entry on the Cultural Heritage Administration website, where the following text is to be found: “It is … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary #16: Silla pagodas, Korea’s first beautiful village, and Nammyeong’s tomb
Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Thursday 29 March 2012. Today is the day we start the ascent of Jirisan, but first there’s a couple of local sites of interest that I need to visit. First, the two Unified Silla dynasty stone pagodas, which are now the only remnants of Dansoksa, a temple built in the middle of the eighth … [Read More]
Reading the Heavens Part 1 – Two Millennia of Astronomy in Korea
To celebrate star-crossed lovers everywhere, Matthew Jackson starts a series of articles on Korean astronomy As we can tell from ancient monuments like the Dolmen stones and more recent buildings such as Cheomseongdae, astronomy was big in Korea. Why was this exactly? Reverence for nature was part of it, but it was in fact more … [Read More]
Archaeology study day in Cambridge
An interesting half day this Saturday, 4 February: Study Day on the Archaeology of Early States on the Korean Peninsula AT THE McDONALD INSTITUTE FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE SATURDAY 4TH FEBRUARY 2012 Organised by Professor Kim Jong-Il (Seoul National University and Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge) and Dr Simon Kaner (Sainsbury Institute … [Read More]
Buddha’s Voice – The Bell of King Seongdeok
People sometimes take a jaundiced view of Korea’s estimation of the importance of its cultural heritage. In the case of the Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok, however, it was foreigner, Dr. Otto Kummel, a director at the National Museum of Germany, who suggested that the museum’s description of the bell as ‘the best in Korea’, … [Read More]
Stargazing in Ancient Silla – the Cheomseongdae
Cheomseongdae, the world’s oldest surviving observatory, features a great deal in tourism material, and even if you haven’t been to Korea or the Gyeongju area, you will probably have seen it. You will also, if you are like me, have been somewhat underwhelmed by its rather modest appearance, which if anything does it less justice … [Read More]
The Life and Teachings of Master Wonhyo
The life of Master Wonhyo (617-686 A.D.) is a typical Korean paradox. He was a scholar who composed over 100 works on Buddhist philosophy, whose influence in scholarship and teaching was felt in China and other surrounding countries. He is acknowledged today as the foremost figure in the history of Korean Buddhism. And yet, many … [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]
Gyeongju rooftile in BBC History of the World
BBC's History of the World in 100 objects: a humble Silla Dynasty roof tile from Gyeongju is featured at number 49: http://bit.ly/bKaU1d #. From the British Museum’s permanent collection. [Read More]
Korean ceramic tea bowls and tea culture
Eunjung Shin continues her series on themes from the past, inspired by objects in the British Museum’s Korea Gallery. One thousand years ago, drinking tea was an important social activity in Buddhist Korea. After Buddhism was introduced from China in the 4th century it flourished up until the end of the Koryo dynasty (935-1392) in … [Read More]