Dr. Woo Woontack from KAIST’s Graduate School of Culture Technology is set to give a lecture at the Korean Cultural Centre UK, focusing on a visionary metaverse platform that transcends the limitations of time and space. In collaboration with leading global art institutions, this future-oriented platform will allow citizens from around the world to engage … [Read More]
Category: Technology
SOAS seminar: An Atomic Age Unleashed
This presentation explores the common culture of Cold War scientism and atomic developmentalism in early North and South Korea. While tens of thousands of Koreans were subject to the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, early peninsular analysis of the bombings rarely grappled with the existence of these individuals. The general exclusion of colonial subjects … [Read More]
Experience the latest in Korean VR and media at The Oulim
I never thought I would find myself saying that the best thing at an event was the K-pop videos, but there’s a first time for everything. Let’s rephrase that. The K-pop videos were the most understandable items in the event, and they were also enjoyable: what’s not to like about good-looking performers showing off their … [Read More]
SOAS seminar: Geospatial Mapping in DPRK Human Rights Monitoring
The first SOAS Friday evening seminar of 2020. A version of this talk will also be presented the previous day at the human rights seminar at City University of London. Geospatial Mapping in North Korean Human Rights Monitoring Dr Sarah Son (Sheffield University) 17 January 2020, 5:00 – 7:00 pm SOAS | Paul Webley Wing … [Read More]
The Duke of York’s visit to Korea
HRH Prince Andrew paid a visit to Korea last week, and as part of his visit retraced the footsteps of his mother’s state visit twenty years ago. He arrived on 12 May and his first engagement was a reception hosted by the ambassador HE Simon Smith: https://twitter.com/TheDukeOfYork/status/1127907416526458885 The next day, after giving a welcome speech … [Read More]
2019 LSE SU Korea Future Forum: Progression or Regression?
This year’s Korea Future Forum looks particularly interesting for the two keynote addresses, especially prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun. Full speaker details and more on the conference’s website and Facebook page. 2019 LSE SU Korea Future Forum Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE Saturday 2 March 2019, 9:30 AM – 5:20 PM Tickets £40 (students £20) | Buy … [Read More]
Javier Cha on the uses of digitised historical data
Last night at SOAS there was a choice of two early evening events to start the weekend. I only heard about the appearance of South Korean queer artist and activist Heezy Yang (aka Hurricane Kimchi) two hours before the event, and I had already prepared myself mentally for the Centre of Korean Studies seminar on … [Read More]
Korea’s Economy in Transition – a report from the recent evening at Asia House
Sometimes, when you go along to an evening talk, you are looking forward to the networking rather than the substance of what the speakers will be saying. Perhaps you think you won’t learn much, and you’re going along out of a vague sense of duty, because other people will expect you to be there. Well, … [Read More]
Brighten up your hangeul typeface
Bored with the default hangeul font on your PC? The Korea Blog has a brief article on hangeul as compared with other scripts, explaining some of the difficulties with hangeul typography. But best of all, they provide a couple of links where you can download hangeul fonts for free: Naver’s Nanum font collection (4 varieties) … [Read More]
A visit to the British Museum’s Samsung Digital Discovery Centre
“There are few museums in the world who are doing work with young people on the scale we are doing:” Shouvik Datta discovers how Samsung is helping the British Museum to engage with a younger audience. I was recently checking the website of the British Museum, when I came across with interest and surprise the … [Read More]
Expo visit: YG v CJ, and PSY everywhere, at Billingsate
Day 1 of the Korea Branding and Entertainment Expo, coinciding with President Park’s State Visit, was very much business-focused, with fashion and contents buyers browsing the many stalls. Day 2 was given over to the visual arts and musical entertainments. Downstairs, in the spectacular vaulted basement, was a huge exhibition of video art, celebrating the … [Read More]
Korean Naval Firepower Part 2 – Koryo and Columbus
Choe Museon was not the inventor of heavy artillery, although he made many innovative variations of the concept. Why did other countries not simply take their cannons and heavy firearms with them on board their ships? The problem with a wooden ship is, if its displacement is sufficiently small, the recoil of a heavy weapon … [Read More]
South Korea “Second most innovative country” – Bloomberg
Does it surprise you that South Korea ranks 2nd only to the USA in Bloomberg’s Global Innovation Index? Here is how the country ranked in the determining factors: R&D intensity: 5th | Productivity: 32nd | High-tech density: 3rd | Researcher concentration: 8th | Manufacturing capability: 3rd | Tertiary efficiency: 4th | Patent activity: 1st Definitions … [Read More]
Yonsei scientists zap cancer cells with magnets
This looks like an exciting development in cancer research from South Korea. “We have developed magnetic nanoparticles that turn on apoptosis cell signalling by using a magnetic field in a remote and non-invasive manner,” says Jinwoo Cheon and his Yonsei University team in the introduction to their article published in Nature Materials. “Apoptosis, also known … [Read More]
Japanese app offers fluffy solution to Dokdo issue
You can claim Dokdo for Korea in a free mobile phone app, in which 독도 토끼 swims across the East Sea to get there before his Japanese equivalent. You can play Takeshima Struggle (yes, it’s a Japanese app) on a Samsung Galaxy S, but not on an iPhone: it’s Android only. Source / further info: … [Read More]
Korean technology on display in Harrods
KOTRA has sponsored a window display in Harrods during the course of the Olympics, showcasing the latest Korean technology. Samsung, Hyundai and others are included. Love the little robots. [Read More]