The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture is a Korean-language encyclopedia published by the Academy of Korean Studies and DongBang Media Co. It was originally published as physical books from 1991 to 2001. There is now an online version of the encyclopedia that continues to be updated.

Overview

On September 25, 1979, a presidential order (No. 9628; ) was issued to begin work on compiling a national encyclopedia. Work began on compiling the encyclopedia on March 18, 1980. It began publishing books in 1991. The encyclopedia's first version was completed, with 28 volumes, in 1995. It continued to be revised beginning in 1996. In 2001, the digital edition EncyKorea was published on CD-ROM and DVD. It launched an online version in 2007. A second push to update the encyclopedia concluded in 2017. The articles in the encyclopedia are aimed at readers who want to learn about Korean culture and history, and were written by over 3,800 scholars and expert contributors who are mainly associated with the Academy of Korean Studies. It has been described as one of the most frequently used encyclopedias for Korean studies, as well as one of the most extensive. The terminology used in the encyclopedia has reportedly had a visible impact on terminology used in academic literature.