A briskly written primer on the North Korean decisions, foreign interventions and accidents of fate which have both threatened and, ultimately, preserved the country’s dictatorship. This nimble tour through North Korea’s history revisits sixteen knife-edge moments when collapse, reform or war nearly shattered the Kim dynasty. Structured in four acts—from the peninsula’s partition in 1945 … [Read More]
Booklist: Non-Fiction (page 4)
The Cultural Diplomacy of South Korea: Exhibiting the Nation in International Museums
This book explores the role played by museums and museum exhibitions in South Korea’s cultural diplomacy and international projection of itself to the world. Based on extensive archival research and fieldwork in cultural diplomatic institutions across South Korea, Britain and the United States, this book charts the important role played by this form of cultural … [Read More]
Light and Thread
In this light-filled and multi-faceted book, her first since being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Han Kang draws together the threads of her work and life, tracing the connections between her interior and exterior worlds through a sequence of essays, poems, photographs and diaries. A book of reflections, of words and light, it has … [Read More]
I was a North Korean Diplomat: Inside the Secret World of Pyongyang’s Foreign Service
What Does the North Korean System Look Like from the Inside? Han Jin-myung served for years within the North Korean state apparatus before leaving the regime in January 2015. Although more than a decade has passed since his departure, the fundamental structures of power in Pyongyang remain largely unchanged. His testimony therefore offers a rare … [Read More]
Jeong: The Spirit of Korean Craft and Design
The first book to explore the full scope and beauty of Korean design – from traditional craft to celebrated contemporary creations Characterized by a unique blend of tradition and innovation, and by a focus on sustainability and efficiency, Korean design is recognized for its creativity, quality, and beauty. Jeong: The Spirit of Korean Craft and … [Read More]
Representations of Japan in South Korean Cinema of the Park Geun-hye Era: Invaders, Lovers and Demons
Providing a rare example of a national cinema that has managed to overturn the prevailing global paradigm of Hollywood dominance, South Korean films are nevertheless still haunted by the peninsula’s earlier colonial history. Focussing on a series of films produced during the administration of disgraced and then pardoned President Park Geun-hye (2013–2017), this book examines … [Read More]
Death Without End: Korea and the Thanatographics of War
The Korean War was never formally declared, and no peace treaty ending the war was ever signed. The 1953 armistice did not stop the war but marked its extension and expansion into a warlike state of emergency. How did the new reality of life under armistice shape visions of the possible in North and South … [Read More]
K-Pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today
K-Pop Fandom insists that K-pop fan practices and activities constitute a central productive force, shaping not only K-pop’s explosive global popularity, but also K-pop’s cultural impacts, politics, and horizons of possibility. Over the past three decades, the K-pop fandom and its activities have expanded, intensified, and diversified along myriad dimensions, assuming novel social, technological, and economic … [Read More]
Migration and Cross-Border Marriage in South Korea: Brokering Nationhood and Wifehood
Rather than treating them as logistical intermediaries, this book reconceptualizes the role of cross-border marriage brokers in South Korea, facilitating mobility while also helping to shape narratives around gender, family, and national belonging in contemporary Asia. Drawing on multi-sited, qualitative research – including discourse analysis of brokers’ online videos, interviews, fieldwork at an NGO, and … [Read More]
A Theory of Happiness: Lessons from a 100 year old Korean Philosopher
What does real happiness look like? How can we find true purpose, meaning and connection in our finite time on Earth? 105-year-old Professor Kim reveals key aspects of ancient Korean philosophy and shares stories from over a century of living to help us live better. Showing us how to lean into the world with more … [Read More]
North Korea: A History (revised ed)
North Korea is perhaps the most intriguing, infamous and enigmatic nation of our modern world. Yet how many of us know its full history, and how it came to be? How can we understand such a strange, isolated state? This new edition seeks to provide some answers to these questions. Starting with its origins in the … [Read More]
Lyrical Translation: The Creation of Modern Poetry in Colonial Korea
Lyrical Translation is a literary history of modern Korean poetry’s origins and its development through translation. As the use of Korean became increasingly restricted during the Japanese occupation, translation was not a choice but a necessity for higher education and intellectual labor. Yet it also had an expansive, creative function: Korean poets wielded it as an … [Read More]
Martyr of Blood, Martyr of Sweat: The Letters of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon and Venerable Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop
Korea is remarkable as the only country on earth where the Catholic faith emerged even before the arrival of missionaries. Forming an improvised community of believers, the first Korean Catholics desperately desired priests to say the Mass and administer the sacraments. Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon (1821-1846) and Venerable Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop (1821-1861) were the … [Read More]
Two Women Living Together
At some point between living alone and becoming single, Hwang Sunwoo and Kim Hana found each other, and decided to live together in a nice apartment where their four cats would finally have the freedom to run around. Together they became a family – and redefined it. At a time housing costs have skyrocketed whilst … [Read More]
The First Protestant Martyr in Korea from Wales: The Life and Ministry of Robert Jermain Thomas
The First Protestant Martyr in Korea from Wales: The Life and Ministry of Robert Jermain Thomas explores the life and legacy of Robert Jermain Thomas, a Welsh missionary who played a pivotal role in the early Korean church. Despite facing historical misunderstandings and political distortions — especially during Japanese colonial rule and Cold War tensions … [Read More]
Seoul Food: From Kimbap to Kimchi, Delicious Recipes from the Heart of Korea
Embark on a culinary adventure through the rich and flavoursome world of Korean cuisine as author Haebin Sudo recreates 60 carefully selected dishes for her first cookery book. Seoul Food is full of delicious dishes that showcase authentic Korean meals, both for everyday and for special dinner parties. From traditional family feasts and special occasion banquets … [Read More]