SOAS University of London

Japan & Korea Section, Department of East Asian Languages & Culture

Japan and Korea Section Staff

Head of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Dr Griseldis Kirsch

Associate Head of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Dr Alan Cummings

Director of Learning and Teaching

Dr Grace Koh

Director of Research

Dr Nathan W. Hill

Director of Admissions and Marketing

Dr Alan Cummings (all DEALC UG programmes)

Undergraduate Programme Convenors

Dr Alan Cummings (BA Japanese, BA Japanese and XXX, BA East Asian Studies, BA East Asian Studies and XXX)

Dr Anders Karlsson (BA Korean, BA Korean and XXX)

Postgraduate Programme Convenors

Dr Owen Miller (MA Japanese Studies, MA Korean Studies, MA Chinese Studies)

Dr Barbara Pizziconi (MA . . .  and Intensive Japanese)

Dr Anders Karlsson MA ... and Intensive Korean)

Director of Doctoral Studies

Dr Xiaoning Lu

Please note that for Masters Students the Admissions Tutor and Academic Advisor is the Postgraduate Programme Convenor.

Academic Staff

Dr Akiko Furukawa
Reader in Japanese and Applied Linguistics (Education)
Akiko Furukawa
  • Tel: +44(0) 207 898 4233
  • Email: af15@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 383
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesday 2-3pm & Thursday 1-2pm
Dr Christopher Gerteis
Senior Lecturer in the History of Contemporary Japan
Christopher Gerteis

Modern and Contemporary Japanese history. Social and cultural history of the 20th century, especially the intersection of consumer capitalism and historical memory.

  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4093
  • Email: cg24@soas.ac.uk
  • Academic Support Hours: On leave 2019-2024
Dr Seiko Harumi
Lecturer in Japanese and Applied Linguistics (Education)
Seiko Harumi

Classroom discourse; classroom silence; pragmatics; translanguaging; conversation analysis; learner-centred reflective approaches in second language learning and language pedagogy

  • Tel: +44 (0)207 898 4274
  • Email: sh96@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 367
  • Academic Support Hours: Wednesday 4-5pm & Thursday 4-5pm
Dr Youkyung Ju
Lecturer in Korean Language (Education)
Dr Youkyung Ju
  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4220
  • Email: yj7@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 362
  • Academic Support Hours: On leave 2021/22
Dr Anders Karlsson
Senior Lecturer in Korean
Anders Karlsson
Korean language; literature and society; history of 19th century Korea
  • Tel: 020 7898 4265
  • Email: ak49@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 388
  • Academic Support Hours: On research leave: Term 2 of 2021/2022
Dr Griseldis Kirsch
Reader in Contemporary Japanese Culture
Griseldis Kirsch

Contemporary Japanese culture, with particular interest in Japanese media and popular culture, representations of 'Otherness', social phenomena and war memory.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4288
  • Email: gk10@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 377
  • Academic Support Hours: Tues 10-11am (on site) / Wed 11am-12 noon (online)
Dr Grace Koh
Lecturer in Korean Literature
Grace Koh

Korean and East Asian literary traditions (prose and fiction); literary and intellectual history; travel literature and cultural encounters; critical theory and comparative literature

  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4290
  • Email: gk5@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 385
  • Academic Support Hours: Wednesdays 10am-12noon (online)
Mrs Kyung Eun Lee
Lecturer in Korean and Applied Linguistics (Education)
Kyung Eun Lee

Korean language teaching

  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4267
  • Email: kl14@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 395
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesday 1.30-3pm / Email for an appointment
Dr Owen Miller
Lecturer in Korean Studies
Owen Miller

Modern Korean history and society; Korean historiography; social and economic history of 19th and 20th century Korea

  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4363
  • Email: om4@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 381
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesdays 2-4pm/and by appointment
Dr Barbara Pizziconi
Reader in Applied Japanese Linguistics
Barbara Pizziconi
Japanese applied linguistics; language teaching methodology; second language acquisition with emphasis on pragmatic aspects; linguistic politeness
Dr Natsuko Shibata Perera
Lecturer in Japanese and Language Acquistion (Education)
Natsuko Perera

Japanese language pedagogy and second language acquisition, especially interested in applied drama and sociocultural approach; bilingualism and translanguaging.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4236
  • Email: np43@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 387
  • Academic Support Hours: Mondays 3-4pm / Wednesdays 4-5pm
Dr Satona Suzuki
Lecturer in Japanese and Modern Japanese History (Education)
Satona Suzuki

Modern Japanese history; modernity, imperialism and militarism. Social and political issues of contemporary Japan.

  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4234
  • Email: ss116@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 390
  • Academic Support Hours: Mondays 4-5pm / Fridays 2-3pm
Mrs Kaori Taniguchi
Lecturer in Japanese (Education)
Kaori Taniguchi
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4331
  • Email: kt16@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 387
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesdays 2-4pm /Email for an appointment

Lectors

Teaching Fellows

Ms Yoshiko Jones
Yoshiko Jones

Ms Jones coordinates The Sir Peter Parker Awards for Spoken Business Japanese and Japanese Language Proficiency Test at the SOAS Japan Research Centre.

Research Fellows

Research Associates

Dr J E Hoare
Research Associate
J E Hoare

FCO Research Analysts (China, Japan and Korea) for 33 years. PhD from SOAS 1971 in Japanese history. Served in Seoul, Beijing and in 2001-2002, established the British Embassy in Pyongyang., Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Has taught Korean history at SOAS and currently teaches a course, “The Other Korea” on North Korea since 1945. Numerous publications, broadcasts etc.

Emeritus Staff

Professor Andrew Gerstle
Professor of Japanese Studies
Drew Gerstle
Japanese literature, drama and thought, primarily of the Tokugawa period, with particular interest in Bunraku and Kabuki theatre and the plays of Chikamatsu
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4207
  • Email: ag4@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 390
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesdays 1-2pm / Email for an appointment
Professor Stephen Dodd
Professor of Japanese Literature
Steve Dodd
Modern Japanese literature, with particular interest in gender/sexuality, Modernism and translation studies
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4216
  • Email: sd5@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 381
  • Academic Support Hours: Wednesdays 3-4pm (Term 2 only)
  • On Sabbatical:2018-2019 (Term 1)
Professor Jae Hoon Yeon
Professor of Korean Language and Linguistics
Yeon Jaehoon
Korean language and linguistics, especially morpho-syntax and linguistic typology; structure and history of Korean language; Korean language teaching and translation; modern Korean literature