Introduction: Sixty Years of Korean Studies at SOAS

Abstract

On the evening of 27 April 2012, the Centre of Korean Studies (CKS) at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. After twenty-five years, the CKS remained the largest Korean Studies centre in the United Kingdom (UK), and an important European and global centre for Korean research. The CKS boasted twenty-three research students engaged in higher-level study into Korean history, language or culture. The first Korean post was set up at SOAS in 1953, and the first teacher of Korean Studies at SOAS, and in fact in the whole of the UK, was William Skillend. The SOAS Library holds more than 1.5 million items in addition to electronic resources. SOAS holds a number of notable artworks, many of which have been held in storage at SOAS for years without any real conception of their value and significance. Keywords: Centre of Korean Studies (CKS); Europe; SOAS; SOAS Library; United Kingdom (UK); William Skillend