A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict

by Jinwung Kim

Contemporary North and South Korea are nations of radical contrasts: one a bellicose totalitarian state with a failing economy; the other a peaceful democracy with a strong economy. Yet their people share a common history that extends back more than 3,000 years. In this comprehensive new history of Korea from the prehistoric era to the present day, Jinwung Kim recounts the rich and fascinating story of the political, social, cultural, economic, and diplomatic developments in Korea’s long march to the present. He provides a detailed account of the origins of the Korean people and language and the founding of the first walled-town states, along with the advanced civilization that existed in the ancient land of "Unified Silla." Clarifying the often complex history of the Three Kingdoms Period, Kim chronicles the five-century long history of the Choson dynasty, which left a deep impression on Korean culture. From the beginning, China has loomed large in the history of Korea, from the earliest times when the tribes that would eventually make up the Korean nation roamed the vast plains of Manchuria and against whom Korea would soon define itself. Japan, too, has played an important role in Korean history, particularly in the 20th century; Kim tells this story as well, including the conflicts that led to the current divided state. The first detailed overview of Korean history in nearly a quarter century, this volume will enlighten a new generation of students eager to understand this contested region of Asia.

Genres: History, Asia, Nonfiction, Ebooks

1007 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 5, 2012

Reviews

[a dog who learned to read · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice run through of Korean history, although sometimes it does feel a bit like reading a big shopping list of war, death, and regimes, but I feel it's a pretty solid read. Wild to finish the book (while it notes the difficulties of reunification) in the same week South and North Korea formally end the war, but I guess that's history! There is also a really good picture of a pot in here (I'm an ancient Korean pot fan now) and the bibliography provides some potentially super interesting further reading. I do wish it read a little less dry for me (then I might not have taken 3 months to read this book), but it was a worthwhile and interesting read nonetheless.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was alright as an overview of the history of Korea but the author spent far too much of the book on the time from the Europeans onwards.

[Chetan Tyagi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book from the library without looking at reviews as it just looked quite decent. Turned out to be a bit of a disappointment in the end though.

First the positives. It's reasonably comprehensive and covers since the dawn of mankind to just a few years from present time. It is physically big so it can be used to impress people who may get impressed by stuff like that (my 7y old daughter for eg).

Now the negatives - there are a few imo.

First. I usually like my histories to be factual. Though some would argue all histories are opinion based but this one is probably as opinionated a piece as was ever written. Kim seems to have a deep rooted complex and half the book is didn't trying to prove to the readers, and I suppose to himself, that Korea is abd always was a sovereign nation with individual identity. However, in doing that it comes out clearly that it wasn't for long periods and basically most of what we find to know as Korean today is actually "inspired" by the Chinese. So much was the impact that for Koreans it seems the outside works began and ended with China with an occasional bit of Japan thrown in. In fact they way it's come about it feels modern South Korea is a complete mess and not a developed vibrant economy that it obviously is.

Second. The writing style is very dull. There are too many facts, there are too many names (what doesn't help is most of these are some sorry of Kim or Jong or such). Readers generally aren't interested in exactly which 5 individuals were responsible for a particular half important event 1000 years back. Reads much more like a textbook set out to teach you dates and names. Not fun.

Third. A very large part of the first half of the book (say before modern times) is devoted to art, culture, society etc. Again, I'm much more for kings, military history etc so this was very dour - mostly my issue than a problem with the book as such. However, this feels very odd as we move to the modern times as there is virtually no mention of these topics! The feeling you then get is that Kim pays so much attention to these aspects earlier because maybe he didn't have enough material otherwise and then the book looked too short and he just plonked those facts in... Not the best impression you want to carry of a good book.

Last. English is most probably not Kim's first language (neither is it mine) and some phrases that are used are just odd. For eg, once he ends a segment by saying "Thus, in one word" and then proceeds to write a while paragraph after that to summarise.

Overall, while I'm not disappointed as I did learn a lot about Korea, probably not something I'll recommend to everyone. A 2 star from me.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an okay history of Korea but it is very dry - almost painfully so. If you need help falling asleep at night, this is the book for you. The facts are all there, but I'm sure that there are better histories out there that make this fascinating peninsula a little more interesting.

[ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only korea history to read

I have recently read 8 books on korea, trying g to get some perspective. Not one other on Amazon covers 1910 to 1948. Books published a century ago or reminisces. Why are things the way they are in Korea? Read this bopk.

[Andrew Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good information but written in a very boring and wooden style. Shouldn't surveys of this country match its dynamic personality?