Korean Anthropology Review

About KAR

Published by the Department of Anthropology at Seoul National University, Korean Anthropology Review (KAR) was founded in 2016 with the mission of publishing English translations of notable Korean-language articles from Korean anthropology journals. These translations highlighted the finest anthropological research by Korean scholars, showcasing their unique intellectual concerns and heritage, while also engaging with global anthropological discourse.

In 2024, with Volume 8, KAR expanded its scope to include original research articles. While the Editorial Team continues to recognize the immense value of high-quality academic translations, the evolving landscape of translation work—marked by the rapid rise of automated tools and AI—has made it increasingly difficult to justify the costs of professional translation. Coincidentally, this transition aligns with a growing global curiosity about Korean culture, so we take this crisis as an opportunity to rethink and expand KAR's mission.

Looking ahead, the journal will feature a dual-format approach: English translations of previously published Korean-language articles and original English-language research. KAR's primary objective remains to foster dialogue between the intellectual traditions of Korean anthropology and those of global and regional anthropologies. By doing so, the journal seeks to contribute to the global commons of anthropological knowledge, offering both theoretical and ethnographic insights from the Korean context that have broader implications for the field.