The lecturer is former Ambassador of Korea to UK, Dr RA Jong-yil who is currently the president of Woosuk University.

Ambassador RA Jong-yil has had a long and distinguished career in public service and academia. A graduate of Seoul National University(from which he received his BA and MA degrees) he also holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Cambridge University. His early career was as a Professor of Political Science at Kyung Hee University in South Korea. From 1996 to 1998, he played a key role in the first peaceful change of government through electoral process in Korea and served as the Director of Administration in the KIM Dae-jung Presidential Transition Committee. During President Kim’s time in office, Dr RA served as both the First and Second Director of the Republic of Korea’s National intelligence Service. During the administration of President ROH Moo-hyun, he also served as Senior Advisor to the president on National Security. Dr RA has also held a number of very senior diplomatic postings, serving from 2001 to 2003 as ROK Ambassador to the United Kingdom and from 2004 to 2007 to ROK Ambassador to Japan. Dr RA has published widely on a range of subjects, including political theory, cultural politics in Northeast Asia, Cold War issues, and on the politics and governance of North Korea. He is currently the President of Woosuk University.

1963 B.A. in Political Science, Seoul National University

1965 M.A. in Political Science, Seoul National University

1972 Ph.D. in Political Science, Trinity College, Cambridge University, UK
1972- Professor of Political Science and Diplomacy, Kyung Hee University

1981-1983 Fellow Commoner at Churchill College, Cambridge University

1988-1993 Dean of the Graduate School of Political Science and Economics Kyung Hee University

1994-1998 Chairman of the Korean Association for European Studies

1998-1999 First Director, National Intelligence Service

2000-2001 Special Advisor to Director of National Intelligence Service for Diplomacy andUnification Affairs

2001-2003 Ambassador to the United Kingdom

2003-2004 Senior Advisor to the President for National Security

2004-2007 Ambassador to Japan

2007- Present President, Woosuk University

※ Advance booking required. For booking enquiries, please use the following details:

Korean Cultural Centre UKGround FloorGrand Buildings1-3 StrandLondon WC2N 5BW

Tel: +44 (0)20 7004 2600