Recommended Databases for Korean Studies  

Full text database of Korean scholarly journals in humanities, social sciences and science.

Provides scholarly journal articles on modern and contemporary Korea (post-1945). Keyword searching as well as browsing by period, topic, author and title.

Full text database of Korean scholarly journal articles, university publications, and research papers in humanities, social sciences, and science.

Provides full text articles of North Korean academic journals in science and technology.

Provides access to a wide range of e-books in PDF format. Texts can be downloaded and printed page-by-page.

Provides full text journal articles and academic dissertations as the single gateway to access comprehensive resources. ILL request function is also available.

Full text databases on a variety of subjects including primary sources, reference resources, classical literature, and articles from older newspapers and journals

This database is a collection of excavation reports of historical sites in Korea operated by national and university museums, research institutions and associations since 1910.

Includes historical materials and records in the fields of history, literature, folk culture, nature, Chinese medicine, religion, etc.

Provides important records in Korea and abroad such as the Korean Empire official documents, Japanese colonial regime official documents, and records generated by the central and local governments such as presidential approval documents after the government establishment, including the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which were registered as Memory of the World.

Provides historical documents, images, oral statements regarding democracy movement of Korea, provided by the Korea Democracy Foundation.

Integrated digital library on Korean history. Includes classical works, ancient documents, historical maps, official court records of the Choson Dynasty such as the Sungjongwon ilgi (Diary of the Royal Secretariat), materials related to anti-Japanese movement during the colonial period, important modern literature, newspapers and magazines, Korean translations of the works in Classical Chinese, and a basic dictionary of Korean history among many other items.

Provides information about Korean art, culture, folklore, history, literature, philosophy, and religion developed by the Academy of Korean Studies. Search by keyword and browse by subject.

A comprehensive encyclopedia about Korea compiled by the Academy of Korean Studies. Includes photographs, audiovisual materials, and maps. Access to this encyclopedia via KoreaA2Z.

A comprehensive database of more than 16,000 historic Korean figures from ancient to modern. Provides information the origins and history of Korean family names and the detailed lists of those who passed the official exams of the Chosŏn dynasty.

A searchable database of famous figures in Korean art and history from the Chosŏn dynasty to the present.

Provides information about both South and North Korean figures and links various biographical databases in different areas such as science and technology, film industry, and prominent figures of North Korea. Several biographical databases offered by Korean news media are also included.

Provides a portal service for all law-related issues, indexing 50 categories such as statues, precedents, administrative documents and statistics, academic articles, law journals, law-related news and others.

Provides Korea-related social science data such as survey and statistical data, as well as interviews, qualitative data, and archives of a range of materials in Korean language. Free if you access via the Korea Foundation website. Needs to log in the Korea Foundation.

The official government statistics information site for various national and international statistical information, including regional statistics, operated by Statistics Korea (통계청).

The official gateway to South Korean government documents operated by the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion (한국정보문화진흥원).

Information about and links to a variety of statistical services. English-language page also available.

Full-text Korean newspaper article database including the following four major newspapers; 東亞日報 = Dong-A ilbo (1920-1999), 京鄕新聞 = Kyunghyang Shinmun (1946-1999), 每日經濟新聞 = Maeil Business Newspaper (1966-1999), 한겨레 = The Hankyore (1988-1999)

Full-text Korean newspaper article database at MEDIAGAON by Korea Press Foundation.

Full-text Korean newspaper article database from 1960-1989 at MEDIAGAON by Korea Press Foundation: 경향신문, 동아일보, 서울신문, 한국일보, 경인일보, 광주일보, 대전일보, 매일신문, 국제신문, 부산일보, 영남일보, 전북일보, 제주일보, 충청일보

Image reproductions of a number of historical Korean newspapers from 1905 through 1962.

Published by Pankmunguk, an official printing office, Hansung Sunbo was the first modern newspaper in Korea. Full-text is available through KoreaA2Z 한국학DB 콘텐츠

Full-text Newspaper articles published daily from 1906 - 1945 as an official Japanese-language newspaper from colonial-period Korea.

Leading English language newspaper in Korea. News archives available from 1998 through present at LexisNexis; from 2008 through present via World News Connection.

Korean news in English. Articles from November 2002 are available as pdf files on the newspaper website for free. Newspaper archives available from 1990 through 2001 via Ethnic News Watch.

Provides government press releases, presidential speeches, and information about government publications.

Taehan News, films, and voice recordings from government documentaries. Coverage begins in the 1950s and extends into the 1990s. An integrated search option is availabl

English language resources

Comprehensive guide to print and web-based resources for Korean Studies with an emphasis on Korean language resources.