Centre of Korean Studies at SOAS University of London

Our Centre Chair says:

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all – students, CKS members, Visiting Scholars and others - to a new exciting academic session 2019/20. I am honoured to resume my role as Chair of the Centre of Korean Studies, a position I have held twice previously, 2004 to 2007 and 2009 to 2013. SOAS has one of the largest concentrations of Korean Studies scholars in Europe and offers a wide range of programmes and courses on Korea. With its active outreach programme and seminar series, our Centre not only coordinates Korea-related activities within the School, but also serves as a national and international forum for interdisciplinary exchange among Koreanists. This academic session we will continue with our Friday evening seminars and will also organise film screenings and other Korea-related events, so please join our mailing list to receive e-bulletins for event notifications and other information. I look forward to seeing you all at our events this year!

Stay connected with the CKS

We produce, on a fortnightly basis during term time, a News and Updates eBulletin which provides information about the activities of the SOAS Centre of Korean Studies.

The eBulletin highlights the latest events, funding and knowledge being shared and other topical opportunities that we think will be of interest to you.

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Facts and figures

17: members of staff, from all the disciplines represented at the School, make up the largest concentration of Korean specialists in Europe.

Teaching

One of two only universities in the UK to offer a BA degree in Korean
Two bursaries for students undertaking a postgraduate Korean Studies programme - currently valued at the UK/EU tuition fees rate up to a maximum of £5,000.
SOAS is ranked 2nd in the UK in the Times & Sunday Times University League Table 2015, 5th in the Complete University Guide 2015 (East & South East Asia)

Research

One of the main activities of the CKS is the ongoing public seminar series. Speakers include researchers, writers, artists and other experts from around the world from diverse fields related to Korea. The seminars are held regularly throughout the academic year.

The SOAS-AKS Working Papers in Korean Studies (II) are an outlet for research-in-progress by European, Korean and Global scholarship. Open to a wide range of contributions in the field of Korean Studies, it is particularly aimed at the dissemination of research that has been conducted or presented under the auspices of the AKS Overseas Leading University programmes in Korean Studies.

View the recent publications by CKS staff members.

The annual review, Korea at SOAS, is produced by the Centre and is published once a year (September). The review reports the activities of the Centre and its member and lists past and forthcoming events in SOAS.

Events

View more events

Fri24Jan

The Zainichi Korean Question: Decolonization and the Cold War in U.S.-Occupied Japan and Korea

This talk will illuminate the critical intersection of postcolonial and Cold War politics that involved and connected the Korean peninsula and Japan.

Fri31Jan

The Small China concept in the “T’aengniji” by Yi Chung-hwan (1690-1756?)

This seminar will explore the interpretation of the “T’aengniji” in different historical periods and the political influence on the contents of it.

Fri21Feb

Rescuing Art History from the Nation: Late Chosŏn Korea between Europe and Edo Japan

By introducing evidence that testifies to the late Chosŏn public’s active interest in Japanese art, this paper will point to the neglected exchange of art and ideas between early modern Korea and Japan, and expose how age-old academic conventions and nationalisms remain firmly fixed in the study of East Asian art history.