[RAS Korea] World's oldest Korean studies journal publishes 95th volume

The cover of "Transactions" volume 95 / Courtesy of RAS Korea

By Steven L. Shields

One hundred and twenty-one years in the making, Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea has published the 95th volume of its now-annual "Transactions." RAS Korea's journal began humbly in 1900, the year of the society's founding, with a small, 90-page booklet. Yet its contents represented some of the world's first-ever academic studies of Korea in the English language. Interrupted down the ages by wars, social and economic challenges, RAS Korea could not always publish the journal annually. However, since the end of the Korean War, "Transactions" has appeared each year.

Those early founders and writers pursued Korean studies tangentially to their professions. Diplomats, missionaries, and school teachers ― all credentialed in many ways ― pursued relevant topics and brought them a great understanding of the land where they were living and working. In that first journal of 1900, the founding president of RAS Korea, John H. Gubbins of the British Legation, declared, "We stand here on the threshold of our labours, and it is very necessary that we should make up our minds clearly as to the course we intend to pursue in furthering the objects for which the Society has been called into existence."

That first issue of "Transactions" included a considerable debate on the influence of Chinese culture on Korea, with one scholar suggesting very little that was authentically Korean was left. At the same time, the other disagreed vehemently and argued there was much in Korea that had survived such outward influences. The first volume is available freely on RAS Korea's website.

Indeed, the early pages of "Transactions" are filled with the who's who of Korea's early expatriate society. Names like Appenzeller, Allen, Underwood, Gale, Hulbert, Jones. These men, and many others, spent years pursuing Korean studies. They were translators, interpreters and writers. Some became so proficient in the Korean language that they wrote grammar texts and dictionaries to aid in learning and understanding of the language. Many of these leading lights of academia in Korea, long before universities were doing such studies, lived most of their adult lives here. A few promoted Korean independence during the dark times of Japanese oppression.

RAS Korea President Steven L. Shields holds a freshly printed copy of "Transactions" volume 95. / Courtesy of RAS Korea

Over the decades, "Transactions" has published the works of hundreds of scholars and Koreaphiles, exploring all facets of what Korea has been, is becoming, and who the Korean people were and are. This year marks the publication of the 95th volume of this venerable journal. The current volume is the first-ever with a full-color cover and includes the winning essay from this year's Korean high school RAS essay contest.

Papers include Robert Fouser's study of Frank Lloyd Wright's adoption of ondol in some of his American house designs; biographical piece on John Kavanaugh, an early 20th-century miner in Korea by Robert Neff; Nate Kornegay's review of architectural influences by a missionary couple named Baird. Other papers include examining education under Japanese rule, taking as a microcosm Gilsang Elementary School on Ganghwado; a biography of the first Smithsonian representative in Korea, Pierre Louis Jouy; and an essay on the true meaning of dragons in Korean lore. An urban explorer takes readers on a journey through neighborhoods in Korea that are bulldozed to make way for apartment buildings. Two scholars in Oceania tell the story of the forgotten Korean workers in Nauru.

A piece by Seulkee Nam and Cameron Pyke looks at Yi Bangja (1901-89), the Japanese-born crown princess of Korea, focusing on her later life after the war when she settled in Korea and engaged in social welfare work. The writers prepared for this piece partly through interviews with Peter Bartholomew, a long-term foreign resident of Korea since 1968 who knew Yi personally as well as other members of the royal family. Unfortunately, Peter passed away recently, a few days after sending in his feedback to Nam and Pyke's contribution.

Copies of "Transactions" are available exclusively from the RAS Korea office. See the contact information below. Members of RAS Korea have been contacted to receive their copies. Others may buy a copy.

Ninety-five volumes of journals amount to thousands of pages of published studies of Korea's history, culture, arts, social affairs, and more. For decades, RAS Korea was the sole Korean Studies association. Now there are dozens of Korean Studies journals in publication across the world. RAS Korea is proud to have opened up the growing academic arena. In his inaugural speech, President Gubbins stated, "A distinguished traveller, who has written about this country, is reported to have said that there was little or nothing in Korea to repay research. Your Council do not agree with this view." RAS Korea continues to strive to live up to the challenges set forth 121 years ago.

Steven L. Shields, a retired cleric, is president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea (http://raskb.com/) and is a columnist for The Korea Times. Visit raskb.com or email royalasiatickorea@gmail.com for more information about the society.