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 Nathan W. Hill

Associate Head of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Dr Alan Cummings

Learning and Teaching Coordinator

Dr Rossella Ferrari

Research Coordinator

Dr Christopher Gerteis (term 1) 

Professor Drew Gerstle (terms 2-3)

Undergraduate Admissions Tutors

Dr Alan Cummings (BA Japanese, BA Japanese Studies, BA Korean, BA Korean Studies) 

Undergraduate Programme Convenors

Dr Alan Cummings (BA Japanese, BA Japanese Studies)

Professor Jae Hoon Yeon (BA Korean)

Dr Anders Karlsson (BA Korean Studies)

Postgraduate Programme Convenors

Professor Stephen Dodd (MA Japanese Literature, MA Japanese Studies, MA ...and Intensive Japanese)

Dr Grace Koh (MA Korean Studies, MA Korean Studies (Literature Pathway)

Dr Anders Karlsson MA ... and Intensive Korean)

Postgraduate Research Tutor

Dr Xiaoning Lu

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

Academic Staff

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 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
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: 020 7898 4093
  • Email: cg24@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 378
  • Academic Support Hours: On leave 2019-2024
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: Mondays 9am-10am /Thursdays 11am-1pm
Dr Griseldis Kirsch
Senior Lecturer 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: Thursdays 12noon-1pm & Fridays 11am-12noon
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: Friday 2-3pm (Term 1)
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: 408
  • On Sabbatical:Term 1 - 2018/19
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
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4225
  • Email: bp3@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 362
  • Academic Support Hours: Wednesdays 3-4pm
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
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4232
  • Email: jy1@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 384
  • Academic Support Hours: Fridays 3-5pm

Lectors

Dr Seiko Harumi
Senior Lector in Japanese
Seiko Harumi
  • Tel: +44(0) 207 898 4274
  • Email: sh96@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 367
  • Academic Support Hours: Mondays 3-4pm/Wednesdays 3-5pm
Dr Youkyung Ju
Senior Lector in Korean
Dr Youkyung Ju
  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4220
  • Email: yj7@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 362
  • Academic Support Hours: Mondays 2-3pm / Thursdays 3-4pm
Mrs Kyung Eun Lee
Senior Lector in Korean
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

Teaching Fellows

Dr Alan Cummings
Senior Teaching Fellow In Japanese
Alan Cummings
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4200
  • Email: ac50@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 391
  • Academic Support Hours: Term 1: Tuesday 1-3pm | Term 2: Tuesday 1-3pm
Ms Yoshiko Jones
Senior Teaching Fellow
Yoshiko Jones

Ms Jones is a Teaching Fellow within the Department of Financial and Management Studies and Department of the Languages and Cultures of Japan and Korea.

She also coordinates The Sir Peter Parker Awards for Spoken Business Japanese and Japanese Language Proficiency Test at SOAS Language Centre.

Dr Satona Suzuki
Senior Teaching Fellow in Japanese
Satona Suzuki
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4648
  • Email: ss116@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 390
  • Academic Support Hours: Monday 14:00-15:00; Tuesday 14:00-15:00

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