A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the PresentNow in a fully revised and updated edition, 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. Telling the remarkable story of the origins and evolution of a society that borrowed and adopted from abroad, Seth describes how various tribal peoples in the peninsula came together to form one of the world’s most distinctive communities. He shows how this ancient, culturally and ethnically homogeneous society was wrenched into the world of late-nineteenth-century imperialism, fell victim to Japanese expansionism, and then became arbitrarily divided into two opposed halves, North and South, after World War II. Tracing the seven decades since 1945, the book explains how the two Koreas, with their deeply different political and social systems and geopolitical orientations, evolved into sharply contrasting societies. South Korea, after an unpromising start, became one of the few postcolonial developing states to enter the ranks of the first world, with a globally competitive economy, a democratic political system, and a cosmopolitan and dynamic culture. North Korea, by contrast, became one of the world’s most totalitarian and isolated societies, a nuclear power with an impoverished and famine-stricken population. Seth describes and analyzes the radically different and historically unprecedented trajectories of the two Koreas, formerly one tight-knit society. 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. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Chapter 1 The Origins | 9 |
Chapter 2 The Period of the Three Kingdoms Fourth Century to 676 | 29 |
Chapter 3 Late Silla 676 to 935 | 53 |
Chapter 4 Koryŏ 935 to 1170 | 83 |
Chapter 5 Military Rulers and Mongol Invaders 1170 to 1392 | 111 |
Chapter 6 The NeoConfucian Revolution and the Chosŏn State 1392 to the Eighteenth Century | 135 |
Chapter 7 Chosŏn Society | 167 |
Recovery Transformation and Decline 1953 to 1993 | 361 |
From Poverty to Prosperity 1953 to 1997 | 399 |
Creating a Democratic Society 1953 to 1997 | 433 |
Chapter 15 Contemporary North Korea 1993 to 2015 | 467 |
Chapter 16 Contemporary South Korea 1997 to 2015 | 497 |
Conclusion | 533 |
Appendix Romanization | 539 |
Glossary of Korean Words | 543 |
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administration agricultural American aristocratic Army Asia became began Buddhism capital central Ch’oe China Chinese Chŏng civil colonial Communist Confucian country’s created cultural Democratic DPRK early East Asian economic elite emerged established exams forces foreign groups historians History of Korea important industrial invasion Japan Japanese Kim Dae Jung Kim Il Sung Kim Jong Kim Jong Il king kingdom Koguryŏ Korean history Korean society Korean Studies Korean War Koryŏ labor land late Chosŏn later leaders major Manchuria military modern Mongol movement nationalist Neo-Confucian North Korea northern officials organized Paekche Parhae Park Park Chung Hee Party peasants peninsula People’s percent period political population Pyongyang reform regime Rhee rice royal rule rulers scholars schools Seoul Silla slaves social South Soviet status Tang tion trade tradition troops United University Press Western women workers yangban Yi dynasty