Dr KK Seet established the Theatre programme at the National University of Singapore. For 22 years, he was a tenured faculty member at the Department of English Language & Literature before electing early retirement in June 2012. Recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and two British Council Fellowships, Seet holds a PhD from the University of Exeter, England, an M.A. from the University of Toronto, Canada and an M.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in addition to credentials in communications, education and oenology from London and Singapore. Seet has served as external examiner for the University of Aberystwyth, Essex University's East 15 Theatre School and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and was faculty associate at the City University of New York. Listed in Routledge's Who's Who in World Theatre as well as in Marquis' Who's Who in the World, Seet has published in Theatre Journal, Theatre Research International, Camera Obscura, World Literature Written in English, Moving Worlds and Performance Art International, and is also the author of 15 books including The Istana, presented to Blair House, official guest house of the US President, In Unison, presented to the Vice Premier of China, and Singapore Celebrates, buried in a time capsule at Empress Place. He edited Old Truths, New Revelations on behalf of the ASEAN COCI, while his book Death Rites was twice dramatized for television under the award-winning Alter-Asians series. Another book, Made in Singapore, had its imprint bought by the erstwhile Boulevard Hotel, with a complimentary copy for every guest.
Advising the National Arts Council on multidisciplinary arts, Seet has chaired the grants committee and the selection panels for the Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Awards. He has been a member of MICA's Drama Advisory Committee and Films Appeal Committee. Seet has judged every literary competition in Singapore from Theatre Idols, Singapore Dramatist Award, Theatreworks'24 Hour Playwriting Competition, Hewlett-Packard's The Squeeze, NBDCS Book Awards to the Singapore Screenplay Contest. He was the longest-standing judge in The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards, serving 12 consecutive years before voluntarily stepping down. For years, he chaired the Singapore Writers Festival and was Chief Judge of the Singapore Literature Prize and the Golden Point. He represented Singapore at the Cambridge Literary Symposium, the Southeast Asian Writers Meet in Kuala Lumpur and the International Directors Workshop at Ivy House, London.
As a media personality fondly described as "Singapore's Most Glamorous Academic", Seet hosted Art Nation and Film Art on Arts Central Television, as well as an internet talk show. He appeared in both seasons of Mediacorp's International Emmy-nominated show, The Arena and was an ambassador for the Singapore Can Speak programme. As the "face" of the national Huayu Cool campaign, his portrait was plastered on double-decker buses and free postcards. Seet was conferred the Special Recognition Award (2005) and the Singapore Theatre Vanguard Award (2012) for being a public intellectual and cultural ombudsman.
He now divides his time among his homes in Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
Last Updated: March 2023