And quiet flows the Han river

Home > Blogs

This is a blog about the past, about the history and sometimes the present day interactions between the Russians and the Koreans. In most cases, but by no means always, political issues are studiously avoided by the author, whose major interest is everyday life, culture and the lives of individuals. In this blog, we will explore how Russian culture was (and is) seen in Korea, we will talk about migration, mixed marriage and even cuisine. So to put it simply, the blog is about how these two countries have interacted over the last 200-odd years. Andrei Lankov, born in 1963, is a historian of Korea. He wrote his PhD on the early modern Korea, but in recent years his work deals mainly with the history of North Korea. He is also known for his journalistic writings on Korean history in general, especially Korean history after 1500, and the dawn of modern Korea. He has published a number of books (four in English) on Korean history. Having taught Korean history at the Australian National University, he now teaches in Kookmin University in Seoul.

Golden age of Korean-Russian shuttle trading

April 10, 2013 Andrei Lankov

The collapse of the communist system in 1992 plunged the ex-Soviet states into deep recession, but it also brought with it great opportunities for the entrepreneurially minded

In the Den of the revisionists

February 20, 2013 Andrei Lankov

It is often assumed by Westerners that the Soviet Union and North Korea must have been close allies and hence many North Koreans were present in the USSR of the 1960s and 1970s

A lady and a hotel

February 13, 2013 Andrei Lankov

Back in the early 1900 the visitors of Seoul would notice a large brick building with an imposing balcony, large lawn in front of it and impressive gate. This was Sontag Hotel, the best accommodation available to travellers Seoul until 1914

Keeping an ally above water

January 21, 2013 Andrei Lankov

Recently it was reported that after negotiations and deliberations, the Russian government has decided to forgive most of the $11 billion debt which North Korea accumulated in its trade with the Soviet Union

The terrible but typical fate of comrade Sintsova

December 20, 2012 Andrei Lankov

North Korean fiction is every bit as political as government statements or newspaper editorials

The iron horse is not let to run

December 14, 2012 Andrei Lankov

fifteen years down the line, the TKR talk has not disappeared, but no real construction work has yet begun

Learning the language of Tolstoy

November 26, 2012 Andrei Lankov

For decades, the Russian language was seen as politically suspicious in South Korea. The South Korean state was militantly anti-communist, and Russian was – rightly or wrongly – perceived as the language of the ‘reds’