Established in October 1954, the English Language and Literature Association of Korea (ELLAK) consists of over 2,000 members specializing in English linguistics, English education, English literature and culture, American literature and culture, and other global literatures written in English. Over 80% of members hold doctoral degrees from foreign institutions, as well as Korean institutions of higher learning, our members are actively involved in researching and teaching at colleges and universities across Korea.

ELLAK serves as a bridge to Western literature and culture, and as the field of English Studies has grown in Korea to encompass interdisciplinary approaches to the historical, political, and economic study of a now-global "English" culture, members have been active not only in research but also in establishing cultural links with Great Britain and the United States, as well as with Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and many countries in the Caribbean and South East Asia. Not only are individual members purveyors of bilateral culture, ELLAK is proud to serve as an important working partner with cultural organizations and embassies representing many of these nations in Korea.

In 2014, ELLAK celebrated its 60th anniversary. Confronting the increasing rise in global importance of English and English cultures, in the immediate future the association plans to concentrate resources toward consolidating and extending its academic foundations, so as to strengthen ELLAK’s continuing role as a link, into the 21st century, between Korean culture and global English cultures.