Call for Papers: Korean Histories 5.2

Korean Histories invites submissions for issue 5.2. The journal welcomes original research articles, translations with commentary, and review essays engaging with the broad field of Korean historiography understood as a social practice.
Author

Editorial Board

Published

March 3, 2026

Korean Histories: Call for Papers
Volume 5, Issue 2
Leiden University

Korean Histories invites submissions for its next issue (5.2). The journal welcomes original research articles, translations with commentary, and review essays that engage with the broad field of Korean historiography understood as a social practice.

Korean Histories is rooted in the conviction that academic historians are players in a wider social field of meaning-making. Representations of the Korean past take shape in popular culture and political discourse, in school textbooks and exile literature, in monuments and internet forums, and among amateur historians and online communities. The journal takes all of these seriously. At the same time, it remains committed to methodological rigour, careful engagement with sources, and the critical distinctions between empirically verifiable fact, reasonable supposition, and speculation. The journal is interested both in narratives encompassing eras and philological inquiry happening at the level of the squared inch.

Topics of Interest

We welcome contributions that explore any period of Korean history and any form of historical representation. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Unconventional or non-professional historiographies of Korea
  • Representations of Korean history in popular culture, media, education, and public discourse
  • Rereadings of canonical historical sources
  • Introduction and discussion of new sources
  • Unconventional sources (such as seen in Vol. 5.1 by Remco Breuker & Wonkyung Choi)
  • The politics and social dynamics of historical memory in Korea
  • Translations and commentaries of understudied primary sources (such as seen in 5.1 by Marion Eggert & Yu Myoungin)

Submission Guidelines

Articles should be between 8,000 and 12,000 words (including notes and references), but may be longer if the subject demands it. Translations with commentary and review essays may vary in length. All submissions undergo double-blind peer review.

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically as Microsoft Word documents to a.m.van.de.pol@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

For full submission guidelines, see: Guidelines

Important Dates

  • Submission deadline: 1 September 2026
  • Articles are published on a rolling basis. Manuscripts submitted early and accepted through peer review will appear online ahead of the full issue.
  • Complete PDF edition of issue 5.2: December 2026

Contact

For questions, contact the managing editors at a.m.van.de.pol@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

Korean Histories is published by the Centre for Korean Studies, Leiden University.

Managing Editors: Aron van de Pol & Steven Denney
Editors: Remco E. Breuker & Boudewijn Walraven