Most Korean history books written by mainstream Korean historians – including A New History of Korea published by Harvard University Press – have led the readers to face or accept an erroneous or wrong interpretation of Korean history. For instance, when Queen Min of Joseon was assassinated in 1895, the Japanese hit squad killed the … [Read More]
Booklist: Pre-modern history (page 4)
Korean Confucianism: The Philosophy and Politics of Toegye and Yulgok
From the publisher’s website: This book explores Neo-Confucianism and its relationship to politics by examining the life and work of the two iconic figures of the Joseon dynasty Yi Hwang (1501-1570, Toegye) and Yi I (1536-1584, Yulgok). Neo-Confucianism became state orthodoxy in 1392, and remained in place for over five centuries until the end of … [Read More]
The True History of Korea (1): The Political History of Silla & Goryeo
Most Korean history books written by mainstream Korean historians – including A New History of Korea published by Harvard University Press – have led the readers to face or accept an erroneous or wrong interpretation of Korean history. For instance, mainstream Korean historians maintain that Silla unified the Three Kingdoms – Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje … [Read More]
Early Korea-Japan Interactions
From the publisher’s website: Volumes in the Early Korea Project Occasional Series focus on central issues related to the study of early Korean history and archaeology. The present volume presents seven studies of interactions between societies and polities on the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago from an archaeological perspective. The time periods reflected in … [Read More]
Buddhas and Ancestors: Religion and Wealth in Fourteenth-Century Korea
Publisher description: Two issues central to the transition from the Koryo to the Choson dynasty in fourteenth-century Korea were social differences in ruling elites and the decline of Buddhism, which had been the state religion. In this revisionist history, Juhn Ahn challenges the long-accepted Confucian critique that Buddhism had become so powerful and corrupt that … [Read More]
Transgression in Korea: Beyond Resistance and Control
From the publisher’s website: Since the turn of the millennium South Korea has continued to grapple with transgressions that shook the nation to its core. Following the serial killings of Korea’s raincoat killer, the events that led to the dissolution of the United Progressive Party, the criminal negligence of the owner and also the crew members … [Read More]
Hyecho’s Journey: The World of Buddhism
In the year 721, a young Buddhist monk named Hyecho set out from the kingdom of Silla, on the Korean peninsula, on what would become one of the most extraordinary journeys in history. Sailing first to China, Hyecho continued to what is today Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, before taking the Silk … [Read More]
Ginseng and Borderland: Territorial Boundaries and Political Relations Between Qing China and Choson Korea, 1636-1912
From the publisher’s website: Ginseng and Borderland explores the territorial boundaries and political relations between Qing China and Choson Korea during the period from the early seventeenth to the late nineteenth centuries. By examining a unique body of materials written in Chinese, Manchu, and Korean, and building on recent studies in New Qing History, Seonmin Kim … [Read More]
The Emotions of Justice: Gender, Status, and Legal Performance in Choson Korea
The Choson state (1392–1910) is typically portrayed as a rigid society because of its hereditary status system, slavery, and Confucian gender norms. However, The Emotions of Justice reveals a surprisingly complex picture of a judicial system that operated in a contradictory fashion by discriminating against subjects while simultaneously minimizing such discrimination. Jisoo Kim contends that … [Read More]
A Unique Banchado: The Documentary Painting, with Commentary, of King Jeongjo’s Royal Procession to Hwaseong in 1795
From the publisher’s website: Fully illustrated in colour, here is the first introduction in English to one of Korea’s outstanding cultural assets – the banchado (‘painting of the order of guests at a royal event’) relating to all those taking part (1800 people) in the eight-day royal procession to Hwaseong ( Gyeonggi Province ) organized by King Jeongjo in 1795 in order to visit the tomb of … [Read More]
Catholics and Anti-Catholicism in Chosŏn Korea
Korea’s first significant encounter with the West occurred in the last quarter of the eighteenth century when a Korean Catholic community emerged on the peninsula. Decades of persecution followed, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Korean Catholics. Don Baker provides an invaluable analysis of late-Chosŏn (1392–1897) thought, politics, and society to help readers understand … [Read More]
Naming the Local: Medicine, Language, and Identity in Korea since the Fifteenth Century
From the publisher’s website: Naming the Local uncovers how Koreans domesticated foreign medical novelties on their own terms, while simultaneously modifying the Korea-specific expressions of illness and wellness to make them accessible to the wider network of scholars and audiences. Due to Korea’s geopolitical position and the intrinsic tension of medicine’s efforts to balance the local … [Read More]
Gyeongju: The Capital of Golden Silla
From the publisher’s website: Gyeongju, the capital of the Kingdom of Silla, grew from a loose confederation of villages, called Saro, to become the capital of most of the Korean peninsula. Its relationships with Japan, the Eurasian Steppes, and countries along the Silk Road leading to Europe helped to make the city one of the … [Read More]
Brief Encounters: Early Reports of Korea by Westerners
From the publisher’s website: This anthology is a compilation of Westerners’ accounts of their visits to Korea, originally published in books or newspapers before the country opened its doors in the late nineteenth century. The opening of Korea made it possible to explore the country in detail and write detailed accounts. Prior impressions were garnered … [Read More]
The Ancient State of Puyo in Northeast Asia
From the publisher’s website: Mark E. Byington explores the formation, history, and legacy of the ancient state of Puyŏ, which existed in central Manchuria from the third century BCE until the late fifth century CE. As the earliest archaeologically attested state to arise in northeastern Asia, Puyŏ occupies an important place in the history of that … [Read More]
Classical Writings of Korean Women
This work is a collection of essays travelogues written by women during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The work ranges from a eulogy for a broken needle to a travelogue describing various trips to scenic spots on the Korean peninsula, including to the Keum-Gang Mountains. Now available in English, this collection gives us a sampler of … [Read More]