Seoul National University gives Korean classics to Bodleian
19 Mar 09
Professor Dr Jang-Moo Lee, the President of Seoul National University, has donated 400 volumes of reproductions of classical Korean texts to the Bodleian Library during his visit to the University of Oxford this week. The original works are preserved in the Kyujanggak Royal Library at Seoul National University.
The gift was presented to Dr Sarah Thomas, Bodley’s Librarian and Director of Oxford University Library Services, in a special ceremony attended by representatives of the Korean Studies Department of the Oxford University and alumni of Seoul National University.
The gift to the Bodleian includes facsimile reproductions of numerous pre-1900 texts: classical references, old maps, histories, Chosŏn dynasty government records, local histories, philosophical and moral treatises, diplomatic documents, and language primers of high value for historical linguistics. It also includes bibliographic guides to the entire archive and collections of several contemporary scholarly journals devoted to examining documents in the holdings.
Dr James B. LewisThe Kyujanggak archive consists of important primary materials, which are essential to the studies of Korean language and culture. We are extremely grateful and privileged to receive the 400 volumes of reproductions.
On arrival, Professor Dr. Jang-Moo Lee was welcomed by the Vice Chancellor Dr John Hood. They had a short meeting during which they discussed academic exchanges. Professor Lee then visited the Bodleian where he was shown a selection of treasures including Shakespeare’s First Folio, correspondence belonging to Mark Napier Trollope, the third Anglican Bishop of Korea and copies of the Morning Calm, the diocesan newsletter from 1890.
Dr Sarah Thomas, Bodley’s Librarian and Director of Oxford University Library Services, said: ‘We are very honoured to have had Prof Dr Jang-Moo Lee as our guest. This visit is part of the ongoing close collaboration between the University of Oxford and Seoul National University. The Bodleian Library is extremely grateful for the significant donation of Korean material which will enhance its collections and will be a great asset for the advancement of Korean studies at Oxford.
’Dr James B. Lewis, Lecturer in Korean History at the University of Oxford said: ‘The Kyujanggak archive consists of important primary materials, which are essential to the studies of Korean language and culture. We are extremely grateful and privileged to receive the 400 volumes of reproductions. Reproductions are most important, because they are hardest to obtain and offer the chance for students and scholars to handle and see “original” works. Seeing and reading the thing itself is the key to real understanding.’