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Korean Sketches
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1898 edition by Fleming H. Revell Company, Chicago, New York, Toronto.
- GenresNonfiction
278 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1898
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 6, 2025
another very interesting read for class; gale is clearly fascinated by and enamoured with the korean culture, yet at times contradicts himself in his dismissal of certain aspects of it. his occidental bias and vested interest in the spread of christianity in korea are woven throughout his narratives, creating a paradox — he exhibits a deep curiosity for all things korean while simultaneously seeking to assert his superiority over them.
particularly interesting is the contrast between his studies of ‘the coolie’ and ‘the korean gentleman’. while the former is, for the most part, the recipient of much praise from gale — hailed as “the managing director of the nation” (p. 60) — the latter is treated with utter disdain: “anything like a determined effort he is entirely incapable of, as the mollusk is incapable of performing the feats of the shark or the sword-fish” (p. 191). perhaps his high regard for ‘the coolie’ can be attributed to the tendency of the educated middle-class to distance themselves from working-class labour while admiring their strong work ethic, as this sacrifice benefits them (and ‘the coolie’s’ help certainly did benefit gale frequently). conversely, his similar social standing to ‘the korean gentleman’ (as an ‘educated’ man) places gale in a more advantageous position to criticise him; he holds the korean man to his personal standards of education and loathes his ignorance of anything unrelated to confucianism and ‘heathenism’. naturally, however, this accusation of ignorance is an easy one to make when one assesses by a western, christian standard.
as a piece of literature, korean sketches is definitely not without its faults, but overall it was super intriguing to learn about the role of missionary work in the development of korean society in the 19th and 20th centuries, so i would recommend.
particularly interesting is the contrast between his studies of ‘the coolie’ and ‘the korean gentleman’. while the former is, for the most part, the recipient of much praise from gale — hailed as “the managing director of the nation” (p. 60) — the latter is treated with utter disdain: “anything like a determined effort he is entirely incapable of, as the mollusk is incapable of performing the feats of the shark or the sword-fish” (p. 191). perhaps his high regard for ‘the coolie’ can be attributed to the tendency of the educated middle-class to distance themselves from working-class labour while admiring their strong work ethic, as this sacrifice benefits them (and ‘the coolie’s’ help certainly did benefit gale frequently). conversely, his similar social standing to ‘the korean gentleman’ (as an ‘educated’ man) places gale in a more advantageous position to criticise him; he holds the korean man to his personal standards of education and loathes his ignorance of anything unrelated to confucianism and ‘heathenism’. naturally, however, this accusation of ignorance is an easy one to make when one assesses by a western, christian standard.
as a piece of literature, korean sketches is definitely not without its faults, but overall it was super intriguing to learn about the role of missionary work in the development of korean society in the 19th and 20th centuries, so i would recommend.
September 8, 2016
This memoir of Canadian missionary James Scarth Gale provides a very intimate look into the culture of Korea during a time of turmoil and great change. This turmoil and change is only touched on, but he gives great description of the people, the animals, the climate changes, and the religious culture of Korea through humorous, serious, surprising and very honest perspective. It is a very fun read that reads quite quickly. For a missionary, Gale's writing ability far exceeded my expectations. He does a grand job of writing his experiences and gives excellent reasons for why freedom of religion is essential to mankind, and how Christianity and Christ can instantly change a person's life.
January 19, 2020
역사교과서에서 간단한 몇줄의 설명을 읽었을때에는 그저 외워야할 역사였으나 누군가에게는 이질적인 문화와 주님의 사랑을 전파하기위한 삶의 치열한 장이였다는 것을 느끼게 해준 책
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews