Andrey Lankov

Andrei Nikolaevich Lankov is a domestic Orientalist and Korea specialist, expert on North Korea, and publicist. He holds a Candidate of Historical Sciences degree and is a professor.

He was born on July 26, 1963, in Leningrad. In 1986 he graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Leningrad State University, and in 1989 completed postgraduate studies there, defending a dissertation on the medieval history of Korea on the topic “‘Parties’ and Political Struggle in Korea in the 16th–18th Centuries.” In 1989–1992 he taught the Korean language and the history of Korea at the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Leningrad State University/St. Petersburg State University.

From 1992 to 1996 he worked in South Korea. From 1996 to 2004 he taught the Korean language and history at the Australian National University in Canberra. He currently works again in South Korea, at Kookmin University in Seoul, where he holds a professorial position. He regularly publishes as a columnist and commentator in the English-language South Korean newspaper The Korea Times.

His fields of interest include the history of Korea, in particular the history of the DPRK, the everyday life of Korean cities, the issue of Korean reunification, and the history of Soviet Koreans. He is the author of scholarly articles and country studies publications on Korean topics. His works have been published in Korean, Russian, Chinese, and English.