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The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History

Ever since Korea was first divided at the end of World War II, the tension between its northern and southern halves has riveted, and threatened to embroil, the rest of the world. In this landmark history, now thoroughly revised and updated in conjunction with Korea expert Robert Carlin, veteran journalist Don Oberdorfer grippingly describes how a historically homogenous people became locked in a perpetual struggle for supremacy, and how they might yet be reconciled.

Source: publisher’s website

LKL says:

We found the 1998 version of this account of post-1945 Korea highly readable, noting that one of its strengths is its blow-by-blow account of some of the diplomatic overtures and failures between the two Koreas and the US. We haven’t yet browsed this third edition but assume that it’s equally engaging.

LKL rating: score-2score-2score-2score-2score-0

External links:

* Where the book is available from a number of sources, they are prioritised as follows: (1) Amazon UK site, or Bookshop.org for the more recent uploads (2) Amazon US site (3) Other sites in US or Europe, including second-hand outlets (4) LTI Korea, where the title is advertised as available from there (5) Onlines stores in Korea. Links to Bookshop.org and Amazon UK site contain an affiliate code which, should you make a purchase, gives a small commission to LKL at no additional cost to you.