London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

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]

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]

Korea Update with the two ambassadors

Two British ambassadors will talk about their work, the UK’s current relations with the two Koreas, and current issues on the Peninsula. Colin Crooks became Ambassador to the Republic of Korea in 2022, having previously served as Ambassador in Pyongyang. He joined the FCO in 1992, and has had other postings to Beijing, Jakarta and … [Read More]

Overcoming Barriers: Korea in Translation

Brother Anthony (who has been publishing translations of Korean poetry and fiction since 1990) will begin by talking about some of the books by which Korea and its region first became known in centuries past, books that were translated from and into a variety of languages. He will then review the ways in which Korean … [Read More]

SOAS conference: The Real North Korea: in its Multiplicity of Origins, Dynamics, and Futures

Speakers: Andrei Lankov, Park Hyung-jung, Tatiana Gabroussenko, Balazs Szalontai, Kevin Gray, Charlotte Webb, Camilo Aguirre, Peter Ward This special one-day symposium on North Korea’s history, society and economy will be co-hosted by the SOAS Centre of Korean Studies and the AKS Korean Studies Laboratory: ‘The Real North Korea’. It will be an opportunity to hear … [Read More]

Conference: Art and Soft Power in the UK and South Korea

This conference examines the role and impact of Korean art and artefacts in the formulation of soft power and development of UK-South Korea relations. The conference questions how acquisitions and displays of Korean artefacts in museums in Korea and Britain are influenced by and in turn shape UK-South Korea public diplomacy and soft power agendas. … [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]

Seminar: Joseon Ryori versus Hansik

National food traditions are an important element of national identity and therefore they can be used as an effective instrument in a state’s cultural politics and the construction of its global image. Since the division of the Korean Peninsula into two independent states in 1948, Korean cuisine has developed in two separate directions. Today, two … [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]