A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present

A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present

by Michael J. Seth
A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present

A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present

by Michael J. Seth

eBookFourth Edition (Fourth Edition)

$57.00 

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

This comprehensive book surveys Korean history from Neolithic times to the present. Michael J. Seth explores the origins and development of Korean society, politics, and still little-known cultural heritage from their inception to the two Korean states of today. Throughout, he adds a rare dimension by placing Korean history into broader global perspective. All readers looking for a balanced, knowledgeable history will be richly rewarded with this clear and concise book.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781538174548
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 01/04/2024
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 640
File size: 5 MB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Michael J. Seth is professor of East Asian and world history at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Professor Seth, who has lived and worked in South Korea, is the author of Education Fever: Society, Politics and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea (2002), North Korea: A History (2018), and Korea at War (2023). He is also the editor of the Routledge Handbook of Modern Korean History (2016).

Table of Contents

List of Primary Source Readings

Preface to the Third Edition

Acknowledgments

Maps

Introduction

1 The Origins

The Koreans

Early Inhabitants

The Age of Rice Farming Begins

Sources for Early Korea

Chosŏn

The Chinese Commanderies

Chinese Commanderies and Their Neighbors: The Northern Peoples

Chinese Commanderies and Their Neighbors: The Southern Peoples

Politics of the Third Century

Korea in Global Perspective: 5,000 Years of History

Notes

2 The Period of the Three Kingdoms, Fourth Century to 676

The Emergence of the Three Kingdoms

The Wa and Mimana

Korea and Northeast Asia in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries

Culture and Society of the Three Kingdoms

The Bone-Ranks, the Hwabaek, and the Hwarang

The Changing Environment of the Late Sixth and Seventh Centuries

The Unification of Korea under Silla

Korea in Global Perspective: State Formation

Notes

3 Late Silla, 676 to 935

The Peninsular Kingdom

Consolidation of Central Monarchical Rule under Silla, 676–780

Silla and the Chinese Model

Supporting the Silla State

Silla Society

Religion and Aristocratic Culture

Silla and Its Neighbors

Parhae

The Decline of Silla

The Later Three Kingdoms

Korea in Global Perspective: Silla’s Rise and Fall

Notes

4 Koryŏ, 935 to 1170

The New Koryŏ State

Koryŏ in East Asia

Internal Politics, 935–1170

Koryŏ Culture

The Samguk Sagi

Koryŏ Society

Korea in Global Perspective: Koryŏ’s Examination System

Notes

5 Military Rulers and Mongol Invaders, 1170 to 1392

Military Rule

Sŏn Buddhism

Korea, Japan, and Feudal Europe

The Mongol Invasions

The Legacy of the Mongol Period

Late Koryŏ Society

The End of the Koryŏ

Late Koryŏ Culture

The Rise of Neo-Confucianism

Korea in Global Perspective: The Mongols and Korea

Notes

6 The Neo-Confucian Revolution and the Chosŏn State, 1392 to the Eighteenth Century

Establishing the Yi Dynasty

The Neo-Confucianist Project

The Chosŏn State

The Censorate and the Classics Mat

Historians

The Examination System

Education

Agricultural Improvements and the State

Military and Foreign Affairs

The Japanese and Manchu Invasions

Competition for Power among the Elite

Chosŏn Politics in Perspective

Korea in Global Perspective: Chosŏn as an Ideologically Driven State

Notes

7 Chosŏn Society

The Family

Women during the Yi Dynasty

Social Structure

Slaves and Outcastes

Crime and Punishment

Religious Beliefs and Practices

Philosophy

Arts, Literature, and Science

Technology and Inventions

Korea in Global Perspective: Women in Korea

Korea in Global Perspective: Chosŏn’s Social Hierarchy

Notes

8 Late Chosŏn, Early Eighteenth Century to 1876

The Politics of Late Chosŏn

Late Chosŏn and the Confucian World Order

Korean Travelers to China and Japan

Taxation and Reform

Agriculture

Commerce and Trade

Cultural Flowering of Late Chosŏn

Sirhak

Everyday Life

Korea in the Nineteenth Century: The “Hermit Kingdom”

Internal Problems in the Nineteenth Century

Korea in Global Perspective: The Hermit Kingdom?

Notes

9 Korea in the Age of Imperialism, 1876 to 1910

Early Contacts with the West

The Opening of Korea

Early Reforms, 1876–1884

The Chinese Decade, 1885–1894

The Tonghak Rebellion

Kabo Reforms

The Russian Ascendency and the Independence Club

The Russo-Japanese War and the Protectorate

The Protectorate, 1905–1910

Korea in Transition

Korea in Global Perspective: Korea in the Age of Imperialism

Notes

10 Colonial Korea, 1910 to 1945

The March First Movement

The Post–March First Period

Cultural Ferment of the 1920s

Moderate and Radical Nationalism

Economic Development

Modernity and Social Change

Rural Society

Wartime Colonialism, 1931–1945

Forced Assimilation

A Society in Turmoil: The Legacy of Colonial Rule

Korea in Global Perspective: The Korean Nationalist Movement

Korea in Global Perspective: Korea’s Colonial Experience

Notes

11 Division and War, 1945 to 1953

The End of Colonial Rule in Korea

North Korea under Soviet Occupation

South Korea under U.S. Occupation

Trusteeship

Establishing a Separate Regime in the North

The Beginnings of a New Regime in the South

Toward Division

The Republic of Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

On the Eve of the Korean War

The Korean War

The Impact of the Korean War

Korea in Global Perspective: Divided Countries

Korea in Global Perspective: The Korean War

Notes 3

12 North Korea: Recovery, Transformation, and Decline, 1953 to 1993

The Divergent Paths of the Two Koreas

North Korea’s Recovery

North Korea’s Great Leap Forward

The Political Consolidation of Kim Il Sung and His Manchurian Guerrilla Comrades

Creating a Monolithic State

The Cult of the Kim Family

Kim Il Sung’s Juche Society

Everyday Life

Foreign Policy

Economic Problems

Korea in Global Perspective: North Korea as a Communist Country

Notes

13 South Korea: From Poverty to Prosperity, 1953 to 1997

The Syngman Rhee Years, 1953–1960

The Democratic Experiment, 1960–1961

The Military Coup

Economic Transformation

Economic Growth under Park Chung Hee

Chaebŏls

Transformation of the Countryside

Economic Development in the 1980s

Explaining South Korea’s Economic Miracle

Education

Korea in Global Perspective: Educational Development

Korea in Global Perspective: Economic Development

Notes

14 South Korea: Creating a Democratic Society, 1953 to 1997

Military Authoritarianism

The Yushin Era, 1971–1979

Seoul Spring, 1979–1980

The Fifth Republic

1987: A Political Turning Point

Transition to Democracy

Understanding the Democratic Turn

Student Activism

Organized Labor

Social and Cultural Transition

Korea in Global Perspective: Democratization

Notes

15 Contemporary North Korea, 1993 to 2019

In Decline: A Period of Crisis

Under Kim Jong Il

Ideology

Famine

Crisis and Summitry

Tentative Reforms

Confrontations and the Policy of Survival

North Korea under Kim Jong Un

Reviving the Past, Moving toward an Uncertain Future

North Korea and the Prospects for Unification

Korea in Global Perspective: North Korea’s Famine

Korea in Global Perspective: North Korea as a Failed State

Notes

16 Contemporary South Korea, 1997 to 2019

Return to Civilian Government

Economic Crisis and Recovery

Domestic Politics

Foreign Policy

Rethinking Reunification

A Society Undergoing Rapid Change

Changing Gender Relations, Changing Families

Ethnic Homogeneity and Multiculturalism

Facing History and Preserving Heritage

New Crises and New Problems

Korea in Global Perspective: South Korea’s Place in the World

Notes

Conclusion

Appendix: Romanization

Glossary of Korean Words

Annotated Selected Bibliography

Index

About the Author

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews