Yuktang Ch’oe Nam-son and Korean Modernity

In Yuktang Ch’oe Nam-son and Korean Modernity, the author traces the steps Ch’oe Nam-son (1890–1957), famed Koreanologist and independence activist, took at the beginning of the twentieth century in order to establish Korean identity as a cultural entity. In Part One of his book, the author reveals the multi-generational involvement of the Ch’oe family in modern Korean history, from the “enlightenment movement” to the “modernization movement.” In Part Two, he offers a new interpretation of Yuktang’s lifelong work, pointing out that the primary focus of Yuktang’s prolific scholarly endeavors was to free Korea from its sinocentric past and move its people instead toward an embrace of globalism. After revealing the hitherto unknown family history of Yuktang and presenting Yuktang’s work as a series of “globalization” efforts, the author concludes his book with an in-depth exploration of the present-day and future significance of Yuktang’s legacy.

Yuktang Ch’oe Nam-son is known for a wide range of activities:

1. he was a leader in the Korean independence movement against Japanese colonialism;
2. he wrote the Korean Declaration of Independence;
3. he was imprisoned by Japanese colonial authorities for two years;
4. he was a pioneering publisher of daily newspapers and magazines for young people and adults;
5. he published the only Korean literary magazine of its time;
6. he coined the word hangeul for the Korean alphabet and promoted its use as a literary medium;
7. he revitalized the traditional Korean poetic form called sijo;
8. he initiated compilation of the first dictionary of the Korean language;
9. he translated Western classics such as Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe;
10. he compiled the Encyclopedia of Korean History; and
11. he developed and promoted a new theory of the history and religion of ancient Korea.

Source: Amazon