From the publisher’s website: “Professor Chung has drawn on all the tools in his scholarly arsenal to convey the flavor and meaning of the original Korean texts. Written vernacular Korean was still very much a work in progress during the early twentieth century and the meaning of the Korean texts is not always clear-cut, even … [Read More]
Archives: Books (page 73)
Korea’s Online Gaming Empire
From the publisher’s website: The rapid growth of the Korean online game industry, viewed in social, cultural, and economic contexts. In South Korea, online gaming is a cultural phenomenon. Games are broadcast on television, professional gamers are celebrities, and youth culture is often identified with online gaming. Uniquely in the online games market, Korea not … [Read More]
Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary
From the publisher’s website: Compiled by specialists from the University of Durham Department of East Asian Studies, this new reference work contains approximately 1500 entries covering Korean civilisation from early times to the present day. Subjects include history, politics, art, archaeology, literature, etc. The Dictionary is intended for students, teachers and researchers, and will also be of … [Read More]
Maedeup: The Art of Traditional Korean Knots
Hee-jin Kim, born in 1934, attended Jin Myeong Girls’ High School in 1946. In 1963, she first developed an interest in traditional ornamental knots, maedeup, which in the aftermath of devastating social turmoil in the first half of the 20th century, was quickly becoming a dying art. Kim embarked on a quest to learn the techniques … [Read More]
Bojagi – Korean Textile Art: technique, design and inspiration
From the publisher’s website: An exploration of traditional Koran textile art techniques. Bojagi, sometimes called Pojagi, is a traditional Korean textile art. Centuries old, it was originally textiles made for every day living with scraps of left-over fabrics artfully put together. They often resemble works of modern artists such as Mondrian and Klee. Today, the … [Read More]
Korean Art and Design: The Samsung Gallery of Korean Art
From the publisher’s website: This highly illustrated book covers objects from the 5th-century AD to the present day and includes fine examples of ceramics, metalwork, furniture and lacquer, textiles and contemporary crafts. [Read More]
A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present
From the publisher’s website: Now in a fully revised and updated edition including new primary sources and illustrations, this comprehensive book surveys Korean history from Neolithic times to the present. Michael J. Seth explores the origins and development of Korean society, politics, and still little-known cultural heritage from their inception to the two Korean states … [Read More]
South Korea’s Minjung Movement: The Culture and Politics of Dissidence
From the publisher’s website: The minjung (people’s) movement stood at the forefront of the June 1987 nationwide tide that swept away the military in South Korea and opened up space for relatively democratic politics, a more responsible economy, and new directions in culture. This volume is the first in English to grapple specifically with the nature of … [Read More]
The Korean Mind: Understanding Contemporary Korean Culture
From the publisher’s website: Understanding a people and their culture through code words and language. Today, South Korea is an economic, technological and entertainment superpower. How, as a country, did they rebound from war, poverty and political unrest? And how can that success be replicated in other cultures? The answers can, in fact, be found … [Read More]
Korea: The Impossible Country. South Korea’s Amazing Rise from the Ashes – The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultura
From the publisher’s website: “Daniel Tudor covers all the important issues, yet does not simply tell the more familiar stories, but looks deeper and wider to give the full story of Korea today.” —Martin Uden, Former British Ambassador to South Korea In just fifty years, South Korea has transformed itself from a failed state, ruined and … [Read More]
North Korea Confidential: Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps, Dissenters and Defectors
What is life in North Korea really like? This fascinating book by celebrated journalists Daniel Tudor and James Pearson explores that very question. The authors interview experts and tap a broad variety of sources to provide a startling insider’s view of the secretive North Korean society, including: Members of Pyongyang’s ruling families Defectors from different … [Read More]
A Brief History of Korea: Isolation, War, Despotism and Revival – The Fascinating Story of a Resilient But Divided People
From the publisher’s website: Exploring Korean history from its ancient roots to the present day, A Brief History of Korea is the story of a people with a rich and united culture that has become two Koreas in modern times—one isolated and secretive and the other among the world’s most successful economies. Korean culture developed on a … [Read More]
A Geek in Korea: Discovering Asia’s New Kingdom of Cool
From the publisher’s website: For every fan of K-Pop music, Korean Wave dramas and Kimchi—or anyone intrigued by Korea and Korean culture—A Geek in Korea is a hip, new guide to the land of the Samsung smartphone and Gangnam Style. Author Dan Tudor first arrived in Korea on the eve of the 2002 World Cup when … [Read More]
Asia’s Unknown Uprisings: South Korean Social Movements in the 20th Century
From the publisher’s website: Using social movements as a prism to illuminate the oft-hidden history of 20th century Korea, this book provides detailed analysis of major uprisings that have patterned that country’s politics and society. From the 1894 Tonghak Uprising through the March 1, 1919, independence movement and anti-Japanese resistance, a direct line is traced … [Read More]
Crossing Heaven’s Border
From 2007 to 2011 South Korean filmmaker and newspaper reporter Hark Joon Lee lived among North Korean defectors in China, filming an award-winning documentary on their struggles. Crossing Heaven’s Border is the firsthand account of his experiences there, where he witnessed human trafficking, the smuggling of illicit drugs by North Korean soldiers, and a rare successful escape … [Read More]
Korean Art: The Power of Now
From the publisher’s website: Despite its small geographical size, Korea has perhaps the most sophisticated contemporary art scene in Asia. In recent years, its vibrancy has been lighting up the whole world, with artists such as Do Ho Suh, Kimsooja, Michael Joo, and Koo Jeong-A emerging as major players on the international art scene. This … [Read More]