East Asia: Korea

This resource presents the archival records of the International Secretariat of Amnesty International from 1961-1991, which are held at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. Covering human rights concerns and issues worldwide, they highlight issues of concern in East Asia during this period. Please be aware that human rights abuses recorded here may include descriptions that are distressing and difficult to read. Examples include a first-hand account of torture by the Chairman of the National Youth Alliance for Democracy in South Korea, after his imprisonment in 1985 on charges of promoting communist propaganda.

This collection features thousands of audio field recordings and interviews, educational content, film footage, notebooks, correspondence and slides from locations worldwide. The extensive collections of musicologist Robert Garfias contain recordings from Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

A wide range of primary source material, including printed and manuscript cookbooks, advertising ephemera, government reports, films and illustrated content. It reveals the evolution of food and drink within everyday life and the public sphere. The material in this collection has been sourced from across the globe to reflect a wide range of food cultures and traditions. A gallery on Food, Race and Ethnicity showcases depictions of dishes from Korea.

Primary sources on the history of tourism. Bringing together collections from multiple archives, including Thomas Cook, this resource presents an untapped multi-national perspective on the evolution of affordable tourism around the world. The Interactive World Map leads directly to sources on North and South Korea.

Manuscripts for the study of Meiji society, culture, ethnology and education from the papers of Edward Sylvester Morse (1838-1925). They include Morse's 'Articles and notes' and a number of other documents on Korea.

This multi-archive resource covers the development of the modern Olympic Games from 1896 to 1992, telling the story of the world’s biggest sporting event through primary sources while shining a light on key social and political phenomena throughout the twentieth century.
The Biographies section features Chang Ki-young who was President of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee from 1966-68.

This resource brings together documents and collections from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world covering an extensive time period from 1490. Close attention has been given to the varieties of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social justice perspective and the continued existence of slavery today.
Twenty-first century records include a report into 'Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps' (2007).

This unique collection of communist-produced films and newsreels on the world events and current affairs of the twentieth century includes some notable content from and about the countries of East Asia. The interactive Map indicates places of interest featured in individual films, and shows that 34 films are on North and South Korea.

Primary source material from hundreds of fairs, including London's Great Exhibition of 1851, American fairs of the 19th and 20th centuries and 21st century EXPOs. A vital resource for students, teachers and researchers of a huge range of subjects including imperialism, race relations, gender studies, science and technology, consumer culture, architecture and design. South Korea staged Expo '93 in Taejon and Expo 2012 in Yeosu.

An AM Archives Direct title, featuring formerly restricted British Foreign Office files relating to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The constant exchange of information between the British government and its embassies and consulates overseas is seen here in diplomatic dispatches, correspondence, newspaper cuttings, maps, biographies, and diverse other materials.

This collection consists of a varied array of records of traders, travellers, missionaries and diplomats, from the mid-seventeenth century to the late twentieth century, offering Western perspectives on all aspects of Chinese culture and society. Includes the papers of John Backhouse, chief clerk at the British consulate in Hong Kong in the 1840s and 1850s. A module on Asian Economic History (series two) contains UK government documents 1950-1980 relating to the economic stresses of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan as rapidly emerging and newly industrialised economies.

This is a rich repository of source materials on the work of this globally influential organisation, founded in 1799 as an Anglican evangelical movement and still active today. It includes records of both the CMS itself and the many other missionary societies which have become associated or amalgamated with it over its lifetime. A set of papers relating to Japan and China also includes reports on Korean Christianity and missionary work in the country (1937).

These primary sources are a hugely important resource for the study of missionary work, educational work, medical work, evangelism, political conflict, and the emergence of indigenous churches. A set of papers titled Korean Mission Records covers the Anglican mission there from 1889-1987, documenting the creation of the autonomous province of Korea within the Anglican Communion in 1993.

Primary sources, offering insight into many aspects of the war, including government policy, the war in the Pacific, and the war in Europe. The private papers of American General Robert L Eichelberger include Monthly Military Summaries of Korea in the later 1940s.

Sourced from the British Film Institute (BFI), this collection of documentary, newsreel and feature films reveals the world as seen by Soviet, Chinese, Vietnamese, East European, and Latin American filmmakers. 34 films in the collection feature North and South Korea.