Department of East Asian Studies
Korean Studies
The Department does not currently offer full degree courses in Korean Studies. However we do have one full-time Lecturer in Korean Studies and several other members of staff have research interests in the country. Korea is covered in the East Asian Studies M.Phil. course and in the East Asian History course taken by all DEAS first year undergraduates. Korean film is studied in the Cinema East cross-sectional undergraduate course.
A course in Korean language will be run throughout the year (two hours per week). No previous knowledge is assumed. For further details, please see the Korean Language Classes page.
News and events
North Korea Trip, 2012
In August, 2012, a group of mainly Cambridge students spent a week visiting the DPRK ("North Korea").
The 2012 Ra Jong-Yil Lecture in Korean Studies
Friday, 26th October, 2012 in the Umney Theatre at Robinson College
The Challenges of Democratic Experiments in South Korean politics
Dr Hwang Juhong, National Assembly, Republic of Korea
- The Ra Jong-Yil Lecture Series
Korea's Leadership Transition: Stability rather than Chaos
Paper written by Dr John Swenson-Wright for the Chatham House Asia Programme [PDF]
Summer Bursary Awards Made
Recipients of the 2012 summer bursaries are:
- Alice Bean (Clare)
- Florence Gracey (Robinson)
The 2011 Ra Jong-Yil Lecture in Korean Studies
Friday, 28th November, 2011 in the Umney Theatre at Robinson College
'Transcending the Boundaries, Embracing the Others:
International Contexts of Korea's Modern and Contemporary Nationalisms
Prof. Vladimir Tikhonov, University of Oso, Norway
- The Ra Jong-Yil Lecture Series
Dr John Swenson-Wright and Chatham House in Joongang Monthly
An article, in Korean, in the March, 2011 edition of the South Korean current affairs periodical, Joongang Monthly, features Chatham House and, amongst other matters, provides some details on recent tensions on the peninsula. It also features a conference convened by Dr John Swenson-Wright there last December on the topic of Human Security in the DPRK.
The upcoming presidential elections in South Korea
Talk by Dr Sang-Woo Kim
The 2011 Kim Dae-Jung Lecture in Korean Studies
Friday, 18th February, 2011 in the Umney Theatre at Robinson College
Kim Dae-Jung and the Sunshine Policy
Prof. Moon Chung-in, Yonsei University
- The Kim Dae-Jung Lecture Series
Summer Bursary Awards Made
Recipients of the 2011 summer bursaries are:
- Yvonne Frankfurth (Homerton)
- Gian-Marco Bussandri (St. Catharine's)
Daewoo Securities support teaching of Korean in Cambridge
Mr Dong Young Park, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Global Markets at Daewoo Securities in Seoul, visited Cambridge on 9th November, 2010 and had lunch in Robinson College with Michael Shin, Mark Morris, John Swenson-Wright and Peter Kornicki. He was accompanied by Mr Sean Kang and Mr Warren Kim of the Daewoo Securities (Europe) London office.
The visit was to mark the generous donation of £20,000 to support the teaching of Korean in Cambridge, which will do much to stabilise the Korean language teaching programme. We are most grateful to Mr Key Young Im, the CEO of Daewoo Securities, whom Peter Kornicki met in Seoul in September, and to the company as a whole for their timely and much appreciated support.
The 2010 Ra Jong-Yil Lecture in Korean Studies
Friday, 5th November, 2010 in the Umney Theatre at Robinson College
Finding the Legacy and a Vision for Modern Politics in the Korean Peninsula
Mrs Choo Mi-Ae, Member of the 18th National Assembly, Republic of Korea
- The Ra Jong-Yil Lecture Series
London Korean Film Festival
"Jam-packed with festival hits, Korean box office smashes, debut works from Korea’s new directing talent, independent film and bravura animation, 2009's festival was an unmissable cinematic feast and 2010's, running throughout November, will be even better."
Events at the Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge
Poster [PDF]
Reflections on War & Peace: Sixty Years After the Korean War
British Association for Korean Studies Symposium
Saturday, 20th November, 2010 from 9:30am to 6:00pm
Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7LP
Speakers include Dr Mark Morris, University of Cambridge
Booking Fee £10 - Advanced registration essential. For details see: www.baks.org.uk
Peter Kornicki Interviewed by the Korea Times
Prof. Peter Kornicki was recently interviewed in Seoul by the Korea Times about the initiative to develop Korean Studies within the Department of East Asian Studies at Cambridge. The interview may be seen online at koreatimes.co.kr or downloaded as a PDF file.
John Swenson-Wright interviewed by Quotidiano Europa
Dr John-Swenson-Wright was recently interviewed by Italian newspaper Quotidiano Europa on the subject of the North Korean leadership succession. An online version of the interview is avalable on the paper's website europaquotidiano.it
The printed version included a helpful graphic.
Summer Bursary Awards Made
Recipients of the 2010 summer bursaries are:
- Linnaea Manberger (Trinity)
- David Pegg (Homerton)
William Skillend Dies
William Skillend, a pioneer of Korean Studies in the UK and a Cambridge alumnus, recently passed away. An obituary has been published in The Times.
Ra Jong-yil Lecture Series Launched
Former Korean Ambassador launches lecture series [ poster ]
- The Ra Jong-Yil Lecture Series
Chun Yung-woo speaks at Clare Hall
Talk at Clare Hall by his Excellency Mr. Chun Yung-woo,
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea
38 North
“38 North” (38north.org) is a new and distinctive website, established at the U.S.-Korea Institute at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. Conceived and managed by Joel Wit, a specialist in North Korean matters with many years of policy experience related to the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), the site provides a new forum for informed commentary and discussion on DPRK-related issues.
“38 North” harnesses the experience of long-time observers of North Korea and others who have dealt directly with North Koreans. It also draws on other experts outside the field who might bring fresh, well, informed insights to those of us who follow North Korea. The site does not limit its coverage to North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction but also digs beneath the surface of political, economic, social and other developments. And of course, as recent events have shown, from Kim Jong Il’s stroke to the currency revaluation to the opening of fast food restaurants in Pyongyang, there is a lot happening. North Korea is not a hermit kingdom, but rather a country that has been in the throes of change, good and bad, for over a decade. Those changes have important implications for the Korean peninsula, the East Asian region and the international community.
The Department of East Asian Studies is especially pleased to be associated with the new site since it directly complements a parallel initiative focusing on Human Security in the DPRK, that is being developed by Dr John Swenson-Wright, in conjunction with colleagues both at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) in London, and at SAIS, Johns Hopkins. The project, funded in part by the Korea Foundation, brings together US, European and East Asia policy specialists, to explore pragmatic options for promoting the human security agenda between the DPRK and the international community.
Dr John Swenson-Wright
Senior Lecturer, Japanese Politics and International Relations
& Associate Fellow, Asia Program, Chatham House