Beth McKillop

Elizabeth Dorothy McKillop (née McConochie; 28 May 1953 – 26 May 2026) was a British sinologist and Koreanist with particular expertise in print culture and Joseon ceramics, and established London's first dedicated gallery of Korean art. She was a Senior Research Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum and a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at SOAS.

Early life and education Elizabeth Dorothy McConochie was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 28 May 1953. She earned a degree in general humanities from the University of Glasgow before pursuing an MA in Chinese Studies at Churchill College, Cambridge, where she was among the first cohort of women admitted. At Cambridge, she specialized in modern Chinese history under Martin Bernal. After graduating in 1975, she was selected by the British Council as one of ten students to participate in an exchange program in China, studying first at the Foreign Language Institute and later at Peking University. In the early 1980s, McKillop studied Korean language under the guidance of William Skillend at SOAS.

From 1990 to 1993, McKillop was seconded to the Victoria and Albert Museum, as the Samsung Curator of Korean Art, where she established London's first dedicated gallery of Korean art. In addition to curating the gallery, she authored its accompanying book and traveled to South Korea to acquire contemporary works.

Returning to the British Library in 1993 as Curator of the Chinese and Korean Collections, McKillop conducted extensive research on the library's Korean holdings, identifying previously unnoted early Korean editions. In collaboration with bibliographic expert Fujimoto Yukio, she led a three-year cataloging project of the British Library's Korean holdings. During this period, her responsibilities expanded outside of her home department and included overseeing the planning and execution of the relocation of collections and staff to the British Library's new St. Pancras site.

Following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the UK and the North Korea in 2000, McKillop made two visits to the country as part of a delegation from the British Museum and the British Library. The goal of these trips was to initiate scholarly exchanges and to acquire North Korean publications of scholarly and reference value for the Library.

2004–2026 In 2004, McKillop returned to the Victoria and Albert Museum as Keeper of Asia, later serving as Director of Collections, and eventually, deputy director. During her tenure as Keeper of Asia, the V&A staged Europe's first comprehensive study of Chinese architecture, fashion, and graphics in the reform and opening up era, China Design Now. The show went on to tour the United States. Another major project during this time was the creation of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Galleries of Buddhist art. She retired from the V&A in 2016.

McKillop remained active in the fields of Chinese and Korean culture. In 2019, she originated the course on the history of Korean books and printing at the Rare Book School. She was a trustee of National Museums Scotland, and the Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. She served as president of the Oriental Ceramic Society from 2018 to 2021.

Death McKillop died from breast cancer on 26 May 2026, two days shy of her 73rd birthday.