RAS Korea Library finds new home at Soongsil University

U.K. Ambassador Colin Crooks, third from left, holds up a memorandum of understanding regarding Royal Asiatic Society Korea's library donation to Soongsil University in Seoul, Oct. 31. From left are Institute for Korean Christian Culture (IKCC) head Park Sam-yel Park, Soongsil University President Lee Youn-jai, Ambassador Crooks and RAS Korea President Denny Park. Courtesy of RAS Korea

For more than a century, Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea has worked to make knowledge about Korea accessible through its lectures, annual Transactions journal, excursions and the maintenance of a collection of primarily English-language specialist materials.

The library began as a small collection of books gathered mainly by missionaries and a few other foreign residents in Seoul who wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the peninsula. At a time when public libraries were rare and university collections were largely closed to outsiders, RAS Korea followed the example of the founding branch in London, as well as branches in India and Southeast Asia, and provided scholars with shared access to resources that would otherwise have been inaccessible.

Maintaining the RAS Korea Library has never been easy. In its early years, librarians came and went almost every year, and the collection was modest. Over time, it grew into a treasured resource for researchers. Last year, when RAS Korea dissolved its board and gave up its long-time office and library space in the Korea Ecumenical Building in Jongno District, the library’s fate hung in the balance — a top concern for members. Though RAS Korea was quickly revived under new leadership and bolstered by much-needed funding, safeguarding the collection remained an urgent challenge.

The library’s future was ultimately secured through a partnership with Soongsil University, formalized with a memorandum of understanding signed on Oct. 31. Under this agreement, 3,729 volumes will be made accessible to scholars and members alike.

Soongsil University has a long-standing relationship with the organization. In 1900, when RAS Korea was founded, there was little English-language information about the country. Unlike China or Japan, few outsiders had recorded Korea’s language, history or culture. RAS Korea became a rare place where people could pool their knowledge to document the country and their own experiences. Rev. Samuel A. Moffett, a Presbyterian missionary, served as president of Soongsil College in Pyongyang from 1918 to 1928 and was an active RAS member. His son later served as the group's president in 1968.

The collection includes many studies on the histories of Christian missions in Korea and boasts numerous rare works written by early Western visitors. It also contains important materials on Buddhism, Confucianism, Korean shamanism, history, culture and literature. Before being donated, it was carefully curated, with duplicates and less valuable items removed. In recent years, the collection was enriched by donations from the estate of Peter Bartholomew, who served as RAS Korea president for many years, and gifts from long-time members including David A. Mason, Lowell Heskin and Elizabeth-Gay Kraft.

As RAS President Denny Park told representatives of Soongsil University participating in the ceremony, some early volumes survived against remarkable odds. Books were stored in basements during World War II to protect them from bombing. After the war, the surviving volumes were moved to the Christian Literature Society and later to the U.S. Embassy building. In 1950, Robert A. Kinney reported that many books and the card catalogue had been lost, though key works survived, including The Korea Review, The Korean Mission Field, The Korean Repository and official government reports from 1910 to 1939. Many books were lost during the North Korean occupation of Seoul, though some were recovered and sent to the United States for safekeeping until the cessation of hostilities.

Together with materials collected by Soongsil professors, the RAS donation now forms the foundation of the university’s newly-inaugurated Korean Christian Materials Center. The university aims to collect not only materials related to Soongsil but also a broader selection of Korean Christian, missionary and cultural content. The collection is being systematically organized and digitized with the support of the National Institute of Korean History with the goal of eventually being accessible worldwide. Offline materials can currently be accessed within the library by reservation.

Soongsil University President Lee Youn-jai welcomed the donation, noting that it strengthens the university’s role as a center for research and knowledge preservation. He expressed gratitude to RAS Korea, its staff and U.K. Ambassador Colin Crooks for entrusting the collection to Soongsil, highlighting the opportunities it provides for scholars and students.

Crooks, who is also RAS Korea's honorary president in his capacity as ambassador, participated in the donation and MOU ceremonies, where he spoke of his admiration for the collection and highlighted RAS Korea’s long history of promoting Korean culture. He also expressed optimism that the partnership with Soongsil University would continue this work, ensuring Korea’s history and culture are shared widely.

With the partnership secured, RAS Korea can now focus on the future, starting with revitalizing its membership. No longer the sole platform for knowledge about Korea, RAS Korea is seeking to reinvent itself while maintaining its core traditions, including the publication of its journal, hosting lectures, excursions and its literature club — all aimed at engaging both long-term residents and newcomers. Visit raskb.com for more information.

Jack Greenberg works as an analyst/researcher and freelance writer. His current focus is on heritage and conservation issues, historical memory debates, truth-seeking and reconciliation and civilian massacres of the 1950-53 Korean War. He was the recipient of the Global Korea Scholarship and earned a master’s in international studies at Korea University. He is also an alumnus of McGill University.