Korean Graduate Studies Prep

Book Review: Sex Among Allies

2012-01-05T10:07:00.001+09:00

Title: Sex Among Allies
Author: Katharine H.S. Moon
Softcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 15, 1997)
ISBN-10: 0231106432
ISBN-13: 978-0231106436

Case studies are decidedly difficult to objectively review because one isn't just reviewing the accuracy of details and author neutrality but also the writing style and subject matter, as well. A boring case study, important as it may be, might be less entertaining than one of relatively low importance but that is easy to get into. This book is caught somewhere in between the two. Sex Among Allies is, nonetheless, an important study that deals with Korean prostitution around American military installations from the 50s to the late 80s, particularly with their change prompted by the "Nixon" Doctrine of 1971.

The premise that not only did prostitution thrive among American servicemembers and Korean women during this time but that it was sanctioned by the American military and the Korean government is alarming. As such, the illegal business were allegedly managed by local police and enforced by club owners. Negative impacts on society such as rampant spreading of venereal disease, racial tensions among white and black soldiers (and local business owners) and the social stigma of association was the women's to bear alone. The book's objectively is called into question by placing virtually all blame on both governments' efforts to promote prostitution as a means of recreation for soldiers; the women to sacrifice themselves to be "personal ambassadors" from Korea. Many of these objections were addressed in a mass cleanup effort in the early 1970s.

The story Professor Moon tells, however, is unmistakably genuine. The social stigma of such work forced many women, mostly from low educational backgrounds, to be stuck in a constant cycle of debt and abuse with little chance to better themselves. The book's position is clear: the unfortunate circumstances regarding the shantytowns that erected around U.S. bases places an even shame on all parties involved; those who set up shop and those who patroned the illict clubs. However dated the book may be, as many of these camps have since shut down or moved, the book's mere existence surely are evidence of change.

This book isn't exactly coffeebook reading material. However biased the view taken in the book may be, the history of such affairs and the arguments presented are well-sourced and difficult to fully refute. Take the book's stance with caution but embrace it for exposing a shameful past in hopes of not repeating it.

- - -

Alright, alright. No dirty sailor jokes. I started reading this book before entering the service and finished it almost half a year later. I was a little squeemish reading it on base but I keep to myself mostly.

Professor Moon mentions Camp Arirang (1995) but I could only find this trailer. I'd like to know more about what all has changed since the book (and documentary). Are things as bleak these days as they seem in the study?

Book Review: The Reluctant Communist

2012-01-01T12:59:00.000+09:00

Title: The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court-Martial, and Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea
Author: Charles Robert Jenkins, Jim Frederick
Softcover: 232 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (March 25 2008)
ISBN-10: 0520259998
ISBN-13: 978-0520259997

Former U.S. Army Sergeant Charles Robert Jenkins' shocking story of dishonorable defection, perpetual hardship, and an unlikely romance unfold in this ghostwritten memoir told now decades after his "release" from North Korea. TIME magazine correspondent Jim Frederick assists in crafting a regret-filled attempt of rectifying Jenkins' 1965 defection and subsequent life across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) into hostile territory. His life in North Korea was indeed extraordinary but is everything what it seems on the surface?

Jenkins' originally published his memoir in Japanese in 2005 and was then translated into Korean in 2006; this English language edition tells his unbelievable story from his unlikely desertion while leading a patrol, to his discovery of three other American defectors, to his adjustment to new life in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Because of his unique willingness to cross over, Jenkins and the other defectors occupied a unique position in North Korean society; not fully trusted yet strangely revered as "Cold War trophies". Some even rose to celebrity status after portraying despicable foreigners in popular propaganda films.

Although Jenkins mostly lived in rather spartan conditions, he's quick to point out that others in the North Korean countryside were not as fortunate during times of famine. His apparent ineffective brainwashing sessions were constant and government-assigned minders persistently dictated his day-to-day life. His residence changed often as did his assigned jobs; sometimes making fish nets other times teaching English. However regimented his life was, he still found himself in a situation to fall in love with a Japanese abductee. What happens when Jenkins leaves North Korea I'll leave for the reader to discover.

His narration is seductively easy to follow and makes appropriate detours when explanations are necessary to clarify context. The reader is cautiously drawn in to empathize with Jenkins and his plight. His story is told simply with few obvious embellishments. However, I'm still not fully convinced that the whole story is being fully disclosed. Jenkins' relationship with the other Americans is of particular interest, partly because some of the accounts conflict with what fellow defector Joe Dresnok recalls in the 2006 documentary Crossing the Line.

What concludes is a peculiar tale of almost Hollywood caliber. Reportedly, American film producer Brett Ratner has secured the rights to make a film adaption of Jenkins' story. One can only hope it's better than Tower Heist. That's not asking for much.

- - -

I've been interested in this story since I first came across it a few years ago. I posted about Joe Dresnok and Robert Jenkins before but after seeing Crossing the Line (2006) I always wanted to hear a different side of the story. The excellent British documentary focuses on Dresnok's story while Jenkins' 2008 memoir tells his side. There are a few conflicting accounts which I will leave open for those curious.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and wished I picked it up sooner. It gave me more of a rounded view of the life those four men lived. I only wish we could have known more about Abshier and Parish.

Book Review: Chain of Amber

2011-12-18T16:47:00.000+09:00

Title: Chain of Amber
Author: Mary Linley Taylor
Softcover: 169 pages
Publisher: The Book Guild Ltd (1992)
ISBN-10: 0863326064
ISBN-13: 978-0863326066

Mary Linley Taylor was an amazing woman who lived an extraordinary life. This book is her post-humously published autobiography which primarily focuses on her life in Korea in the early 1900s with her husband, gold mining entrepreneur and foreign correspondent Albert Wilder "Bruce" Taylor.

Mary's journey starts with her privileged upbringing in England and moves to her involvement with an international acting company which brings her to India, Japan and eventually, "settles" in Korea. Her sunny disposition combined with a feisty rebellious streak provides the reader with plenty of witty observations and humorous anecdotes. Indeed, Mary had remarkable experiences all over the peninsula. Her interactions both with notable Koreans and distinguished foreigners are testament to her character. A fearless traveler, she traversed dangerous mountain trails, roughed it in gold mining camps, and even traveled to England via Siberia; clearly she was resilient for a lady of her social standing. Furthermore, she was compassionate to Koreans and held an atypical affinity for her adoptive home away from home.

Having been well educated, her writing is thoroughly readable and detailed for being collected from her personal diary. For example, a charming reoccurring theme surrounds her lifelong attraction to amber and is used throughout the book. Taylor was also an accomplished artist and her sampled work is impressive. Although sparse, the illustrations and photos included illuminate her narrative and give life beyond mere description to many of her friends and locations.

A criticism I should point out includes her frustratingly lack of dates in many of her entries. It's difficult to pinpoint when exactly certain events occurred. Otherwise, there's sufficient surrounding context. Another gripe is the book's limited British pressing; this isn't an easy book to find.

Chain of Amber has plenty excitement, romance and tragedy to go around. Mary was an integral member of the Seoul foreign community for years and this book is her lasting legacy. Her exciting life abroad can be optimistically summed up in her own words: "These are the experiences that lend a fairy-tale quality to life in the Orient. In some ways, one gets so much more than one expects and, in others, so much less than what one counts on, that life is filled with infinite variety". Perhaps more poignant of a close comes from her last chapter "...a longing came to me to share my life experiences with others...the thought crystallized into a need...'I'll write a book,' I said out loud, 'whether anyone reads it or not.'"

- - -

I pulled another "If you give a mouse a cookie". After I finished Chain Of Amber, I noticed that Mrs. Taylor did not have a wikipedia entry, despite plenty of information available. So, I created a rough startup page that I hope grows into a proper reference over time.

I can't remember who or what encouraged me idea to pick up this book, but I was pleasantly surprised to finally get around to reading it. I worried that it would be full of hoity-toity judgments of barbaric Koreans but it couldn't be further from that. It's an amazing memoir. For one, Mrs. Taylor lived an adventurous life, wrote of her experiences with great emotion and left behind a wonderful testimony of her travels. Also, we share the same birthday.

I was amused at how many of her observations from almost a hundred years ago are still relevant today. Here is one especially funny observation about Engrish advertisements in Japan:

"The shop signs seemed funnier than ever to me that day: Tom Cock-Eye, the tailor, advertised in English, The Monkey Jacket Make for Japanese; a ladies' tailor sign read: Ladies have fits upstairs, there was also a photographer's sign which read: Photographer Executed Here, and a barbor shop announced that he was, A First Class Head Cutter." (p.34)

I was surprised to discover that their old house is still standing in Jong-no. Had I known that, I would have visited it when I lived in Seoul. Oh well, something to look forward to next time we visit.

There's also a short documentary floating around out there about the house called Mr. Taylor’s House by Mi-Jin Lee and Se Mee Kim of Bassim Media. I can't find it online yet, but it sounds fascinating by the description:

"There is an old fashioned, western type house in the center of Seoul, South Korea. We are going to meet people who once lived in this house and people who still live in the house. We will follow three of them: an American family, the Taylors who built the house in 1923 and the 92 years old son (Bruce Taylor) who spent his childhood in this house. We will also meet 82 years old inhabitant, Jeong, Wooyoung who has been living in the room, used to be a Taylor’s study for about 40 years and a 28 year-old young man, Choi, Sunghoon who recently moved into this house. Through these people’s personal stories with the house, we will get to know a fascinating aspect of Korea, its momentous history and its future."

Lastly, and most interestingly, while searching for references I was very pleasantly surprised to see that her son has written his own memoir. I surely am going to pick this one up, too.

Book Review: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

2011-12-15T09:12:00.000+09:00

Title: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Author: Barbara Demick
Softcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (December 29, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0385523904
ISBN-13: 978-0385523905

Award-winning journalist Barbara Demick of the Los Angeles Times' triumphantly successful Nothing to Envy uncovers a romantically human side of North Korea and her disenchanted citizens. Surrounding six multifarious North Koreans' dramatic, decades-long oral histories are brilliantly told starting from humble, loyal beginnings to eventual controversial defection. This memorable documentation of ordinary citizens and their amazing survival through unspeakable danger and life-altering trauma is requesting only a receptive audience.

The reader gains a truly well-rounded viewpoint of the times from six different perspectives. From the propped-up and powdered Pyongyang façade to the gritty and industrial Chongjin rail yards, this overarching story starts in the homes of many ordinary citizens who survived countless obstacles growing up in the notoriously restrictive The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Some fortunate few were hand-picked to attend prestigious universities while others had practical duties to provide for their families any way possible. Others still, like homeless children infamously known as "kotjebi" (꽃제비), wondered the streets in packs and stole to survive.

Among the personal anecdotes include a dumbfounded medical physician's practical denial of Kim Il-sung's 1994 death. Also, seemingly regardless of social class and family backgrounds, all eventually felt the squeezing grip of famine sweeping across the country in the late 1990s known as the Arduous March. It was through this increasingly inescapable reality that survival became paramount included any and all options; no matter how illegal or dangerous. Each story's journey is more astonishing than the last. Most satisfying is when the reader finds out what they have been up to since the original manuscript was constructed.

Demick's writing style evokes a pleasantly familiar tone. While reading, I drew respectable comparisons to John Hersey's groundbreaking classic Hiroshima. Lo and behold, Demick was a student of Hersey's which makes Nothing to Envy a successful nod of appreciation to his tutelage. Like Hiroshima, you'll find a similar chronological pacing of alternating narrators as well as develop a personal attachment to the people who tell their remarkable journey in amazing lucidity.

I can recommend this book without reservation as it will obviously appeal to human rights minders, North Korean experts looking for oral history reports, and a handful of academics interested in totalitarian dictatorships, wide-spread economic systems failure, and human trafficking. I also want to earnestly suggest this book for the intimate character-driven narratives that appeal to any and all. You feel for this people. You realize that they are no different than any other ordinary people born into extraordinary circumstances. Some were disillusioned with their government from the get-go while others were staunch supporters of their ideology. For better or for worse, their sincere stories are unabashedly told here.

- - -

For those that can stomach their sadness, you are rewarded with their joys. I was reminded of 2008's 크로싱 (Crossing). For those who have seen it, you have any idea of what to expect.

I applaud Ms. Demick for her well-deserving work.

Book Review: Pioneer American Businessman in Korea

2011-12-12T06:17:00.005+09:00

Title: Pioneer American Businessman in Korea: The Life and Times of Walter D. Townsend
Author: Harold F. Cook
Softcover: 104 pages
Publisher: Royal Asiatic Society Korean Branch (July 20, 1981)
ISBN-10: 8993699119
ISBN-13: 978-8993699111

Harold Cook's final publication reads more smoothly than his exhaustive exposé Korea's 1884 Incident: Its Background and Ok-kyun's Dream. As an adaptation from his doctoral thesis, suppose it should be massive. However, Pioneer American Businessman in Korea was published almost ten years later and is much more pragmatic without compromising Cook's trademark investigative writing style.

As the title suggests, this is a thorough biography of occidental businessman Walter Townsend (1856-1918). Like Dr. Cook, Townsend was a successful businessman in both Japan and Korea. Packed into this slim book is the definitive story of Townsend's successes and failures which are intermittently woven into pertinent members of the foreign community in Korea of the time. From his meager beginnings as a wristwatch salesman for an American trading company in Yokohama to setting up his own import and export business in Chemulpo (present day Incheon), Townsend's tale is truly remarkable. Cook pulls no punches as not only to dig into Townsend's documented past but goes further by including an appendix of the extended Townsend family heritage.

Among the author's admirable writing qualities is his frank honesty. When certain holes of data were regrettably not available or could not be clarified, Cook openly admits their absence and instead allows the reader to speculate. These courteous gestures appear often and are appreciated. Considering that Townsend left only two remaining pieces of personal correspondence, Cook likely had a difficult time telling his tale, however this comes off as of no consequence. The portrait Cook paints is remarkably extrapolated considering his limited resources of the time. Keep in mind that this book was conceived well before the convenience of having readily available research on the Internet. Ironically, this book, which claims to follow the life of a single overseas businessman, is more detailed and varied than Intrepid Americans, Bold Koreans, a book with a similar premise written decades later that claims to cover several early entrepreneurs.

Another intriguing writing quirk Cook employs is a frequent use of French and Latin phrases. Many of these sparingly sprinkled phrases are charming cognates such as "laissez-passer" and "chargé d'affaires" while others such as "sine prole" and "inter alia" are not sufficiently identifiable without proper context. A Latin ignoramus like myself was left begrudgingly scratching my head and mumbling mea culpa.

Sadly, this book is increasingly difficult to obtain outside of Korea. Reprints are fortunately available from the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch, with whom Cook was actively involved in during his time in Korea. Also, save for one slightly overexposed portrait of Townsend, this book contains no illustrations. This is a shame because seeing early Chemulpo would have been an appropriate visual treat.

Harold Cook surely felt an entrepreneurial instinct to pen a book about a captivating businessman who braved cultural misunderstandings and financial roadblocks only to emerge as a long-standing, successful foreign resident in Korea. Townsend was truly a pioneer and could not have asked for a better biographer.
- - -

I seldom do this, but I contacted the author's family in hopes of understanding the brilliant man that Dr. Cook was. It seems that this obituary notice is the closest thing I can find online about his life. I hope that through correspondence, I can find more about the man who left such an indelible mark on Korea's history.

Book Review: Intrepid Americans: Bold Koreans

2011-12-11T08:17:00.003+09:00

Title: Intrepid Americans: Bold Koreans--Early Korean Trade, Concessions, And Entrepreneurship
Author: Donald Southerton
Softcover: 169 pages
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (October 21, 2005)
ISBN-10: 0595370683
ISBN-13: 978-0595370689

International business consultant and author of A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm, Don Southerton aims to present a look into early examples of American entrepreneurship in Korea. However, the unique title's ambition might leave more questions than answers.

At only 169 pages in length, Intrepid Americans, Bold Koreans essentially revolves around the professional career of one such American businessman, Henry Collbran, as well as the ill-fated tale of American "pirate" ship, the General Sherman. Both are covered in moderate detail but venture little outside of their immediate impact on history.

Hollbran's story is fascinating and fortuitous. The road to the lucrative goldmining concessions that he obtained with his partner, Harry Bostwick, through the influence of diplomat Dr. Horace Allen were certainly worthy of note. His good fortune is carefully mapped out and delightful to follow. However, the narrative is short and doesn't delve into other businessmen of the time who certainly had remarkable stories to tell.

The infamous General Sherman narrative, while entertaining and well-constructed, includes debatable historical inaccuracies. Southerton claims that after the crew was killed in 1866, the ship was returned to America and eventually sunk outside Wilmington, North Carolina in 1874; unfortunately, this is not a widely accepted fate. The story of the ship's involvement in Korea is fascinating but its history is frustratingly convoluted. For one, the Sherman was once known as the USS Princess Royal. Another problem is that there were numerous ships with the same name built around the same time. For example, one was a mammoth 774 ton screw steamboat while the another was a 187 ton tinclad river gunboat.

Furthermore, the topic of early Korean businessmen is hardly covered at all. Despite being part of the book's title, Southerton barely mentions Korean businessmen; Yi Chae-yon (이채연) of Seoul Electric Company and Doosan Group founder Park Seung-jik (박승직) are only cursory mentioned. Unlike the Collbran and the General Sherman chapters, no such detail is found in the Korean chapter.

Thankfully, the included appendixes and endnotes are helpful, welcome resources for further research. Also, the numerous pictures and charts that Southerton include are appropriate and greatly enhance the narrative. However, some illustrations are clumsily laid out away from the surrounding text, forcing a lone photo to occupy an entire page. It's a small but obvious visual compliant.

The end result is merely a quick glance into the subject. I was disappointed in the book's short length, because what is there is mostly good stuff. Intriguing contents notwithstanding, what you get doesn't encompass the book's broad title. If you're interested in how Koreans interacted with early American entrepreneurs, this isn't what you're looking for. I had high hopes but was ultimately disappointed. The author has had a successful career in Korea and is capable of writing a much more thorough work than what has been published.

- - -

Fortunately, there's lots of other examples of Southerton's work that can be found on his company's publication page including free ebooks such as this bilingual history of Chemulpo (Incheon). I wish Southerton would have put a more polished product out because I did like what he had to say, however brief it was. I'm still looking forward to checking out his historical fiction, though.

Book Review: Please Look After Mom

2011-11-28T06:27:00.002+09:00

Title: Please Look After Mom (엄마를 부탁해)
Author: Kyung-Sook Shin (신경숙)
Translated by: Chi-Young Kim (김지영)
Softcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Knopf (April 5, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0307593916
ISBN-13: 978-0307593917

Seemingly effortlessly translated into English, Please Look After Mom unabashedly attacks the heart and leaves the speechless reader in a state that can only be remedied by picking up the phone and calling your mom. Internationally recognized author Shin Kyung-Sook's unforgettably poignant 2008 novel is the recipient of several literary awards. However, is it all just culturally specific schmaltz lost on American readers or is there enough literary substance to warrant its international acclaim?

The story is about an elderly woman who accidentally becomes lost amidst a busy Seoul subway stop and her selfish family's frantic, consequential search. The book is contextually divided into four narratives: the critical eldest daughter, the favorited eldest son, the nomadic absentee husband, and finally the saint-like mother herself. Each chapter delves more into the tender, borderline naive characterization of the mother and the subsequent guilt felt by those who ultimately failed to live up to their proper familial roles. The characters are humanly flawed but forgivingly empathetic. You find yourself criticizing almost each family member for their insensitivity but then apologetically root for their redemption.

Culturally speaking, the setting is a striking contrast between socially progressive Seoul-centered modernization and war-torn traditional country-side values that are more and more lost with each passing generation. The mother's poverty-stricken childhood is but a dim memory to her doted children who knew little of her sacrifice and sorrow. Other than a few culturally contextualized moments, the narration needs very little pretext for the average non-Korean reader to appreciate the depth of this story. After all, everyone has a mother.

That's the general consensus with this touching story. At some part in most people's lives, like the characters in the story, we all have an epiphany and realize that our own mothers were not born mothers but instead chose to be mothers. Even though my own mother's personal sacrifices were naturally different than the ones described in the book, her loving presence is echoed in this story, as many other readers, too, have expressed.

It's indeed a sentimental Korean tear-jerker but thankfully it's also well-written enough to be almost effortlessly appreciated by an international audience. Having read the English version, I'm anxious to read the Korean version in hopes to further pick up on certain nuances that were likely to have been inescapably lost in translation, such as the subtle differences between "Mom (엄마)" and "Mother (어머니)" and the title's ambiguous message (엄마를 부탁해) which could be interpreted as either a dutiful order or a spiritual request.

- - -

This novel doesn't exactly pertain to Korean studies, but it is a work that deserves to be talked about. It's got me wondering what else I'm missing in Korean literature, that's for sure.

Book Review facelift

2011-11-21T04:07:00.000+09:00

I've been prompted by the failure of Books.LivingSocial to merge my book collection over to LibraryThing. I like it so far. What's more is that I've gone back over my previous reviews and spruced them up a bit. Nothing major, just a few typo fixes and some rephrasing.

I'm happy that I left such detailed notes about how I felt about these books. Rereading what I wrote reminded me that I actually paid attention and cared about the subject matter. I strongly recommend others to do the same. I had almost forgotten that I had read certain titles until I looked back at both my notes on the inside cover and scattered all over almost each margin - let alone the review online. It's inspired me to pick up some new books that have been collecting dust on my shelf.

So, I give you the new and improved book review list.

Wait One

2011-11-07T04:55:00.000+09:00

Funny how a single belated post updates and at the same time disappoints.

I'm currently serving in the United States Navy so consistency and quality of postings are likely to be even more scant than before. Believe me when I say that not a day goes by when I wish I could devote all of my day to simply studying the Korean language and the history of her people. Unfortunately, bills have to be paid.

Whether this blog falls into further obscurity is irrelevant, really. I use it to track my personal passions and clearly they have been on hold for some time. I'd like to think that one day I'll get back into a routine that allows me to read more about Korea.

Oh and it seems I backed the wrong horse in regards to linking book reviews. Books.LivingSocial.com has ceased operations and with it, all of my online library of reviews. Thankfully, I still have them here. I suppose step one will be to re-create my online library based on my physical library.

Any suggestions?

Thoughts on AAS conference

2011-04-05T03:40:00.004+09:00

crossposted.

This trip has been eye-opening in many ways. I’ve reaffirmed my distaste for traveling, discovered that the ability to speak Korean is impressively useless to ever-present Chinese and Japanese-speaking tourists, and realized that becoming a Korean history go-to guy may not be in the cards for me.

It’s not that I didn’t enjoy myself; well, actually, maybe that’s precisely it. Yes, I didn’t enjoy myself. But, I must allow into consideration that I had many factors stacked against me. Taking a travel-hating country boy far away from the comfort of long, open highways, the Dallas Mavericks and locally brewed Shiner Bock, I was already cranky by the time I left Dallas. Away from my picturesque wife and stunningly sweet little girl, I was missing home mere moments after takeoff. I attempted to remedy this by calling and/or texting every five seconds. Think I went over on my minute plan. Is that even possible anymore?

Regardless, traveling is expensive I usually don’t feel more enlightened as a person after I get back. I usually just feel a little fussy. I mean, really? An eighteen dollar hamburger? What do you mean twenty five dollar “checked baggage” fee? And you, how do you sleep at night, Mr. Overpriced Surfing Instructor? I didn’t mean to put my head through your windsurfing sail; it just happened during one of many falls off your one hundred thirty dollar windsailing board. You don’t have to rub my nose in it. I already did that, clearly.

Secondly, I didn’t know anyone at the conference other than my hotel rooming buddy. All other social engagement responsibility rested solely on my sunburned shoulders. I tend to give up easily when it comes to making friends. Call me shyly introverted, please, but don’t call me cynical; I’d hate to start avoiding you, too. Making friends is hard.

Finally, and most importantly, I was out of my professional element. I was at a conference with some of the world’s most brilliant academics; men and women who have dedicated the better part of their lives on a hyper-specified subject that has questionable real-life application. Multilingual and perfectly drilled to recall random facts and figures, I was but an unwelcome fly on the wall.

The conference was for Asian studies academics, which I am not. I knew that going into it but I didn’t realize the level of detail and hair-splitting involved with post-doctoral panels pursuing the difference between 노예 and 노비 or Joseon dynasty codes of punishment; let alone arguing the value of said distinctions over the course of several hours. In truth, I found several panels delightfully stimulating while others seduced me into believing I was at my grandmother’s house relaxing in the back bedroom on Thanksgiving; the only place on Earth capable of bringing even the most pill-popping, energy-drink fueled teenager to a gentle lull. Some non-native speakers spoke almost poetically while others struggled to finish a coherent sentence. Some had dazzling visuals while others monotonously read right off their paper with nary a powerpoint slide or handout. Shame.

Most of all, I found myself in utter mediocrity. The “Independent Scholar” label stamped on my name badge was ambiguously mysterious and erroneously led to some asking when I finished my dissertation. I humbly corrected them by meekly replying that being an “Independent Scholar” actually meant that I was a bottom feeder located snugly at the bottom of the academic food chain – just above summer interns but decidedly below pretentious first year grad students.

What could I have expected, though? I haven’t formally studied anything yet. I suppose that the aspect of trying to hang with the big boys in the future is almost too much to live up to. No matter if I started grad school today would I ever be able to live up to some of the panelists I met. Yes, I’ve read their books. Yes, they are rock stars to my world. No, I can never match their linguistic ability let alone academic ability. I am Jack’s sense of defeat.

I’ve rethought my (future) position very much this past week. It all comes down to a few basic questions that are still not adequately answered: What am I? Who am I? Am I a school teacher? A future professor? A would-be scholar? Am I a sailor? Or am I just a husband? A father? A family guy? Is there room for a real balance?

When I get in ruts like this, I try to count the good in my life and I’m relieved to be able to list so many blessings. I’ve got a good job, a good looking future job with the Navy, health insurance, a car, clothes on my back, a college degree, and, most importantly, an incredible family. I am the world’s luckiest guy just to know my wife and daughter, let alone be a part of their lives. I got it good, it’s just not the same type of good that I was aspiring to.

I know that graduate school is still very much a goal for me, but as far as what type of profession I want to get into later in life, which specific field of Korean studies do I want to focus on, or if I even want to go past the master’s and go for the PhD is still up in the air. I come away from this a little more wise and a lot more open to possibilities. Oh, and sunburned and jet lagged. That too.

Not Forgotten

2011-02-14T10:11:00.000+09:00

What's that you say? I've given up on the Korean studies? Not a chance!

However, teaching fourth grade doesn't exactly give me a lot of free time to pursue the passions, now does it? Take that plus a little baby due next month and there you have a perfect reason for why nothing seems to have gotten done.

How I miss the free time allotted to English teaching in Korea. I could knock out a book in a month; now I'm more like a book every three.

However, I am approaching a career change that just might give me the chance to not only study independently but to go to graduate school. More on that later.

Have faith and stay tuned!

December Link Dump

2010-12-18T11:22:00.000+09:00

- Perfect timing. Just as I email Charles over at Korean Modern Literature in Translation for a request, he publishes this excellent newbie's guide to Korean literature. Read. Absorb.

- Psst. Knock it off already.

- Ah the Gapsin Coup. Always an interesting topic.

- Learned a lot about the Tokyo Rose the other day.

Happy Holidays. Miss you, Korea. Here's a laugh for you.

AAS 70th Annual Conference

2010-11-16T10:19:00.001+09:00

Who's got two thumbs and going to be in Hawaii from March 31st to April 3rd?

This guy.

I somehow convinced my loving, supportive and incredibly pregnant wife to let me go to the 70th Annual Conference put on by the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). Not only does 2011's event plan to be the biggest it has ever been boasting three times the amount of presenters, it will also be jointly hosted by the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS). What does all this mean for an aspiring Korean historian? History Nerd Overload. I can't wait.

This will be an especially memorable event for me because my new job has taken up virtually all available time to do the things I'd like to do. This is a real treat. I know that AAS will have other conferences in the future but this one really seems like it'll be one to remember. Sure the flight ticket is unnecessarily expensive, I have to take off quite a chunk of work to attend and the conference just happens to be taking place roughly two weeks after the birth of our daughter, but hey, why not, right?

If you'll be there too, shoot me an email or a comment and let's meet up.

UPDATE: Thoughts on conference.

Statistics on Foreigners in Korea

2010-11-12T08:58:00.000+09:00

*This is actually a few year-old post from my personal blog migrated here for keepsake.

I ran across a Marmot's Hole entry that finally gave me the data I have been looking for. I have been super curious as to the actual teaching credentials held by in-service English teachers in Korea. The results weren't surprising, but I was hoping the for the best. Anyways, here's the situation:
20.5% are classified as certified teachers
37.4% hold TESOL certifications
5.4% hold both TESOL and teaching certifications
16.8% hold degrees related to English education
12.6% hold education degrees
48.0% hold a degree not related to teaching whatsoever
I understand that I am a minority in believing that teachers of any subject should be qualified; and by qualified I mean hold educational degrees. I also recognize that some teachers who hold education degrees shouldn't be teaching at all while others who hold a non-related degree are great in front of kids. However, I still stand by my opinion that children in any country deserve the best possible education.

-Thanks again to the Marmot's Hole, here are some numbers of current E-2 holders as of October, 2008:
15,238 Americans
10,111 Canadians
3,021 Britons
1,412 South Africans
1,162 New Zealanders
1,158 Australians
1,051 Chinese
978 Japanese
626 Irish
56 French

-per Galbijim

Only about half of native English speakers working at Seoul schools have renewed their contracts for 2009.

According to Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Tuesday, 144 of 273 foreign English teachers who were eligible for a renewal of their contract have signed to stay on another year.

Last year, the city education office also saw about half of its foreign teachers renew their one-year contract, however, it had only 11 who had more than three years teaching experience.

-per Marmot's Hole

"There are an estimated 30,000 foreigners teaching English in Korea. Only 16,000 have E-2 visas, making most of the rest illegal. The problem is that authorities find it difficult to crack down on the illegal teachers, and rely primarily on tips."

-per Korea Herald

The city government information office (서울시 정보화기획단) announced on the 19th that the population of Seoul has increased for the last five years consecutively, reaching 10.45 million people at the end of last year. On December 31st, 2008, there were 10,456,034 citizens and holders of alien registration cards in the city, 34,252 more people than at the end of 2007. 76.3% of the new residents are foreigners, of whom 23,204, or 88.7%, are either Chinese or Chinese of Korean descent (조선족). With the global economy having fallen in the fourth quarter, the growth of the foreign population also paused, decreasing some 3,689 people.

There were 96,241 births in Seoul last year, 3,866 fewer than the 10,107 in 2007. The falling birth rate has thus reversed after increases in 2006 and 2007. 2006 saw a boom in marriages and births after being called auspicious by astrologers and 2007 was a golden pig year, but the effects of those years have disappeared and the birth rate is following suit, the report said.

-per Galbijim

The Ministry of Justice announced Sunday it will allow only nationals of countries including English as an official language that have signed an agreement with Korea to work as assistant English teachers from next year.

The Justice Ministry is currently working on the agreement with India and expects it to be signed next year. So far, only the nationals of seven countries whose mother tongue is English — Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States — have been eligible to work as native English teachers.

With the new measure, member countries will be expanded to include the likes of India, the Philippines and Singapore, where English is one of their many official languages. Currently, there are 4,332 native English assistant teachers in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide.

However, nationals of such countries will have to meet tougher qualification requirements than those from the countries where the mother tongue is English. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has decided to make both a teacher’s license and a bachelor’s degree in an English-related major as prerequisites. Nationals of the seven countries whose mother tongue is English have much more lenient requirement of having graduated from a two-year community college or having finished at least two years of a four-year university course.

A qualification to teach in private English institutes will continue to be limited to nationals of the seven countries.

-per Chosun Ilbo

As of April last year, 63,952 foreign students were studying at Korean universities -- more than five times the 12,314 registered in 2003.

Foreign students studying in Korea are overwhelmingly Asian, accounting for 92 percent of the total. Chinese students number 44,740 or 70 percent, Japanese 3,324 (5.2 percent), Mongolese 2,022 (3.2 percent), and Vietnamese 1,817 (2.8 percent). In contrast, American and Canadian students take up just 3.3 percent of the total and European students 2.4 percent.

-per Chosun Ilbo

Children from multicultural families are becoming a common sight in many Korean neighborhoods, with the Ministry of Public Administration and Security finding last May that there were 140,000 foreign spouses here, accounting for 16.2 percent of the total of about 640,000 foreign residents. Most, or 120,000, were women.
The number of children under 18 from such families was about 58,000, soaring from only 25,000 in 2006 and 44,000 in 2007.

Chinese Koreans accounted for the majority of foreign spouses, followed by Vietnamese, Japanese and Filipinos.

According to the National Statistical Office, foreign-born women accounted for 71.5 percent of spouses from overseas and men for 28.5 percent in multicultural marriages between 1997 and 2007. The majority of children or 57.1 percent were under six, and 32.2 percent were between six and 12, meaning children under 12 accounted for 89.3 percent.

Many of them find it difficult to fit in, often because they do not speak Korean well, are uncertain of their cultural identity and come from poor families. Most Korean men who marry Asian women are from rural areas, and the marriages often do not last.

-per Chosun Ilbo
The law requires those wishing to obtain the E-2 visa to submit a police certificate of their personal criminal history issued in the country of citizenship or residence and stamped by the Korean embassy. The new version also requires the applicants to hand in a health certificate to show the person has no infectious or sexually transmitted diseases, and a transcript from the last educational institution attended in a sealed envelope.

-per ROK Drop

The number of international marriages between South Korean citizens and foreign nationals increased from 12,188 in 1998 to 38,491 in 2007.

-per Korea Beat
...The number of foreigners registered in our country has quadrupled over the past eight years, and the number of intermarriages between Koreans and foreigners has increased 250% over the past six years...

-per Chosun Ilbo
...There are now more than 120,000 foreign wives who are married to Korean men and living in Korea. International marriages accounted for 11.1 percent of the country's total matrimony in 2007 -- one in nine couples being multicultural. Over 58,000 babies were born into multicultural families. Korea has briskly become multicultural...

-per the Marmot
"The number of foreigners based in Korea has exceeded one million for the first time, up 24 percent, or 215,543, from the previous year, a survey said Wednesday.
According to the one-month study conducted in May by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, there are currently 1,106,884 foreigners residing in the nation, accounting for 2.2 percent of the nation’s entire population of 49,593,665."

-per ROK Drop

The number of foreigners based in Korea has exceeded one million for the first time, up 24 percent, or 215,543, from the previous year, a survey said Wednesday.

According to the one-month study conducted in May by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, there are currently 1,106,884 foreigners residing in the nation, accounting for 2.2 percent of the nation’s entire population of 49,593,665.

“The double-digit increase is attributable to the inclusion of overseas Koreans who have lived in Korea for an extended period of time,” a ministry official said. Previously, they were excluded from the survey.

More than 60 percent of the foreign population live in Seoul and its vicinity ? 30.3 percent reside in Seoul, 29.3 percent in Gyeonggi Province and 5.6 percent in Incheon

October Link Dump

2010-10-29T11:35:00.000+09:00

- This is just stupid. Don't they teach you to ignore gossip in Stanford?

- Henry Savenije in the Korea Times. Well deserved.

- What is going on in Seoul these days? Stop the madness, people. Violence here and here. (Update: there's more to the G.I. slash 노인 fight than originally thought. hint hint - he wasn't a G.I.)

- North Korea's future dictator and I are 동갑? Really?

- Hey goober. Where's the ~~meat~~ kimchi?

- And just in time for the blog pressings, an Orlando 한국학교's total lapse in judgement - in song version. A genuine must-see.

Book Review: We Married Koreans

2010-10-29T11:27:00.003+09:00

Title: We Married Koreans
Edited by: Gloria Goodwin Hurh
Softcover: 212 pages
Publisher: Llumina Press (March 2009)
ISBN-10: 1605942154
ISBN-13: 978-1605942155

Gloria Goodwyn Hurh's book is a unique collection of twelve lifelong journeys of American women who married Korean men in the 1960s. Aside from having the current distinction of being the only of its kind, this book is a curiously telling hodgepodge of women who have stories that many will be interested in reading. However, is it just history repeating itself twelve times over or will there be enough to keep you flipping pages?

As described in the introduction, the undertaking for publishing these personal stories came about naturally but incredibly slowly. However, the final product stands as a social history for those to read in the future; much like the oft referenced 1953 inspiration "I Married A Korean" by Agnes Kim. Although three of the stories were written anonymously, most follow the same pattern of candid exposition and the entertaining frankness that only a seasoned soul can affectionately deliver.

Despite the hopelessly bland and colorfully mismatched cover, I was more than happy to discover that most stories had accompanying photos; usually one from the wedding and another taken decades later. The international appeal to the story and couple really came alive with the photos which were a very welcome addition to the already fascinating stories.

My only gripes are aimed at the somewhat narrowed scope of the book and demographic samples. The limitation of American women writing the book of their Korean husbands is one thing but the age limitation is another seemingly pointless requirement. I would have liked to have read more stories from all ages groups. Another puzzling constraint comes from a somewhat lack of diversity in the backgrounds of the groom's family. Most of the stories involve well-to-due Korean men who came to the states to study at universities on official government grants. Furthermore, regarding language, most of the groom's family members spoke English which was likely uncommon and unrepresentative of the population even for today's standards let alone for the post-Korean War era. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be an upwardly mobile bilingual Korean, but it seemed a bit of an elitist sampling.

All in all, though, despite the deceptively similar backgrounds of the people involved, We Married Koreans is an enjoyable easy read. However, you might feel like once you read one you've read them all which is a real shame because each couple is clearly a source for their own incomparable story. Anyone married to a Korean might find these anecdotes worthwhile.

- - -

Okay okay, so this is hands down the gushiest book I've ever admitted to reading let alone reviewing (and yes, I still deny that I ever read any of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books because for all you know, I didn't). Yes, this collection of stories is a dedication to Agnes Kim's old school I Married A Korean (which Gusts of Popular Feeling covered quite nicely a few years back if you'll recall). Yes, it was interesting. Leave me alone about it

It's been a while since regular posting and I apologize for the wait but the book title should sum up what I've been up to recently. Since getting married in June, we;re getting ready for the baby next year. Becoming a father might place a bit of strain on free time for the blog, to say the least.

September Link Dump

2010-09-28T09:56:00.000+09:00

- It's been said, but I still think it pertinent laughable to post that North Korea now has facebook, twitter and youtube accounts.

- LiNK posted a new documentary titled "Hiding" about North Koreans trying to defect to China.

- The Grand Narrative is one of my favorite blogs. Two of James' most recent posts highlight his proficient sense of research and presentation. As always, well done.

- Cao Cao's tomb is fake. How about that?

- She's making rounds again. The grandma who tried 960 times to get her driving license.

- U.S. says thanks but no thanks to the sale of leftover rifles left over from the Korean War. Keep in mind these were to be sold to private collectors. Still, am I the only one who was surprised that "...87,310 M1 Garands and 770,160 M1 Carbines..." were left behind? That seems like quite a cache to leave behind.

- Not that it should be considered news but an increasing number of men in Korea are getting plastic surgery.

- Near and dear to my heart - Texas and Korea together at last. Too bad I was fifty plus years too late.

- Lastly, two new blogs/forums came across my radar: Korea's Information Society and the Korean Sentry.

Apologies for the light posting. New job and a move back to the states has hampered my free time. Hope to get back to reading regularly. In the meantime, here's a delightfully random article on ten lost technologies.

Book Review: Ewha Old and New: 110 Years of History 1886-1996

2010-08-29T11:36:00.002+09:00

Title: EWHA Old and New: 110 Years of History 1886-1996
Author: Ewha Womans University Archives
Hardcover: 164 pages
Publisher: Ewha Womans University Press (October 10, 2005)
ISBN-10: 897300655X
ISBN-13: 978-8973006557

For such an important university, it sure has a boring history; or so this book would lead you to believe. Although not as dynamic a history as Yonsei or long as Sungkyunkwan, Ewha does indeed deserve a better book to tell its trailblazing and controversial story. This official book printed in gloriously predictable self-appreciating pride from the university's own publishing press. Ignoring the inevitable patting on the back, it lacks character and is riddled with grammatical mistakes. Is this the supposed definitive source pulled from their own archives?

To say nothing of flair or voice, the entire book barely reads like clinging flesh to a bone; the bone being a dry timeline and the flesh being an obligatory sentence or two. The school's nearly 125 year history is reduced to following the opening of departments, dorm hall dedication dates and university presidents and their political platform. Little is said of the financial and social turmoil of the early days or the politically charged demonstration activities of the students. Taking no chance, this book leaves out all the good stuff.

It can be said that there are some nice photographs and the layout is pleasant to look at but ultimately I get the feeling that I'm reading a slapped-together non-natively translated Korean to English transcript with minnimal heart and no more information that couldn't already be found printed en masse on a trifold pamphlet found in any one of the school's building. Disappointing.

I was expecting at least a tour guide's level of insight but could not have been more bored while reading Ewha's supposedly important history. Knowing full well that the school does have a notable history worth publishing, this book does it no justice. It does have a nice cover and pictures but sorely lacks in content, though. An embarrassment that looks pretty, I suppose.

- - -

It's no secret that I like Ewha. I formally studied Korean there on and off since 2007 and I have very good memories of the campus. I studied under wonderfully talented Korean language teachers and found peaceful solitude on its beautiful campus many a day. I've been on a few campus tours and learned more and more tidbits along the way through a book or two here and there. I wished that there was more out there.
So imagine my shock and surprise when I saw this book sitting on a bookstore shelf waiting for me just days before I left Korea. I thought that I'd have a great little travel companion on that long plane ride to Texas; only to find out that it has less personality than the rock my mom keeps outside of the front door of the house I grew up in.

Oh well. Moving on.

August Link Dump

2010-08-21T11:14:00.001+09:00

- Obviously the month's biggest news comes from the Japanese Prime Minister's apology to South Korea for forced colonization. This is one the most recent of a sporadic series of carefully worded apologies by Japan. AAK has commentary. Highlight of the article can be found in a recent correction:

Correction: August 15, 2010

An article Wednesday about Japan’s apology to South Korea for its colonial rule contained information from The Associated Press that incorrectly stated that officials in Seoul had accepted the apology. The South Korean Foreign Ministry said that the government had ‘‘paid attention’’ to the apology.

- ROKDrop has a wonderfully concise writeup on the Korean DMZ. Nicely done.

- Bone up on your history of fake Asian cinema and delve into Yellowface.

- A 7000 year old wooden oar was found in 경상남도.

- Part one of a promising story on Mt. Halla's first foreign climber.

- Statues older than the terracotta warriors discovered in Hunan province.

Book Review: Syngman Rhee: The Prison Years of a Young Radical

2010-07-28T17:56:00.003+09:00

Title: Syngman Rhee: The Prison Years of a Young Radical
Author: Chong-Sik Lee
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Yonsei University Press (May 2001)
ISBN-10: 8971415363*

This pleasantly surprising text about the early life of Korea's first president is everything it claims to be and much more. Instantly readable for a wide audience, Professor Lee beautifully weaves Rhee's story into world happenings of the time with brilliance. In addition to providing a personal look at Syngman Rhee's budding career in journalism, the book delves into the lives of prominent figures around young Rhee including King Kojong, Yun Ch'i-ho and Seo Jae-pil. The author fills in some blanks left by other notable biographers on the fascinating backstory on one of the most complex politicians in modern history.

In essence, the book follows Rhee's early childhood education and finishes on his trip across the Pacific Ocean to start his formal education in America. As the book's title suggests, though, the bulk of the content surrounds his five year, seven month-long life in prison dating from January 9th 1899 to August 7th 1904. However, we also get to see sufficient progress he made as a student of the English language as well as a writer for progressive-orientated publications. Considering his yangban upbringing and remarkably impressive strides made as a boy studying classical Chinese, Rhee's time in prison, including his conversion to Christianity and numerous self-imposed writing projects like an English-Korean dictionary, was productive. His undeniable fame in his mid-twenties was enough to grant him plenty notoriety. Such a man of this caliber simply did not exist in Korea elsewhere at the time save for the aforementioned Yun Ch'i-ho or Seo Jae-pil. Rhee's story is done justice here.

Quite refreshing is the author's tendency to provide meaty footnotes for nearly every page. Also noteworthy is Professor Lee's candid admission of Rhee's hot-headed nature and his painfully naive early viewpoint of Japan and her intentions with Korea as well as Lymon Abbott-inspired Christian doctrine. Despite Rhee's final legacy being that of disgrace and shame preceding nation-wide protests, his early career is objectively covered.

What does stick out as possible faults to this otherwise unblemished book is its obvious short length and a predictably negative interpretation of King Kojong's legacy. Suitable examples of Kojong-bashing include a comment on the space of time between the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War: "Through his diabolical ignorance and stupidity, Korea's ruler had idled away the precious decade reducing it to no more than a prize to be plucked by the victor" (p.82). However, when considering that the book's subject was a staunch independent activist bitterly angered by a corrupt, rotting government that not only squandered a centuries-old dynasty by financial mismanagement and domestic complacency but also fell victim to foreign dependence and eventual forced colonization. Of course, this is also the same government that was responsible for his extended incarceration. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the author supports Rhee's own disdainful thoughts on Korea's king: "Rhee regarded Kojong to be 'one of the weakest and most cowardly emperors of a 4,200-year old succession of sovereigns.' The record of his reign speaks for itself" (p.115).

Overall the book is one to pick up for anyone with an interest in either the beginnings of the Korean presidency or Korea's early modern time period. For the story it has to tell, it's certainly worth picking up regardless of Rhee's debatable legacy. What's most important to note is how closely Rhee's life story follows Korea and her struggle for independence from foreign powers. For that, it's a no-brainer. If you can find it, buy it.

- - -

* For one reason or another, this book's ISBN gets confused with the 1983 reprint of Underwood of Korea. Not sure what's going on with it but even Amazon's got a mess of a listing for the book. Perhaps the problem lies with the publisher.

Having only a relatively minimal knowledge of the Korean presidency I can say that this book answered a lot of questions I had about 이승만 as an activist. Moreso, it has has piqued more interest about his life. I suppose it's the stark contrast from his upbringing, education and goal only to have to dishonorably step down from a dream position for gross unethical conduct and all around political tyranny. I was also intrigued to read that Seo Jae-pil served as a kind of role model for young Rhee. Must follow up on this one.

Book Review: The Five Years' Crisis, 1866-1871: Korea in the Maelstrom of Western Imperialism

2010-07-27T00:16:00.002+09:00

Title: The Five Years' Crisis, 1866-1871: Korea in the Maelstrom of Western Imperialism
Author: Yongkoo Kim
Hardcover: 170 pages
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press (November 25, 2001)
ISBN-10: 8989443016
ISBN-13: 978-8989443018

With a name like that, how can it not be a lopsided look at the opening of Korea? Despite a well-meaning disclaimer that the author "...has tried to maintain a balanced view on this unfortunate period in history by guarding against chauvinistic interpretations of Korean diplomatic history that impute all the mishaps to foreign powers, as well as against so-called colonial versions which deny the autonomous capabilities of the Korean people" this brisk 170 page book falls flat on its bold claim as is about as unbalanced as it could be in such a small amount of space. Not that early encounters with Korea from Western powers weren't decidedly all from unsavory people relatively unrepresentative of their respective countrymen in general, the book clearly takes a defensive and anti-foreign stance against foreign interaction. Earliest examples include the persecution of Catholics which prompted French intervention in 1866.

Don't let the subjectivity of the writing to lead you to think that the book isn't worth your time because it most certainly is. It's a concise read full of embedded translations of proper nouns into 한자, helpful notations and good footnotes. In its original form, the book was the first chapter of a much larger Korean language work titled "세계관 충돌과 한말외교사 1866-1882". In the current English language form, it's just enough to entice interest and provide an excellent primer for the events surrounding the eventual opening of Korea. It's a bit lacking in some details such as the details of the Oppert incident. However, regarding the curiously inept Oppert, we do learn that "Once again, the Korean government was assaulted by international predatory imperialism." (p.90) and that "this extraordinary incident was planned by hooligans who dreamt of making a fortune at one stroke, their financial backers who willingly bankrolled these hooligans, and a corrupt Catholic priest." (p.91) While I can't say that Ernst Oppert was anything less than a naive would-be thief, the rest of the book follows this slanted viewpoint hinting of piracy, nativity and western ethnocentrism. For some cases, this prejudice is warranted but it's a bit gratuitous to paint events past as a whole in this color.

Despite the obvious nationalistic stance, the book does have other minor flaws. The most curious of which is the indiscriminate abbreviation for all Western first names. For example Father Stanislas Feron reads as S. Feron. This pattern seems to be almost uniform regardless of each person's historical preference or title. The other minor issue regards another abbreviation this time in the footnote section. Supposedly long winded titles like British Documents of Foreign Affairs are reduced to BDFA possibly to save space. It's purpose is clearly lost on this reader because after each footnote, I'm left with no other choice than to return to the beginning of the book for the code breaking abbreviation guide. Hurray for brevity.

However, as far as where it counts, I feel this book, while lacking in length, stands up as credible. Professor Kim poignantly claims that "it was because of this [Oppert grave robbing] incident more than any others that the Korean government further sequestered itself from the Western world." (p.91) which I feel is more historically relevant than the usual finger-pointing inciting occurrence of the General Sherman. Furthermore, the author's inclusion of French and American sources including private letters should help give credibility to the man's work as it is indeed a well-researched book despite a few literary slaps in the Western face from time to time. It's got the content where it matters and the biasedness is easy enough to spot.

Professor Kim has produced a very readable English translation of his 2001 Korean work "세계관 충돌과 한말외교사 1866-1882" albeit in peacemeal form. It's inviting enough to pick up the second installment hinted in the conclusion of the first book; tentatively titled The Kyorin Order and Korea but was actually published as Korea and Japan: The Clash of Worldviews, 1868-1876 six years later. With the first installment's 15 dollar price tag and somewhat disappointingly lack of detail, even the extraordinarily helpful appendixes, glossary lists, Hanja-to-English definitions, world timelines and such make this one a toss-up. I'm glad I read it but you might want to spend your money elsewhere if the subject isn't your thing.

- - -

Courtesy of Robert Neff, we recently were granted an up-close look at the grave robbery site in its present day form as well as a more fleshed out back story of the players involved. For more on the incident and Oppert, the somewhat dated yet still accessible Korean History Project has a nice writeup. I look forward to getting into the next book.

Book Review: Korea Bug: The best of the zine that infected a nation

2010-07-20T14:51:00.007+09:00

Title: Korea Bug: The best of the zine that infected a nation
Editor: J. Scott Burgeson
Softcover: 374 pages
Publisher: EunHaeng NaMu; 1st edition (September 8, 2005)
ISBN-10: 8956601097
ISBN-13: 978-8956601090

Too much hype and not enough substance. The curiously titled compilation of the best articles from the author's self-published zine that supposedly infected a nation largely lets down despite claims of being representative of the underground expatriate community. What the almost four hundred page long book amounts to is being mainly a collection of translated interviews with albeit interesting people in Korea though it lacks a certain credible charm.

Granted, the source material for the book is rather dated, much clocking in at over ten years since originally published, yet the interviews still hold some insight into admittingly rarely untouched realms of published content. Burgeson should also be held in high regard for being a good writer, which he most certainly is despite the bulk of the book being essentially a transcription of taped interviews. Also worth prasing is the book's meaty introduction most of all for its fascinating and amazingly detailed look into the history of zines in Korea. Lots of good history to be found which he admirably and thoroughly covers with careful attention.

However, the occasional personal references to drug use and the like are off-putting and distracting. Burgeson also comes off as surprisingly old hat in his discontent for the internet and its new wave of expats who self publish effortlessly on blogs and forums. A trailblazer like himself would seemingly welcome the new addition of expat writers to the scene if not it threatened by his own niche on writing about Korea, it seems.

Bug is a decent read worthy of a quick glance at best. For those who care, his best form is found in his ability to research, dissect and write about obscure topics in a delightfully deadpan manner. However, having had read the best of his old zine, I don't feel like I've missed much of the rest. Taken with a grain of salt, it's an alright read at best. Frankly, I've seen better on blogs.

- - -

As much it seems I'm ripping apart this final project of a seemingly long dead zine, I don't mean to say that it's garbage; it's just not this mind blowingly infectious like the back of the book praises leads it on to be. Perhaps I'm one for humility but then again maybe his style just rubs me the wrong way. How else am I supposed to revere the musings of a guy who hocked the original source material on the streets of 인사동 and smoked pot with the best of them? Maybe I got the guy wrong but such candidness seems inappropriate; but then again, maybe writing about irreverence is what the author intended and perhaps therein lies the appeal. Actually, I'm pretty sure that is his angle and for that, he plays the angle quite well.

I will say that while his introduction might be a bit longer for other readers' tastes, I found it to be very agreeable. Of course, it's about a topic that very much interests me so objectivity be damned. Burgeson's guided tour into short lived self-published zines put out by Peace Corps volunteers is surely nostalgic for those who remember such times. Burgeson truly is a good writer; something that no casual but negatively inclined book review can deny. This is especially true of his first chapter exposing five strange books written about Korea by "honkies". A job well done in combining truly perplexing books and cleverly aimed commentary.

As mentioned in the review, his glaring weaknesses outshine the possible informative and entertaining writing style. Of course, seeing as how this review is written electronically on a blog, I have a natural biasedness towards embracing the internet and blogs in particular. However, I do acknowledge that internet anonymity will likely never take over the centuries-long tradition of written print, but that's exactly my point. Electronic media is still in relative infancy and thus to do anything but at least recognize it for its potential and future is to be automatically labeled as old school. I have no false notions that the iPhone, Kindle or Blogger writing platform will replace the feel and respectability of a hardbound text anytime soon but the future is uncertain. What can be said for sure already is that self published print zines are a dying, if not already, dead media along with more resource laden and ad revenue-driven magazines who haven't adopted or adapted to an electronic delivery business plan. But then again, perhaps I'm jumping the gun a bit. After all, the book that I just got around to reading was published five years ago.

Just my two cents. Having never met the guy, I can't really say I understand where he's coming from but I do commend him for having pursued something that he believed strongly in. If only my Korean was good to read his newest publication 대한민국 사용후기, I could get a better look at the author's intent. For what it's worth, the man seems to be able to balance quirky controversy and witty intellect with the best of them as evidenced by his promotional video. Whether it's your style of humor or not, I get the distinct feeling that Burgeson's got tough skin and is plenty happy with his work.

July Link Dump

2010-07-17T13:36:00.002+09:00

- the U.S. Capital Building is deteriorating. Anyone have 216 million to spare?

- Coinciding with reading a great memoir, here's the Underwood house that was bombed.

- A great piece on Namdaemoon's reconstruction.

- Treason? Interpretors? Frogs stuck in wells? Count me in.

- AAK's got a guest post about the 1997 IMF Crisis. I attempted the same subject a while back.

- Nixon wasn't the only one thinking about nuking North Korea apparently. Remember how tense it was back in 1994?

- So, let me get this straight: laughably low salary and tragically high suicide rate? why on earth would anyone want to be a Korean celebrity is beyond me.

- The news in Korea this month is depressing as all get out. Proof in English here and here and here.

- Japan might be doing something to compensate Korean forced laborers. Might.

- Floodwaters got you down? Song dynasty China fixed that problem a while back.

- Korea's Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has closed the book on the 노근리 incident it seems. I think we can all agree regardless of who is to be blamed, it was a tragedy.

Book Review: Korea in war, revolution and peace: The recollections of Horace G. Underwood

2010-07-12T17:39:00.003+09:00

Title: Korea in war, revolution and peace: The recollections of Horace G. Underwood
Editor: Michael J. Devine
Hardcover: 370 pages
Publisher: Yonsei University Press (2001)
ISBN-10: 8971415622
ISBN-13: 978-8971415627

The personal recollection of the grandson of easily one of the most famous foreigners in Korea, this memoir contains his own personal accounts of all the major events surrounding his equally famous life. Absorbing and easy to read, Underwood's family history hardly needs any introduction outside of Korea. Originally published in 2001, just three years before the author's passing, H.G. Underwood and Michael Devine sat down to finalize a collection of audio interviews, email correspondence, and privately published childhood recollections that have coalesced to the publication that can be found today. The third of out four generations of Underwoods to be named Horace, H.G. Underwood lived a most fascinating and fulfilling life fit for any Hollywood movie script. From his precociously innocent upbringing as a mischievous child in Seoul to his teenage life on furlough in the States for high school and college, his astoundingly well-rounded career in the Navy and subsequent vital contribution to translations and peace negotiations during the Korean War, to heading one of Korea's most prestigious private universities, H.G. Underwood did us all a favor by writing his memoirs. Devine surely should be applauded for spearheading the editing process.

As discussed in the introduction, the Underwood family isn't exactly the most creative or original in terms of naming of children. First up on the table is the author's place in the hard to follow Underwood family tree. Horace Grant Underwood (1859-1916), grandfather to the author, was among one of the first Protestant missionaries to come to Korea in 1855. His only son Horace Horton Underwood (1890–1951) was also involved in missionary and educational work, especially with Yonhi University, predecessor to Yonsei. The oldest of five children, Horace Grant Underwood III (1917–2004) shares his legacy as in countless ways including translator, negotiator and educator and was an avid boat and ship enthusiast. Frustratingly enough, the oldest of the author's own three children, is also, yes, no joke, named Horace Horton Underwood (1943- ) and was also a Yonsei English professor as well as a successful business consultant. It should be said that of course there are members of the Underwood family that don't fit the predictably cookie cutter naming convention but the ones that are named Horace are the most difficult to trace in common conversation. Not to mention that the eldest Horace also interacted with former missionary turned businessman and politician Horace Newton Allen (1858 - 1932). It's easy to get your Horaces mixed up.

Without delving too much into detail, H.G. Underwood's story is mildly uninteresting in the beginning and end and is delightfully detailed and fascinating in the middle. His life was full distinct prestige but he wrote quite humbly which as a reader, I appreciate. Sprinkled throughout are thoughtfully placed photos enhancing the fireside chat style of his tales. Oratorically moving, his prose is concisely to the point and leaves little room for bird walking. His attention to fine detail combats the curiously high number of minor spacing and marking errors present.

I encourage those who have heard of the Underwood family but are a bit confused as to who did exactly what in Korea when and where to pick up this book. Through this memoir, a good footing can be grasped to better understand this immensely influential family and their achievements. If for nothing else, it follows a unique perspective trace of Korean history from the end of Japanese colonization to modernization and everything in between. It's well worth your time.

- - -

Ever since reading his awe inspiring contribution in the final chapter of Richard Harris' Faces of Korea, I have been interested in the Underwood family and H.G. Underwood in particular. His memoir was refreshing to discover and I can't help but hope that other pillars of the foreign community follow suit and publish their own memoirs. Those needing another reason to pick up this book can read a light but glowing review by longtime Duke physics professor M.Y. Han.

H.G. Underwood's funeral was one to notice for Koreans let alone the foreign community. After reading, I can't help but be even more curious as to why the Underwood family left Korea. Anyone caring to fill me in out of my own personal curiosity is encouraged. It didn't have anything to do with 양화진 by any chance, did it? Was it a decision made without hard feelings?

2010 RAS Garden Party

2010-07-02T18:59:00.000+09:00

The Royal Asiatic Society - Korea Branch annually holds a garden party alternatingly at the American and British Ambassador's residence. This year's meet-and-greet at the American residence featured an entertaining yet surprisingly short traditional Korean musical performance from a group whose name I didn't catch as well as the annual RAS book sale. A historical site of its own, Ambassador Stephens' residence, known as the Habib House, is located just behind 덕수궁's back gate.

The original house long demolished, the property that housed that housed the original American legation was purchased in 1884 by Lucius Foote for approximately $2,200 at a time when his annual salary was but only $5,000. The American legation whose famous low ceilings caused understandable discomfort to six foot plus tall Horace Allen. Decades later during the Korean War, the grounds were occupied by North Korean forces in 1950. Despite enemy presence, surprisingly not a single item was reported to have been stolen. Years after the war, due to its age, countless add-ons and general poor upkeep, there was only so much dried mud that could hold up the building. Then current Ambassador Philip Habib insisted that a new building be built in the traditional Korean style. Completed in 1976, the house that stands today was never inhabited by the man who oversaw its inception. The house was dedicated in Habib's honor upon his death in 1992. The plot of land that houses the Habib House has many more stories to tell; some of which that I am butchering now. I encourage those who have access to either visit it one day or research it.

Finding the way-too-nice-to-be-an-ambassador's-residence was painless and after being greeted by the friendly security guards, a serene locale is discovered amongst downtown Seoul's depressingly numerous concrete block buildings. A true oasis in the desert, the Habib House is one of many spectacular views on the premises.

Shaking hands with people that are way out of my league and certainly more distinguished than I felt both surreal and pleasant. Some in atterndence were young ones like myself and others are complete rockstars in my world in terms of books written, lectures taught and decades spent studying and teaching Korea and her history. Makgeolli flowed lightly but steadily as the early evening fortunately moved on rain-free. I regret that I didn't take enough pictures but it was a predictably entertaining get-together. Other than buying way too many books from the book sale as I did, the event was free of charge to members; nice considering the locale, catering and spirits. If you didn't go, you missed out.

Book Review: Korea's 1884 Incident: Its Background and Ok-kyun's Dream

2010-06-30T14:48:00.002+09:00

Title: Korea's 1884 Incident: Its Background and Ok-kyun's Dream
Author: Harold F. Cook
Softcover: 264 pages
Publisher: Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch (January 1, 1982)
ISBN-10: 8993699089
ISBN-13: 978-8993699081

The late Harold Cook did the Korean academic world a favor with his painstakingly detailed monograph surrounding the 1884 coup d'état known as the Gapshin Coup. Not betraying its 1972 original pressing, this gem of a book continues to enlighten, educate and inform its readers decades later after its first publication.

Born into an influential family linage at a time when their collective power was well into decline, Kim passed the high civil service exam with flying colors at the age of 22, an impressive feat for the time. A promising career ahead of him combined with close personal contact with King Kojong and a disillusionment with the rising conservative party primarily consisting of members of the Yeoheung Min family, Kim became one of Korea's foremost reformists. His dream consisted of several country-wide changes including autonomy from China and embracing open foreign trade. Kim and others felt that this could be achieved by selective Japanese assistance. This dream was secretly shared by others and manifested itself into a lofty plot that resulted in a three day failed turnover that, following the murder of prominent officials, prompted Chinese military intervention. After its failure, Kim fled to Japan.

Throughout the text, subtle hints at true leadership, if not shared leadership, of the plot's framers are supported by several sources indicating that while Kim Okkyun certainly had a role, and quite a big role, his was not likely the source of sole leadership. Park Young Hyo (朴泳孝), Hong Young Shik (洪英植), Inoue Kaoru (井上馨) and others also had their vitally prominent roles that were arguably more important than Kim's. Those looking for an insight into what Kim and his cohorts did prior to the attempted turnover will be happy to know that his visits to Japan prior to the plot were adequately documented.

Cook compiled the contents of the book from a number of English, Korean and Japanese language sources. Needless to say, this was done prior to the internet age and should be taken in such repected context. Remember that his research was limited to whatever he could personally find in libraries and thus didn't benefit from modern digital categorization as well as subsequent files discovered since original publishing. Therefore, historical inaccuracies are bound to appear in such older texts. Cook was thorough enough to chronologically arrange the story around his own objectively accurate commentary and conjecture. Humble in his conclusions and gracious in his admissions at being at a loss for solid evidence at times are among his more admirable traits. Furthermore, his writing style gently prompts the reader to draw conclusions that may or may not agree with his disposition; something that I find especially refreshing.

Unfortunately, it's not as smooth a read as one would hope for. The level of detail in the weeks and days before the December 4th plot feels drawn out and sluggish to this reader. He also builds up the plot's preparation but leaves the actual plot's sequence of events and immediate consequences surprisingly not well covered. One might finish the book asking if there was an additional chapter missing. His presentation of this tantalizing story is sweetened to almost enormous detail that it might actually scare off the casual reader; which is a shame because the story is one to share with the world. What's important, though, is that Cook presents a story that, while sometimes hard to follow due to the large cast of characters and their intricate power struggle for control over the promising hermit kingdom, is both fascinating and appealing still to a modern audience. However, lacking in any illustrations whatsoever, the occasional grammatical error, too, is undemandingly forgivable.

For what it is, it's good. Not great, but most definitely not bad. This book presents an English-speaking audience with a stunning biography and delves into one of the turning points in Korean political history. For that, it certainly succeeds. For the casual history enthusiast, it is missing in detail of the good stuff but has plenty of the stuff that you might not care about. The appendixes help to make up for these shortcomings by filling in some questions readers might have such as seating arrangement at the post office dinner party and the new government's proposed first order of business. Take it for what it is. Slightly disappointed, I can at least walk away feeling a bit more informed.

- - -

김옥균 was a bad writer. Not because he compiled his apologetic "Journal of 1884" after the fact whilst hiding in Japan and not because he wasn't a learned man; he most certainly was. He was a bad writer because he left no daily diary during which most conjecture is being made in modern times. Bad reformist. Bad.

When we're gone, how will history remember us? A great way historians determine the thought process behind a person of historical interest are by primary sources such as a journals and diaries. Okkyun left no such authentic thing. Therefore, we are left to assume on many aspects of his life. Cook did what he could with what he had at the time and produced a work that does his legacy proud. I look forward to reading his book on Walter Townsend.

June Link Dump

2010-06-29T19:17:00.000+09:00

- Complicated Currents: Media Flows, soft Power and East Asia (edited by Daniel Black, Stephen Epstein and Alison Tokita) is online for free. Good reading.

- Michael's Breen walks us through the 13-month-long Second Republic. A great writeup.

- How does one exactly talk about a non-traditional family in Korean? Asadal Thought candidly shares his experiences.

- What gives? I'm still waiting for a part four of ROK Drop's fascinating look at Korea's ghost airports. To be fair though, a fourth installment was never actually promised....but still... Read Parts I, II, III on your own or to get an idea of what's going on, BBC has a short video about the curiously abandoned airports.

- Laura and Lisa Ling's book is out.

- In more important news, AAK has an excellent primer for what's going on with this whole sinking of the ROKS Cheonan.

- Matt over at Gusts has some good stuff about Korea during the Japanese protectorate period.

- China unearths more Terracotta Army soldiers. Any luck of getting inside Qin Shi Huang's tomb anytime soon?

- Hye Cho's travel journal is going on display.

- China admits North Korea started the Korean War. Am I wrong in thinking that 이승만 was preparing to invade?

- The Colosseum is opening up the gladiator's waiting pit for the first time for the public. Good to know seeing as how the outside is falling apart.

- A well preserved shoe older than Stonehenge was found buried in sheep poo in Armenia. Great archeological find with a great photo.

- Amelia Earhart might have survived for months on a desert island.

Words I don't know and other writing woes

2010-06-28T20:12:00.005+09:00

Writing is an entire language of its own. There's beauty to be found in a few written phrases over the cacophony of spoken word. However, I'm not a phenomenal writer despite a short, illustrious and unpaid career as a blog writer. Oh the trailblazers who write for free. However, I dream of a world outside the electronic realm of publishing. I long for a collection of words bounded and printed on the deceased flesh of a dozen bleached and pressed infant trees. I want to cherish my name which has been carefully crafted upon the binding which contains stories of the past all contained in the comfort of thinly sliced bark that I ordered to be slaughtered. Yes, a relic of my upbringing, I dream of writing a book. Realistically, to receive the recognition required for a ragamuffin of my rank, I must resolve to remedy and remove reins that restrain my resounding rapport for writing about the past. That last verb counts too, right?

See? There's the problem. I get going and then I unexpectedly run into a wall. Call it a lack of functioning vocabulary but sometimes I'm searching for a word that just might not be in my head. I try not to let it get me down but it's frustrating to find myself recycling the same words. Thankfully, I seem to have some obtainable options.

There's lots of good tips out there but what I hear most from writers that I personally respect is two major tips 1) just write and 2) keep good footnotes. DailyWritingTips also has a great many resources written in layman's terms that any ~~writer~~ person would benefit from. Tips include basics that I should remember but don't like how to properly write numbers and what does [sic] mean to middle-of-the-road problems like redundancies and even a great Latin prefix and suffix primer for those that care.

To be a better reader, I take notes and write all over my books when I read. I underline with a pencil, write references and questions in the side margin and occasionally write a few cuss words in the header. From time to time, I come across words or events that I don't recognize. In which case, I flip to the front page before the title and make a note if the page and title of the event. Therefore, most of my books have really ugly inside cover pages. I also write down any new words in English that I am unfamiliar with or, more commonly, that I've heard, I kind of understand but would be hard pressed to produce on my own in my own work. I am a little hesitant to admit the following words but I suppose we all have room for improvement; that's just what I'm telling myself when I feel your judgmental stare at the screen. The following list is from the insides of as many books I can find laying around:

abrogate
promulgate
efficacious
impetus
apocryphal
scion
repudiate
ostensibly
gendarmerie
panacea
persona non grata
billet
polemics
mea culpa
pugnacity
clandestine
settee
gauche
bailiwick
neophyte
replete
approbation
ad valorem
hegemony
succinct
missive
consternation
and my personal favorite out of the bunch: verisimilitude

First step: find an opportunity to use gauche in a sentence.
Next step: look up "gauche" in the dictionary.

Book Review: The Foreign Destruction of Korean Independence

2010-06-04T17:40:00.002+09:00

Title: The Foreign Destruction of Korean Independence
Author: Carole Cameron Shaw
Hardcover: 315 pages
Publisher: Seoul National University Press (April 25, 2007)
ISBN-10: 8952107705
ISBN-13: 978-8952107701

One can't help but raise an eyebrow simply over the title of this project published from decades-long respected member of Korea's foreign community Carole Cameron Shaw. A few pages into the first chapter reveals a particularly developed voice that possesses an alarming amount of indignation directed at American indifference in the events leading up to the Japanese colonization of Korea. The title alone will catch your attention but is it enough to keep you interested till the end?

A truly intricate dance of characters, the lengthy cast includes President Theodore Roosevelt, Korean Emperor Kojong, Secretary of State Elihu Root, Scholar-Diplomat William Woodville Rockhill, Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi, American Ambassador Edwin Morgan and missionary-turned-journalist Homer Hulbert among others including John Hay, Horace Newton Allen, George Kennan and Durham W. Stevens. Each played his part in the events that led up to the Treaty of Portsmouth, subsequent Eulsa Treaty and eventual colonization of Korea by the hand of Japan five years later. Each had a side to belong to; essentially one pro-Japanese and the other pro-Korean. While some stuck to their guns, others wavered in their opinions; still others failed to come out of the whole ordeal alive. The events these individuals played out beg the reader to question one of many things. For example, didn't Korea have twenty-plus years of internationally recognized independence prior to Japanese occupation? Why did Japan display such keen interest in Korea's development?

Chinese and especially Russian checking of power comes to mind. A possible takeover of Korea from supposed land-hungry Russia could threaten Japanese expansionism. Although we will never exactly know what may have unfolded had no one intervened, Shaw dutifully points out that Korea might have dealt with any upset in the balance of power in her own terms. Present-day historians continue to debate the significance of Kojong's self-imposed set of sweeping modernizations known as the Gwangmu Reform and whether they would have been enough to modernize the country without Japanese intervention. Shaw touches on this subject but spends an extensive amount of time demonstrating America's major players' indifference to Korean issues in the name of illegally improving relations with Japan. Consistent themes include America's lack of diplomatic action, Roosevelt and company's apathy for all things Korean and deliberate violations of the U.S. Constitution.

The almost cynical narration continues throughout the book and occasionally emerges seemingly louder than before where logic and fact would fit far better. Those with varying levels of interest in Korean history may perhaps question the book's validity simply based on the writing style and the far-too numerous questionable wordings such as "...it would soon dawn on him (Kojong) that Miss Roosevelt's visit was a trick among many, to disguise America's true intentions towards her old friend (p.143)" and "Of course Roosevelt knew this, and his refusal to meet with Hulbert can only be characterized as cowardly (p.172)". Statements like these hurt Shaw's argument not because they are factual inaccurate but because they beg for objective balance. The whole text just feels way too one-sided for anyone's benefit.

The book does contain plenty of redeeming material such as a fantastic English bibliography of personal correspondence by not just ambassadors and statesmen but also to and from President Roosevelt and a detailed account of events from 1882-1908 including the second Hague Peace Conference. Curiously though, the famous assassinations of Stevens and Hirobumi are only but briefly covered. There's also a decidedly lack of non-English language sources. However, if nothing else, the book's against-the-grain approach takes on a different perspective that might have gone unnoticed. Indeed, historical apologists seeped in Japanese doctrine have written unflattering tales of King Kojong and the corrupted yangban for their faults in driving Korea into lax submission to the Eastern emerging superpower known as the Empire of Japan. This book tells a very different story of a Emperor trying everything in his power to save his kingdom but is ultimately betrayed from neighbor to the East for her lies and deception but moreso from her ally across the ocean for just sitting and watching as the Korean voice is forever silenced.

Shaw's rather outspoken opinion can conveniently be summed up in one sentence lifted from the last chapter: "I would assert that under these clearly defined principles the burden of guilt rests upon President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Elihu Root, for entering into a fraudulent arrangement with the Japanese Government to look the other way while ill-conceived, illegal and hastily constructed statements were prepared under the guise of a legal protocol or treaty, to effect a military and violent takeover of a sovereign state to whom the Senate had pledged its good faith and perpetual friendship in 1882 (p.278)".

In summation, The Foreign Destruction of Korean Independence is worth your time as it reads quickly and entices enough to make you want to delve deeper; a good quality for a book to have, especially considering the subject. Despite its scoff-inducing knack for emotional flair, the book is backed by more than decent research. Ultimately, the book likens itself to American filmmaker Michael Moore; while thought-provoking and occasionally entertaining, it is clearly armed to the teeth with a specific agenda. Thankfully, a few objective pieces of information can be sifted through the finger-pointing and sensationalist rhetoric. I applaud Shaw for her research, writing and development of the book in hopes of paving the way for more in the future. I suppose if Shaw's intention was to get people to talking about the subject, then I say mission well accomplished.

- - -

I'm treading lightly here and I know it. Shaw spent a considerably huge amount of her life in Korea; it's hard to simply trash any author's work based on my own difference in interpretation; especially an author that spent ten years delving into a piece of Korean and American history that is little more than brushed under the proverbial rug of our collective subconscious. That being said, I maintain that her book is far from objective. It's borderline anti-American sensationalistic gossip wrapped in Korean nationalistic propaganda. For another review's opinion, members of the Association of Asian Studies can access one of the back issues of JAS that features a review by Eugene Y. Park. Search for "The Journal of Asian Studies (2008), 67:331-333 Cambridge University Press".

RASKB lecture - Superstitions and Perceptions of Early Korean-Western Relations

2010-05-26T19:08:00.004+09:00

It was good to see that I wasn't the only one looking forward to the lecture. A highly anticipated night, as per the RASKB website:

May 25, 2010 RAS Lecture Meeting

Tuesday / 화요일 Mr. Robert Neff

7:30 p.m. 2nd floor, Residents’ Lounge

Somerset Palace, Seoul

Superstitions and Perceptions of Early Korean-Western Relations

Following the opening of Korea to the West in 1882, Westerners entered Korea for various reasons. Some came as diplomats, representing and protecting their countries’ interests, while others came as advisors to the Korean government. There were merchants seeking business opportunities and many missionaries who provided altruistic services such as education and medicine all in the name of their religion. Some came to Korea seeking a new beginning; hoping to hide their unsavory past. To all of these groups, Korea was a newly-found frontier and an undiscovered market for what they had to offer.

In this lecture we will talk about the interaction between these early Westerners and their Korean hosts by examining Korean superstitions and the perceptions and misperceptions of the Westerners and Koreans.

The introduction of various Western technologies such as the railroad, streetcars and electricity were all, in the beginning, viewed with suspicion and fear by some of the more superstitious Korean people. Often these first encounters with these new technologies provided us with humorous anecdotes but occasionally ended in violence. The Westerners tended to either look upon these Korean superstitions as quaint or with disdain but were not above using them for their own gain as will be shown in the lecture.

Perception, or perhaps misperception, was also a factor in early Korean-Western relations. Sometimes misperceptions led to awkward and embarrassing encounters such as young Korean boys mistaken for bold girls or a young American male missionary mistaken for a young pretty lady. Other times these misperceptions led to violence as during the Baby Riots which will be discussed in detail during the lecture.

Robert Neff is a freelance writer and historical researcher specializing in Korean history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He first came to Korea with the military over two decades ago and has a deep appreciation for Korean culture and its history. He is the co-author of Korea Through Western Eyes as well as Westerner’s Life in Korea and his writings have appeared in various newspapers, magazines and books including Christian Science Monitor, Asia Times, Morning Calm, Korea Witness, Royal Asiatic Society – Transactions, Korea Times, Korea Herald and Jeju Weekly.

Despite an unfortunate technical difficulty that resulted in Neff's powerpoint not being available to view, the topic was juicy and plenty interesting. Essentially an off-shoot of his most recent book Neff touched on some rather sensitive sentiments from a hundred years ago.

Of dutiful mention was foreign men's constant confusion over handsome young men and the gentler sex. Time after time, rugged travelers happened upon delicate flowers of the Orient who were indeed not graceful members of the opposite sex but in fact fabulously well groomed young men with excellent bone structures. We all had a laugh; especially at the perception on the opposite side of the spectrum. Neff tells of a half balding, mustachioed George Heber Jones, his trek across the Taedong River and subsequent encounter with a uncomfortably beckoning 아저씨 that had either had to much to drink too early in the day or was seriously misinformed of the standards of foreign women. It seems Jones was quite possibly mistaken for a young foreign female...for some reason.

To sum up the rest of the lecture, there was a lot of talk of exposed breasts, baby eating and naked children. In the author's defense, however, these were simple observations made a hundred years ago. The rather unflattering comments were from a time past and are clearly not meant in a pejorative way in modern times. As one commenter brought up, many of these misconceptions were not exclusive to Korea and no insinuation should be made of disrespect.

The lecture was full of other interesting and head scratching observations of times past. Early on in the questioning, Neff referred to himself as simply a "gossip columnist from a hundred years ago", which I will now affectionately affix to his work from now on. In addition to meeting Jennifer of Bomb English fame and Matt from Gusts of Popular Feeling, rubbing elbows with some of Korea's most well respected journalists, writers and historians is not a bad way to spend a Tuesday night in Seoul. If you missed it, shame on you.

Some other quick notes (kind reader feel free to leave corrections):

The first Westerners to set foot in Korea were likely some Portuguese that accompanied the Japanese during the Imjin War.
The Imo Revolt of 1882 was placated by the end of an especially long dry-spell throughout the country. It was believed that the death of the Japanese solved the drought.
Prior to 1910s, there were only three well-documented international relationships consisting of Western men and Korean women. They include Percival Lowell, Dr. Charles Power, and an unnamed (rather, disputed) French diplomat whose lover tragically came back to Korea only to commit suicide years later. Was there not a mention of a snake oil peddler? Dr. Irwin? Can't remember...
For a lower class woman to expose her breasts in the countryside was a sign of pride; a badge of honor for bearing a son.
It is suspected that the Taewangon masterminded the Baby Riots. You know, the one where foreigners were supposedly eating slash using human baby limbs, sexual organs and eyes for making photographs and whatnot.
Despite the average height of the Korean male being 5' 4½" back in the day, Koreans were frequently compared to Chinese and Japanese as being the most tall and good looking.
According to common mention in old journals, letters, articles and such, references to Korean's cleanliness standards, namely their lack of any discernible standards, was notorious. One quote that stuck with me which I will now butcher with a cloudy short-term memory, was "...if filthiness is a virtue, then Koreans are by far the most virtuous people in all of the world."
Apparently there was a seven foot tall Korean female servant in the royal court named 고태수 (spelling?) who, apparently after growing tired of teasing remarks of her height, participated in the 1884 Kapshin Coup.
It is speculated that prior to Japanese occupation, and sebsequent education reform, Koreans were especially talented at learning English quickly. Prince 이진호 (spelling?) was said to have been sent to Japan to study English in 1881 and was trilingual as a result.

Book Review: Korea Witness

2010-05-14T20:12:00.003+09:00

Title: Korea Witness
Editors: Don Kirk, Sang-Hun Choe
Softcover: 472 pages
Publisher: EunHaeng NaMu; 1st edition (June 2, 2006)
ISBN-10: 8956601550
ISBN-13: 978-8956601557

The archetypal image I have for foreign correspondents isn't exactly flattering nor is it accurate. For that matter, it's not even of flesh and blood. It's a stock news reporting character from The Simpsons. No, not everyone's beloved Kent Brockman or even that guy with the poofy black hair who reported that pork prices began to rise in early trading. No, I'm referring to the skinny guy who dishevely dons a drab 1940s style suit and brown fedora. You might remember that he was with Bart when Blinky, the three-eyed fish, was discovered in the polluted waters downstream of the nuclear power plant. Although he has only appeared in the long-running TV series less a handful of times, you might have an image of him. Then again, you might not. His name, while completely forgettable, was actually Dave Shutton and he writes for the Springfield Shopper. I make this reference because like real foreign correspondents in Korea, their names may not be familiar to you at all but their presence and stories surely have captivated you. Korea Witness is a collection of dozens of stories of how these pioneers of their field got their scoops as well as the trails and tribulations associated with reporting the news in Korea.

Chronologically arranged, this book spans the careers of several generations of journalists and their careers involving Korea and its foreign press. Stories from parachute journalists based in Tokyo and English speaking Koreans working for foreign presses share their fascinating and surprisingly shocking stories from their time. From meeting other hacks, dodging Korean war bullets and bombs, interviewing CEOs in Japanese, rubbing elbows with Korean presidents, dangerously sneaking into the Gwangju student-led powder keg, pre-email era dictating horrors, enduring death threats and surviving tear gas assaults, these men (and one Pulitzer prize winning woman) have earned their right to call themselves journalists. Their stories are just as dynamic as any Hollywood movie.

The book design is non-distractingly pleasing and thoughtfully laid out. The plentiful amount of photos embedded are often breathtaking in their own right and certainly compliment the attached article. Cleanly laid out at the end of each entry is a short summary of the author which is footnoted to help fill in certain biographical details that might help the reader better understand the author's relationship with Korea. The editors have accepted works from a wide range of writers and the book is all the better for it.

However, one early chapter about Japanese correspondents in particular feels like a rough draft of what could have been a memorable story. There's not else much to criticize other than the comparatively small amount of non-Caucasian American male voices to be heard but that's likely indicative of both the language of the book and the likely small ratio of European, Chinese and Japanese correspondents of the time.

Korea Witness is an smooth and entertaining read. If not limited in scope, it tells of a war-torn, post-Liberation, economic miracle, Olympic hosting, economic collapsing, technology exporting powerhouse that, through the eyes of the foreign press, have plenty of stories to tell. This book sums up those stories quite nicely.

- - -

Respectfully disagreeing with Ask A Korean's ambivalence towards English language resources on Korea, these trailblazers did their job admirably and in my opinion contributed immensely to the world's understanding of Korea. Not only did it raise my awareness of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club (SFCC), but it really put some human perspective on certain events. The first hand accounts of surviving a Korean war bomb, investigating No Gun Ri, and the tragic death of 육영수 are worth the price of the book alone. Plus its got the Neff. You can't really go wrong with this one.

May Link Dump

2010-05-12T00:19:00.002+09:00

This won't always be a feature so don't fret if link dumps aren't your thing. Relax and click away:

Ask A Korean has a word or two about the recent announcement of Korean and Japanese scholars issuing a joint statement on history. His English translation is well worth reading. (read more)

Respected, if not occasionally controversial, journalist Michael Breen getting sued by Samsung for an apparent libel Christmas joke. (read more)

Thoughts on ~~ActiveX~~ the Joseon Dynasty (read more)

Korean economy is good in Q2 (read more)

I'm pretty sure I'd fail this test (read more)

Some young Korean woman like foreign men. In other news, water is wet. (read more)

Book Review: Korean Perceptions of the United States

2010-05-10T17:22:00.004+09:00

Title: Korean Perceptions of the United States: A History of Their Origins and Formation
Author: Young Ick Lew, Byong-kie Song, Ho-min Yang, Hy-sop Lim, Michael Finch
Hardcover: 394 pages
Publisher: Jimoondang (February 10, 2006)
ISBN-13: 8988095901

It seems the longer the title, the less commercial value a book has. It becomes perfectly clear when a book has nothing but a simple clipart graphic for a cover and a curious lack of illustrations inside that this will be a book only for those with a specific interest. No matter the time and effort spent on such a valuable contribution to the field if the book looks like a total bore. However, don't be turned off by the lack of flair and narrow scope of interest because there's a lot to be had in such a text. Such is the case with Korean Perceptions on the United States: A history of their origins and formation.

Well respected historian Young Ick Lew collaborates with three (not counting the translator) other well rounded and equally respected professors to present a 140 year-long timeline of the views and opinions of America broken into four identifiable periods of time spanning from before 1882 to post-Liberation. The first chapter, serving as a sort of overview, is sufficient enough for the casual reader to understand the five major stereotypes of America and why Koreans have believed as such. However, for a more detailed account, the remaining four chapters serve as excellent sources of reference.

There's a lot of good stuff in here, believe me, but it's not the most page-turning book I've picked up. The fourth chapter especially seems to drag on and feels monotonous. There's also a fair amount of high context references that might go over a casual readers' head. But then again, how many casual readers of Korean-American international perceptions can there be? The book unsurprisingly covers the post-Liberation period only briefly and avoids delving into modern relations perhaps out of respect for the droves of modern analyses widely available.

I came away from this book feeling a bit drilled and rehashed but also well informed and enlightened. I take confidence to refer to history in order to better understand the present situation between the two countries and this book delves into the nitty gritty of such history. There's also a wonderful bibliography, concise index and even a list of Hanja-based names for America found on pages 40-41. While it's not going to be on everyone's shelf due to its lack of flair and limited distribution, because of its comprehensive English language contribution and excellent reference value, I say it should.

- - -

Although at times it felt like pushing a mule through the mud just to get through another page, I'm glad I read it. It was a bit disappointing coming off the heels of the last book I read from Professor Lew but it still did what I'm sure it set out to do: make a valuable contribution.

Old Seeds

2010-04-28T23:31:00.000+09:00

Noah's Ark may have been found, but that's nothing. Goryeo Dynasty lotus seeds successfully sprouted. That's an old seed, buddy.

A Lotus has been grown from a 700-year-old seed which dates back to Korea's Goryeo Dynasty.

The plant has been grown in Haman County, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.

The flower has been grown from one of the 10 lotus seeds discovered during an excavation of an ancient castle last year.

Scientists at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, have confirmed two of the seeds to be as old as 650 years and 760 years, respectively

The county also planted the eight other seeds and three of them sprouted. (HNN)

Maps of War: Korea

2010-04-24T20:09:00.000+09:00

Okay so not exactly.

I enjoy Maps of War's few but very easy-on-the-eyes flash presentations. Of notable mention is the History of Religion and the Imperial History of the Middle East. However, I always thought to myself it would be a pipe dream to have a Korean map on the site. Judging by the lack of recent updates and the "©2006" at the bottom of the site, it looked like the site is down for the count. Well, I didn't find the exact same thing but pretty close. It's not perfect; it has some empty portions that plead for you to fast forward only to find yourself overwhelmed by twenty events happening all within a year or two. It's not the smoothest ride but for being eight years old, it's not a bad presentation. This animated map spanning from 200CE to 1000CE is awesome and deserves some credit. Sit back and enjoy.

TimeMap is an open-source software that functions very similar to the maps seen at Maps of War. The particular TimeMap being mentioned was created under a joint project by the University of Sydney and the National Institute of Korean History. I would love to get my hands on more if they exist. Also of note are other animated maps on the Chinese Dynasties, the Mongolian Empire and the like. Make sure to browse the sample gallery for more. To learn more about TimeMap, check out their pdf brochure on how to get the most out of the software.

Korean Studies Survey Consultant

2010-04-24T14:45:00.000+09:00

Something I'm not at all qualified for but still quite interesting to read about was this position to look into the affairs of Korean Studies in North America. Since I'm early in the game, this seems like a great idea and definitely worth while for the field; a real contribution. For the old timers this surely sounds like a dream. I can't imagine what it was like to study Korean history or language 30 or 40 years ago with no internet, limited contact by snail mail and just by the luck of finding other qualified people in the field by chance or by word of mouth. Oh and I believe telephones were out back then, too. It must be nice to see Korean studies get the attention it deserves. Anyways, taken from the archives:

The Social Science Research Council is searching for a consultant to

coordinate a Survey on Korean Studies in North America. The consultant

will be responsible for the development, implementation, and

coordination of an in-depth survey of the Korean Studies field in the

United States and Canada. The consultant will report to the Fellowships

Manager.

The survey, to be undertaken over a two-year period, will offer a

comprehensive evaluation of the field of Korean Studies in North

America. Changes in government policy and foundation funding priorities

in the mid-1990s that de-emphasized area studies have undoubtedly had an

impact on the development of the Korean Studies field. The survey will

focus on Korean Studies at the university and college level and assess

the spread of Korean studies across disciplinary fields, faculty and

student demographics, available Korean Studies curriculum, student

interest, support and funding opportunities, and linkages with Korean

institutions through study abroad and less formal connections. In

addition to quantitative data, in-depth follow-up interviews with

faculty, students, and other relevant actors such as funders, deans, and

center directors to obtain qualitative information will be essential to

a nuanced understanding of the field. This qualitative piece will probe

issues the survey can only hint at, such as questions of why and how,

process, and intent, as well as decision making processes. The results

of the survey and interviews will be compiled in a final report and

point to a way forward for continued support of the field. The survey,

interviews, and reports will provide a clear understanding of Korean

Studies in North America.

The major objectives of the survey are to reassess the field of Korean

Studies and:

* to provide a more complete understanding of the state of Korean

Studies in North America by

documenting recent developments and current trends in the field,

identifying scholars (faculty and students) at work in the field,

and evaluating existing Korea-related programs at U.S. and Canadian

institutions of higher education.

* to offer a comparison of the state of the Korean Studies field to the

state of the Japan Studies field,

* to review the availability of funding and resources to scholars in the

field,

* to identify the strengths, weaknesses, needs, and opportunities for

growth within the field, and

* to offer important guidance on revising priorities for funding and

support toward activities and projects that will provide the most

impact.

In cooperation with SSRC and Korea Foundation staff as well as experts

in the field of Korean Studies, the consultant will take the lead on

survey design, testing, survey implementation and the coordination of

result analysis and report preparation. In addition, the consultant will

be responsible for conducting follow-up interviews and site visits to

various institutions with strong curricular offerings in Korean studies.

2010/2011 Schedule:

Late Spring/Early Summer 2010: Preliminary research, survey site

selection, and survey development

Summer/Early Fall 2010: Conduct Survey

Fall 2010: Preliminary results and data analysis; preliminary report due

in October 2010

Fall 2010l/Winter 2011: In-depth survey analysis, follow-up research,

site visits, and development of second year proposal based on identified

needs. This consultancy will take place starting immediately and will last

through March 14, 2011 with the possibility of a one-year renewal.

Payment will be commensurate with experience.

If you were wondering who is qualified to take on such a task, here's your answer.

Qualifications

* PhD in a quantitative social science field

* Experience in survey design, implementation, and analysis

* Familiarity with online survey tools, such as Survey Monkey, and

qualitative data analysis software, such as NVivo.

* Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail,

project management experience a plus.

* Excellent writing and oral communication skills.

* Must be able to work independently and as part of a team.

* Korean language ability strongly recommended.

Please send a resume and cover letter with one writing sample via email

to: applications@ssrc.org (Please put "Survey Consultant" in the title

of the email.)

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC), founded in 1923, is an

independent, non-profit organization devoted to supporting innovative

social research and solving pressing global challenges.

Preservation of battlefields

2010-04-20T23:55:00.001+09:00

Ran across something about a Wal-Mart and a battlefield today:

Preservation issues -- such as the one going on with Wal-Mart and the Wilderness battlefield -- are going to become only more contentious in coming years as suburban sprawl and economic development collide with once-rural Civil War battlefields.

It often comes down to a matter of money vs. history.

It got me thinking about how battlefields might just be beginning to be encroached in America but with Korea having less than 3% of the total land mass of America, this problem has surely been addressed time after time in Korea's population dense nation, right? What is the future of the Korean War's Iron Triangle or the Punch Bowl? The field where the Battle of Gapyong seems to be doing fine but when will that change? Hell, the whole DMZ for that matter... These are just within the last sixty years, though. I can't imagine old Koguryo-era battlefields and what they look like today. Curiously, I can't seem to find any land battle markers that predate the Korean War. Obviously hundreds exist but my internet search skills seem to be failing me at the moment. Any help from the peanut gallery? Any Japanese invasion fields I should know about? 삼국시대 battlefields?

I suppose the obvious answer has always been to bulldoze and build over any significant piece of land regardless of its past save for a few that have gone incidentally untouched. It is nice to find a particularly old timey gate being restored in its original location.

RASKB lecture - Contradiction of Seoul's Urban Architecture

2010-04-17T15:44:00.002+09:00

Last week I attended another lecture hosted by the good folks of the Royal Asiatic Society - Korea Branch. From the website:

April 13, 2010 RAS Lecture Meeting

Tuesday / 화요일 Prof. Kim, Sung Hong

7:30 p.m. 2nd floor, Residents’ Lounge

Somerset Palace, Seoul

Contradiction of Seoul's Urban Architecture

Why doesn’t Seoul, a city with a history of over 600 years, look more traditional? Why is the cityscape dominated by high-rise buildings, apartments and signs? If Seoul is one of the places people most want to visit, why is it considered by many one of the worst cities? From where do these contradictions derive?

To understand Seoul’s contemporary architecture, we must review Seoul’s development by looking back to the 14th century and its evolution up to the present.

In this lecture we will look at how early industrialization, urbanization, and the industrial structure of today have shaped Seoul’s contemporary architecture. We will also look at the different issues facing Korean architects as well as their European and American counterparts, what steps they are taking and the choices they have been and still can make. We will also take a look at the exhibition “Megacity Network: Contemporary Korean Architecture,” which was held in Seoul and four cities in Europe over the past two years.

Sung Hong KIM is a professor of architecture and urbanism at the University of Seoul. He studied architecture at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, the University of California at Berkeley, and Hanyang University in Seoul. He has served as an organizer of the Korea-Germany Public Space Forum at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2005, was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington in 2006, an organizer of the “Megacity Network: Contemporary Korean Architecture” exhibition in Frankfurt, Berlin, Tallin, Barcelona and Seoul 2007-2010, and was the provost of the Planning and Research Office of the University of Seoul 2007-2008. He has published several publications about Korean architecture and urbanism in Korean and English.

What actually transpired was a very short but pleasantly entertaining survey of the 600 year history of Seoul as told by a seemingly very nice and well-spoken Korean professor. Unsurprisingly, at the end of the lecture, there were many questions (I believe one was even from professor Stephen Epstein who happened to be in attendance) about the sheer ugliness of Seoul's urban landscape. I can't fault the speaker for avoiding the question because frankly, ascetics are not his field; modern architecture is and he certainly isn't responsible for the concrete ugliness of the post-Korean war construction boom.

However, I was able to jot down a few notes that I'd like to post. The only question I personally asked but didn't get a full response was about 한옥. I asked if there was an internal movement to preserve 한옥 or a group or company that is pushing to build new 한옥 in the old style. Professor Kim did mention that it has only been within the last ten years or so that a few NGOs have actually tried to preserve Hanok at all outside of 복촌, a section of Seoul that has a somewhat larger number of 한옥 located in the northern part of Seoul.

Anyways, here's what I learned:
- The "일산 New Town" concrete apartment complex was a five year start-to-finish project.
- Seoul was a planned city dating back to the 14th century
- The designers followed closely, but not exactly, not the Chinese principle of urban development. I didn't catch the name of it though..anyone know it? 주리?
- Unlike European cities, Seoul highlighted the government markets (시장) in the center of the city and hid the residential district behind it.
- Seoul has intentional asymmetrically designed palaces in accordance with Korean geomancy (풍수지리)
- 명동성당 was controversial for many reasons, one being that it was higher than the King's palace
- During the Japanese colonization period (일제 강점기) the city's landscape was changed rapidly
- Jongno's (종로) storefront's name is 피말기 or something like that. Something that means "even a horse would avoid it". ~~Not sure exactly about that. Readers?~~ * 피맛골 as per the comments. Thanks Matt!
- 1/5 people in Korea live in Seoul

Ancient Asian History Online

2010-04-17T14:40:00.001+09:00

I recently discovered a nice list of 50 ancient history online resources. I am disappointed to not see much on Korea but not exactly surprised. The funny thing is though there exists a few ancient Korean sites and although a little propaganda-laden, they do serve their purpose. Check out MyKoguryo.net for a decent rundown of Koguryo, Gaya: Culture and History for Gaya, the Society for Korean Ancient History or better yet, check out Harvard's Early Korea project.

What I would really love to see is a comparative history online site that included Japan, China and Korea. Till then, here's what I found:

Ancient China: Through this site you can learn about ancient Chinese history, culture and philosophy.

East Asian History Sourcebook: From religious traditions to Imperial rulers, this site offers a great selection of links to help you learn about China, Japan and Korea.

Mysterious Mummies of China: This site is all about the Takla Makan mummies: where they came from, who they were, and the uses of mummification around the world.

Timeline of Chinese Dynasties: Chinese culture has existed for several millennia and is divided into numerous dynasties that you can find ordered and explained on this site.

Asian Studies Virtual Library: Learn more about the ancient and modern history of East and South Asian nations through the resources on this site.

Ancient Japan: Read through this site to get a great overview of Japanese history.

Graduate School from Start to Finish

2010-04-10T16:25:00.005+09:00

AHA's simple guidelines are a great place to start for any aspiring history geek. I've been reading a lot of helpful posts over at the American Historical Association's website and look forward to more.

Graduate School from Start to Finish

Early Career Professionals

Preparing for the Job Market

More Resources

grad skool rulz

2010-04-10T14:21:00.001+09:00

The full list can be found over at orgtheory. Not bad advice at all.

Careers for Students of History

2010-04-09T21:26:00.001+09:00

AHA's Careers for Students of History is conveniently available online. Unlike my summary post about Becoming a Historian, I'll hold off on giving my two cents here and there. It basically answers the question: What can I do with a history PhD? Selected chapter listing is as follows will guide anyone interested:

Careers in History: An Introduction

Historians in Classrooms: Schools, Colleges, and Universities

Historians in Museums

Historians in Editing and Publishing

Historians in Archives

Historians in Historic Preservation

Historians in Federal, State, and Local History

Historians as Consultants and Contractors

Resources for Further Exploration

I like the breakdown. I'm a big category guy. This is a very valuable resource so get strapped in for a while if you plan to read all of it. I don't have as much to highlight this time around because on the tail-end of this whole journey I already plans but this is still well worth the time to check out. Overall, I'm left with a positive outlook and a hope for the future; wehereas I am left a little less optimistic from this well-meaning post. Some nuggets of happiness include:

In the Fall you will be off to graduate school, filled with the hope that you too someday might be able to emulate the professors you admire so much today. Although you won't want to hear it, you should know that the chances of that happening are pretty small. It's not that you're not intelligent and hard working, but that you have decided to embark on a journey akin to the trials of Hercules and to set yourself against unbelievable odds. The country is littered with the broken dreams of grads and even PhDs who gave it their all and still couldn't make it.

In the coming years there will be more hoops to jump though than you can possibly imagine. You will have to prove yourself in your seminars, you will have to convince your advisor that you are worth her/his attention, you will have to pass comprehensive exams, and you will need to research and write a book-length dissertation. At each step the herd will be culled mercilessly. The majority of your peers coming into graduate school this year will not make it to the doctorate. A sizable percentage of those who earn the doctorate will not find tenure-track jobs, even after years of trying. Many of those who attain tenure track jobs will have to take employment in undesirable locations and/or with ridiculously heavy workloads. Your chances of having exactly the kind of position you envision having are almost non-existent.

Becoming a Historian (an in depth look)

2010-04-09T17:11:00.001+09:00

Can of worms indeed. Okay so the Becoming a Historian ebook is gold. Where have you been all my life? Why weren't you in my undergrad advisors office? Oh that's right...I studied music theory and ESL. Nevermind. The Canadian version is the only one I can seem to find online at the moment, and lo and behold, it's actually relatable to an American. Imagine that. I wonder if they eat hamburgers over there, too?

Before I go on, I want to list the chapters for those who would like to read on their own:

Really though the book is full of incredibly helpful advice for someone in my position. It assumes virtually no prior knowledge which I appreciate because frankly I have none. It mentions how to pay for school, what to expect in terms of social life and teacher-student relationships, when to have children (no joke) and other useful tidbits that we've all thought about. It also looks like I'm not the only one who finds this a helpful guide.

As a sort of summary rundown, let's start at the beginning. It even mentions how long is grad school:

Each program in history is different, but there are basic similarities. Some history departments in Canada, and almost all graduate programs in the United States, admit students to the PhD program directly from the BA. Stand-alone Master’s programs usually demand a year of course work and either a major paper or a thesis. If you want to end your graduate education at the Master’s level, a one year program without a thesis is likely sufficient. If you would like to pursue a PhD, a two-year program which requires a Master’s thesis will prepare you well for the rigours of PhD work. Even in a one-year program, however, you can use the MA research paper to get you into the archives and produce an original – and potentially publishable – piece of scholarship. Both routes will get you into a doctoral program and help you learn critical skills directly related to PhD work.

Doctoral programs usually involve a year or two of courses; six months to a year devoted to studying for a set of comprehensive examinations; and then full-time attention to researching and writing a dissertation. The last phase may take two to four or more years to complete. These days, many Canadian graduate schools talk about "a four-year PhD." Public funding for graduate education is increasingly tied to enrolment numbers and degree completion times, so graduate schools want students to finish faster, and administrators worry about students "lingering" in graduate school. In many schools, students are rushed through the PhD, and it is difficult to secure funding after four years. Clearly, it is better to finish sooner rather than later, but realistically few students finish a history PhD in four years. You will need to juggle various commitments, such as teaching and research work, and you may need to work outside of the university in order to survive. In addition, some dissertations simply take longer than others to complete. In an era when many candidates want to have a "publishable" thesis to help them crack the job market, there is serious pressure to write an "important," not merely competent, thesis. You will need to work efficiently and effectively. (emphasis mine)

Answers that now, doesn't it? Here's something regarding Comps or Comprehensive Exams:

In most programs, doctoral students usually complete their comprehensive or qualifying exams at some point during their second or third year of study. [...] Faculty are looking for intelligent reflection, not quiz show answers. Of course, you will be asked to read and comment on historical developments or scholarly works that do not reflect your particular interests, but if you are going to claim expertise in an area of history you need to master the broad parameters of the field. And, if you get a teaching job, the chances are that you will be required to cover events and literatures outside the narrow confines of your specialties. The major objective of the comps is to give you breadth and prepare you for teaching. So, try to enjoy your reading, concentrate on what you do know, and avoid panicking about what you have yet to learn. And remember that almost everyone passes on the first attempt.

There's even some golden bits about the MA thesis and PhD dissertation:

[...] the MA thesis or research paper, or PhD dissertation, is the most important part of graduate study in history. The completion of an interesting, well-executed MA thesis or PhD dissertation is a significant accomplishment and should be a source of great pride and satisfaction. It is your PhD dissertation, moreover, that will define your career and determine how others in the historical profession will see you. Your dissertation is where you make an individual mark as a scholar. No matter how impressive your seminar performance has been, no matter how disappointing you found your comprehensive exams, your PhD dissertation will most directly determine your success on the academic job market. [...]

When choosing a dissertation topic, try to select a subject that fits with current scholarly trends but also strikes out in some new directions. The best topics are those that break fresh ground through new empirical discoveries, new modes of conceiving questions, or interpretive innovations. However, it is sometimes difficult to find support for topics that are out of the ordinary. It is a good idea to select a topic with potential for publication as a book (or article, if you are working on your Master’s), but choose something that interests you, as it will dominate your thoughts for a long time. It is also important to make sure your topic is “do-able,” in the sense that you can find and access sufficient primary sources. Your thesis should also be of a manageable size for a project that must be completed within a specific time frame, generally between two and four years for a PhD. [...]

When you have chosen a topic, your graduate program will submit it to the [...] American Historical Association for inclusion in their databases of history dissertations. [...] You can also use these databases to find out what topics are already being studied when you are in the process of choosing your own dissertation topic. (emphasis mine)

Take a look at the 125 entries just using the keyword "Korea". I am surprised to see so much about the Korean War, slavery and Japan colonization. Surely there's more to Korea than these three things? It reminds me of something Peter Bartholomew casually mentioned once. Once all the older scholars who focused on pre-1910 Korea history retire, who is going to replace them among the Women's Rights and North Korean historians? Something to think about.

The chapter on picking a school offers some great advice about being open minded and basing the decision not on prestige but on an individual professor and if the department matches your particular interest. Good advice but for someone like me who has no specific field yet it proves a bit frustrating. I know what I'm not interested in so maybe I should work backwards. Sounds like a good post for later.

As far as paying for school, a few questions to ask a potential school:

[...] tuition costs and financial aid [...] vary tremendously between schools and even between departments. Find out if financial aid is channeled through the department, or if you need to apply separately to a different office. Some important questions to ask include: is the financial aid package only for the first year or does it cover subsequent years of graduate study (and if so, how many)? Do you have to pay tuition out of your stipend or is it covered as part of your funding package? Must you pay tuition over the summer and when you are no longer taking courses? Does the financial aid package require you to work as a research or teaching assistant (or in another capacity), or is it an outright stipend? Is it contingent upon performance? Is there additional funding for travel to archives or conferences?

Also, some notes about full-time versus part-time grad school:

Although most financial aid packages require you to enrol as a full-time student, some people go to graduate school part time for economic or personal reasons. Being a part-time student does not mean that you are less committed to graduate study, and part-timers have the right to the same education as full-time students. Besides, "full-time" does not mean "all-the-time." Many full-time students have family responsibilities, have to work for wages at some point during their graduate education, or are engaged in activist pursuits outside the academy.

Graduate study does require a big commitment, however. It is not easy to do graduate course work and exam preparation on top of a long commute or another job, and it is even more difficult (though not impossible) to successfully complete a dissertation part-time. You will not be able to earn a PhD "on the side" if you already have a full life in another city or a demanding career. Moreover, you may miss the intellectual community of graduate school if you are not at the university during the day.

A mention on the application process caught my eye:

Unlike law schools, history departments do not receive thousands of applicants for admission. For this reason, try to pare down your choice of schools in advance of applying. Each application will cost you well over a hundred dollars, particularly when you factor in transcripts costs. Make multiple applications, but remember that well-qualified applicants will usually be admitted to one of the schools that peak their interest. One rule of thumb is to choose two or three programs that interest you most – including one ‘safe school’ – particularly if you have contacted potential supervisors in advance.

It is appropriate to discuss briefly how you became interested in history and to include something about your long-range career goals. Explain how your undergraduate reading, research, and course work have shaped your particular interests and prepared you to pursue them further. Avoid mention of extracurricular activities and achievements, no matter how outstanding, unless they have a direct bearing on the professional field to which you are seeking entry.

Your statement of purpose should sum up your scholarly interests and immediate academic objectives in a clear and straightforward fashion. Be as precise as possible about the time period, geographic region, research themes, and kind of history you want to study, and perhaps even the topic you wish ultimately to investigate. You must convince the readers of your application file that you are capable of developing a research project that is original, realistic, and appropriate to your level. At the same time, it is important that your focus not look too narrow. The first years of graduate education primarily involve general training rather than specific research. Therefore, your statement should convey your openness to acquiring a wide range of historical knowledge and research skills rather than a fixation on a single narrow topic.

The statement of purpose is also the place for you to address briefly any anomalies or ambiguities in your record, such as poor grades, course content that may not be clear from the transcript, or a health problem or disability that affected your grades. Do not appear defensive or apologetic; offer a one-sentence explanation of your situation and move on. If your undergraduate background in history is weak, or you have been out of school for a long time, you need to demonstrate that your commitment to the academic discipline of history is now firm. (emphasis mine)

Funding the courses, easily my biggest concern at the moment (hence the title of the blog) is adequately addressed in chapter three:

Many graduate students get university funding for all or part of their graduate education. The support, however, rarely comes from one source. You actively need to research and apply for a wide range of funding sources, from research, travel, and dissertation writing awards to various jobs on the university campus and beyond. [...]

You will need to consider not only fellowships and department-sponsored employment but also jobs outside the department and university. Your search should start early, before you enter a program, and it should be wide-ranging. Consult your university research and employment officer, graduate director, PhD supervisor, and other students who have won awards and secured jobs. [...] if at some point you find yourself in dire financial straits, there is nothing wrong with going to your supervisor or graduate director and simply saying, "I'm broke … is there any work I can do?"

Your department may offer you part-time academic employment. The job titles will differ from research assistant, to teaching assistant, to sessional instructor, but all fit the category of graduate student employment. The offer may come as an inducement to enter a graduate program, or when you accept admission into the program, or later, in your second or third year. [...]

Research assistantships help to build valuable skills and can allow for more flexible work schedules than teaching assistantships. As a research assistant, you may work for one professor or a faculty headed research team [...] You may undertake one or two of the following tasks: gathering statistical data, helping to edit a manuscript, arranging an archival collection, creating a website, drawing up the index to a book, photocopying published articles or primary documents, conducting or transcribing oral history interviews, or mounting a museum display. At some universities, research assistant jobs are given primarily to MA students, while teaching assistantships are reserved for PhD students. At other universities, you may have a choice between a teaching and research assistantship. If possible, pursue a research assistantship at least once in your years as a graduate student to develop your research skills. Students interested in a career in public history will particularly benefit from such jobs.

When you are hired as a research assistant you are most likely being paid out of funds awarded to a faculty member or group of faculty members. In other words, the faculty are investing their own research dollars in training you. [...] Usually, professors with funds to hire research assistants do not openly advertise this fact. Some faculty members may wish to support their own students, or they may approach a student in their course who has impressed them. But many are also open to the idea of hiring students who need the money. All this means that you need to make your desire for such a position known to your supervisor and other faculty members. Ask around to discover who has grant money and might be hiring.

As well as providing essential help to faculty, teaching assistantships are designed to provide you with teaching skills. Like an apprenticeship, a "TA-ship" affords you an opportunity to learn under professional guidance. You can gain experience in courses outside your particular field. It is a good idea to TA for several different courses. Obviously, it is less work to TA for the same course a number of times, and this may be the better strategy depending on where you are at in your own dissertation research or writing. If possible, make strategic choices.

There are at least two types of TA work: marking student assignments and leading small group discussions, or tutorials, within a larger class. A teaching assistantship will usually involve both sets of tasks. By contrast, a marker-grader has the more limited role of grading student assignments. [...] When you work as a TA in a course directed by a faculty member, that course instructor is in charge of your professional conduct in the course. Therefore, the instructor will likely stipulate the assignments for your students (for instance, weekly tutorial readings and essay topics) in whole or in part. The instructor will come to one of your tutorials to observe you and may also evaluate your abilities as a marker. You might be asked to explain to the instructor why you've assigned a particular grade for a paper and the instructor may ultimately revise the mark. Treat all of this as a learning opportunity.

However, you do not need to TA in every year of your graduate career. Keep your eyes on the prize and get your dissertation done! While TA-ing is rewarding work, it is also demanding and time-consuming. Of course, certain teaching weeks will be more demanding than others, and teaching a course for the second time is easier than teaching it for the first time, but do not make the mistake of spending most of your work week on a part-time job that pays on the basis of 10 or 15 hours per week.

In addition to external funding, university research and teaching assistantships, and course directorships, jobs are available for graduate students outside of teaching and research, and even outside the university. Your university may offer history-related jobs in the archives or library or, alternatively, in university offices, including graduate student associations or unions. Similar jobs might be had off-campus (emphasis mine)

I couldn't believe the "when to have a baby" issue was included; I suppose it was naive to assume that I was the only one thinking about it:

Many graduate students wonder about the “best time” to have children. Some begin graduate study with young children or other family responsibilities that take time away from writing and studying. Others who do not have children when they begin their program start a family before finishing the PhD. If you have children, you will undoubtedly need some form of child care and a lot of support from family and friends. Having a baby is absorbing and may be intellectually isolating; you probably can’t attend many lecture series or social events, and you must make an extra effort to maintain friendships and intellectual bonds with grad student colleagues. Children also provide a quick lesson in the importance of managing your time. If your baby is napping or with the babysitter, take advantage of your “free” time to write that paper or work on your dissertation; it won’t last long, and you want to enjoy your child when she’s home and awake! Some student-parents treat graduate school like a conventional job and put preschool children in full-time day care so they can concentrate on writing or researching; others use part-time babysitters or trade off “time to work” with their partners and friends. There is no single “best time” to have children; you have to find what works best for your personal situation.

I also appreciate the "life happens" comment:

Sometimes “life happens” and your carefully-laid plans for taking MA courses or writing your dissertation go astray. You may find yourself unexpectedly pregnant, your partner might get a dream job and want you to move to another city, or you might face a financial downturn, family crisis, or major health problem of your own. If an unforeseen event gets in the way of studies that you want to continue, don’t simply give up your plans. Talk to your supervisor, graduate program director, and/or TA or student union representative to find out your options. They probably have lots of experience with students in similar situations, and most will be happy to advocate on your behalf.

Occasionally, even the most carefully chosen path needs to be revised. Old interests wane, circumstances irrevocably alter, or you find your program unsuitable or unbearable. If this occurs, consult with relevant faculty, graduate students and academic advisors about the possible ramifications of changing fields, programs, or institutions. Will your progress be delayed, and if so, by how much and in what way? Through serious consideration, you can decide whether the extra burdens associated with a major shift are worth enduring. Do not, however, confuse discouragement for failure or incompatibility with the historical profession. If you have feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, or if you feel like an “imposter” just waiting to be “found out” and kicked out of school, know that you are not alone. Your feelings indicate the need for many more support systems for graduate students at every stage of their careers. (emphasis mine)

The lecture circuit chapter is a little eye opening, too:

Historians do not spend all their time in the archives, library, or microfilm room. They also communicate their findings to other historians and scholars, to students, and the general public. [...] You should go to conferences but don’t fall under the mistaken assumption that you need to attend many of them. Nor should you be giving hastily written papers to umpteen conferences without informing your supervisor – who is actually well-qualified to help you decide whether this is the right paper, right time, and right venue! Presenting at two to four conferences during the course of your PhD studies is certainly sufficient. For senior PhD students nearing completion of the thesis or new scholars, delivering papers at one or two conferences each year is plenty. (Increasingly, MA students deliver papers based on their master’s research at graduate student conferences, which can be an important learning experience in giving a public presentation.) Conference papers should evolve into dissertation chapters (or vice versa), or eventual publications, especially for newly minted PhDs and untenured junior professors. Avoid the trap of writing many conferences papers that then end up in a drawer or a pile on your study floor. Keep in mind that you do not have to write a new paper for each conference. Most historians present papers based on current research; they are "works-in-progress" that might eventually become a scholarly article. It is acceptable to present the same paper in a revised form to several conferences as it develops into a dissertation chapter or publication. But don’t do this more than two or three times. Delivering papers that are already very familiar to the audience is usually frowned upon. So, too, is presenting a paper that has already been published. Nor should you deliver a paper that is too sketchy and lacks sufficient evidence to make your case.

Attend a few conferences before actually delivering a paper at one of them, and choose conferences carefully. Make sure that those you attend are relevant to your field of study and will allow you to network with colleagues and senior scholars in your field. The first few conferences may be intimidating. Most historians can tell tales about their early experiences: about finally getting introduced to that prominent historian in your field and then being too nervous to say anything; about convincing yourself you had destroyed your "career" by "putting your foot in your mouth" while talking to an influential scholar; or about simply feeling embarrassed about all those interrupted conversations with people who seemed more keen on talking to someone else. [...] As a novice, you're supposed to make yourself known to established scholars in your field, but no one knows quite how to do it. It can be as simple as approaching more senior scholars and indicating that you enjoy their work. Ask them about their current research interests. Draw parallels with your own scholarly interests, if this is relevant. Many senior scholars are interested in knowing about graduate students’ work. But keep in mind that a conference is not a place for long leisurely conversations: that senior historian you want to meet is extremely busy, so keep it brief and don't be mortified if your conversation ends abruptly. Many established historians make a point of talking to graduate students and junior colleagues, but they may need to hurry off to business meetings and are also seeing friends and colleagues whose company they rarely get a chance to enjoy. Don't be scared off by the few unfriendly ones; they are in the distinct minority. And giving a paper means you may be in the same session as established scholars in your field, which can act as an effective ice-breaker.

There are many practical ways to reduce tension. Attend the first few conferences with a friend, colleague, or group of graduate students. That way you will know some people, can discuss papers and sessions you've heard, and perhaps be emboldened to approach senior colleagues. I[...] Attending graduate student events at large conferences offers an excellent way of meeting your peers and future co-presenters. Taking time to do at least one or two activities unrelated to the conference – such as visiting a local museum, taking a walk, or even having dinner alone – can also help diffuse stress and make the overall conference experience more enjoyable. Some people thrive amidst the social interaction at conferences and others don’t. Whatever your personality, keep it in mind that it will get easier as the conference rituals become familiar. And veterans might well bear this in mind when encountering novices at conferences. (emphasis mine)

I don't have much to say about the last few chapters about publishing work, delivering my own original content and postdoctoral research because at my stage in the whole process, it's pretty far off. I'm still getting to know the players of the past and just trying to feel my way through. Once I get there, though, I'm sure that those chapter will prove to be helpful.

American Historical Association (AHA)'s can of worms

2010-04-06T21:25:00.003+09:00

As mentioned Munin mentioned this week, the outlook for history nerds is bleak. However, I must also agree with his assessment of the graph that it encompasses all history major fields and not just Korean or Asian history. Therefore, one must wonder just how bad the market is for such niche market historians?

As I mentioned earlier, I would ideally like to work a job that has something to do with my field. I don't hate my job by any means but it isn't helping me get to my goal any faster. In fact, it's pretty much doing nothing other than paying the bills.

Enter the American Historical Association. They have published a few books on possible careers for students of history as well as the steps necessary to get to where you want to be. Score one for the home team. To view free online versions, kindly follow the link. For the Canadian version of Becoming a Historian, click here for html or here for the pdf. Of course, print versions are available for purchase.

UPDATE: after perusing the AHA site, I have officially opened up a can of worms. Got my attention here and here and here and here and here for the moment. There's way too much to read and write about in just one post. Consider this to be continued while I go have a happiness meltdown. Till then.

Should you do grad school in Korea?

2010-04-05T17:32:00.000+09:00

A recent Marmot's Hole post got me thinking: just how valuable is a master's? A PhD? The real question is does it matter if one gets it from Korea or America? A question posed to Robert from the post:

According to your bio you went to grad school here, so I was just wondering about the following: 1) What did you study? 2) How was the Korean grad school experience? 3) How useful has your degree been in Korea, and 4) how useful do you think a MA from a Korean university would be outside of the Korea?

Robert's response:

1) Northeast Asian Studies;

2) Interesting;

3) Didn’t get the degree, so couldn’t really say;

4) I think that would depend on what you were studying. If you’re planning to work in a Korea-related field, I’d imagine an MA from a Korean university might help. My own personal opinion is that if you want a purely academic experience, you’re better off studying Korean Studies outside of Korea in someplace like the United States, but if you’re looking for the intangibles you can only learn in-country, Korea’s the place to be.

You can read the rest here. Be sure to read the comments, too. A sample from the comment section includes another's experience:

I did a Master’s at Yonsei GSIS, and…

1) Korean Studies.

2) Very good. The standard of teaching was generally very high, with professors who had almost all got their PhDs from top unis in the US or (occasionally) the UK. Some of them were major authorities in their field.

Although some were harsher in their marking than others, my general impression was that the need to attract more international students took precedence over scrupulous marking, so I’m pretty sure my grades were more generous than they would have been at home (the UK). On the plus side, the need for foreign students also means that there is a fair range of scholarships available, especially if you’re studying Korea-related stuff.

3) I have been working in Korea ever since graduating four years ago, and to be honest, I think the degree was more useful for the contacts I made at GSIS than for any inherent academic (much less vocational) value.

4) As Robert said, it depends what you’re studying. I do know of a few people who got MAs in finance or international relations and got jobs overseas in financial companies or consultancies. If you’re wanting to go on to be an academic about all things Korean, the Master’s courses here can be a good stepping stone, though I’ve been told that the PhDs are next to useless.

Something to think about.

Advice

2010-04-02T23:54:00.002+09:00

I am constantly looking for advice relating to how I should progress through this whole endeavor. How does one become a published author and respected professor at a prestigious university? How does one become a researcher and writer of a niche market of Korean history? How does one pay for the education that enables him or her to do what gives them purpose?

I still have a whole mess of questions but some of them are slowly being answered by current graduate students in the field. I still would 100% appreciate any and all feedback and points in the right direction. This is just a simple list I compiled after a few emails from current students and brief talks with seasoned veterans.

- Learn Hanja -
I seemingly behemoth task, this one might set me back a few steps. At the graduate level, it was recommended to me that a working knowledge of at least 200 basic 한자 is necessary just to stay afloat. When prompted by the question of how much did one study prior to entering master's classes, it understandably differed for each person. Those who studying the very basics were on the right track and received the proper guidance and motivation to continue. Those fluent in Chinese or Japanese were able to quickly adapt to Korean 한자 much quicker. Those who had never thought of Hanja prior to grad school were at a disadvantage but not at a total loss. I have yet to hear from anyone at the doctoral level, though. I imagine the proficiency needed is leaps and bounds above 200.

- Learn Korean -
An obvious suggestion but a valuable one. Not just survival Korean, mind you, but Korean language skills that allow a person to hold his or her own in an all Korean-language environment. If we're talking about Korean history, a working knowledge of at least the native Korean names of all important events, leaders and dates would be the minimum. My personal vocabulary is embarrassingly small but steadily growing. Unfortunately, I have yet to have a thorough conversation in Korean about Korean history outside of who I like best in 산국시대. I currently lack the necessary vocabulary to stay speaking in Korean instead of English. Really need to work on that.

- Read -
Thankfully, I'm on top of things here. I've accumulated a respectable book collection and actually have gotten around to reading most of them cover to cover. Books are good for that. Korea has been good to me in that I have found a whole truckload of books in English that I couldn't find back in the states, even on international websites like Amazon. In particular, I've read a decent amount regarding broad spectrum Korean history and Japan-Korea relations around the 1870s-1910. It seems that I need to branch out a bit more. My current goal is to read more about Japan and China. Which brings me to the next point:

- Read something else -
This is a self-imposing piece of advice. I know a fair share about the Joseon Dynasty (조선시대), some famous events from the Imjin Wars (임진왜란) and most of the events surrounding the Kapshin Coup of 1884 (갑신정변) but I know next to nothing about the Meiji Restoration (메이지 유신), the Chinese Cultural Revolution (문화대혁명) or the Nanking Massacre (남경대학살). That's kind of an issue seeing as how China and Japan's history is tightly connected to Korea. It isn't like not knowing about Iceleand's history. I need to man up and get acquainted with the two whales.

- Pick a focus -
Another self-imposed one, while I don't want to pigeon-hole myself into only knowing one aspect of Korea, I should still try to focus on something. I kind of have already, actually. I'm really interested in the forced annexation of Japan (일제시대) as well as the irresistibly fascinating life stories involving King Kojong (고종 광무제) the Taewongun (흥선대원군) and Queen Min (명성황후). However, finding a topic interesting is one thing but contributing to the field and picking a thesis is another.

- Write more -
I enjoy writing because it helps me to solidify what I recently read. I don't know a whole lot but when something vital is missing from such a source like Wikipedia, I feel compelled to write about it, if only a brief summary. Writing helps to organize my thoughts and gives me a chance to see if I actually learned anything.

- Connect -
I'm admittedly lacking in this department. At this point, I'm relatively isolated and need to branch out more. I'm in the right direction but still at the baby-steps stage. I'm a member of RASKB but have only attended two functions thus far and have yet to visit their extensive library. I'm also a member of the Association for Asian Studies but I don't participate other than reading the occasional Journal of Asian Studies. Lastly, I'm on the Korean Studies email list whose archive has provided me with some excellent answers from some of the greats in the field. I plan to connect more as a student so whatever I do before that is just gravy.

Open floor. Anything else? UPDATE: looks like I also need to pray for a job to be available.

Book Review: Early Korean Encounters with the United States and Japan

2010-04-01T18:06:00.001+09:00

Title: Early Korean Encounters with the United States and Japan
Author: Young Ick Lew
Hardcover: 249 pages
Publisher: Royal Asiatic Society, Korean Branch (January 1, 2007)
ISBN-10: 8995442484
ISBN-13: 978-8995442487

I have a lot of good things to say about this book. It's eloquently written, follows a natural progression and features a fantastic collection of endnotes and bibliographies for further reading. A verifiable expert, Dr. Young Ick Lew has done his homework and you'd be a fool to not have read this.

I must admit I was skeptic in picking up a collection of six separately written essays that seemingly might overlap and run the risk of sounding redundant. However, despite the similar topic and the sheer marvel that they were written individually and spread out a span of almost thirty years, this little book is a must read for anyone with even a slight interest in Korean history; specifically in the span between 1876 (the Treaty of Ganghwa) and 1910 (just before the forced annexation of Korea by Japan).

First off the bat, Lew writes beautifully. I can say with confidence how incredibly impressed I am with his writing and honestly amazed that English is not his first language. I can also say that I was embarrassed at the number of words I had to look up in the dictionary. Come on, when was the last time you really used "gendarmerie", "repudiate" or "scion" in a sentence? I suppose I am a little rusty but thankfully also a bit inspired to step my own writing up a level or two. Fortunately, Lew's occasional use of upper level English or a Latin phrase or two does not detract from the overall message, though. Make no mistake, the book reads cleanly from start to finish.

Although the specific time period and subject matter are not exactly begging to be written about in English, Lew presents the biographies, stories and chain of events with such grace that it breathes fresh air for those already familiar withe the order of events as well as serves as an excellent primer for the uninitiated. If I were to recommend a book for those with no knowledge of what transpired before 1910, this would be at the top of my list.

The book isn't going to win any beauty contests with its total lack of photos save for the cover, but Early Korean Encounters is a text of adequate length and does contribute greatly to the field. With the final chapter covering Korean studies historiography and the formation and contributions of the Royal Asiatic Society - Korea Branch (RASKB), there's little reason to ignore this brilliant little red book.

- - -

I bought this book at a RASKB function in January but only got around to reading it two weeks ago. I burned through it in my commute and enjoyed every page. I was especially pleased to find the last chapter having very little to do with the rest of the book. The last chapter covers the history of Korea as written by Western sources. This was of particular interest to me for obvious reasons.

Book Review: Interpreter Translators in Their Own Words

2010-03-31T17:18:00.002+09:00

Title: Interpreter Translators in Their Own Words (full pdf available)
Author: Jon H. Bahk-Halberg
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: KCSI (July 2008)
ISBN-13: 9788953497207

The author's doctoral dissertation turned into a book is about as dry as dissertations go; seemingly no change was made to make it more of an entertaining read. The dissertation as a whole is a valuable contribution to his field but it is a very repetitive and, frankly, boring read. This collection of previous research summations and original interviews with translators and interpreters allows the reader to gain insight on the life of a Korean-English translators-in-training at Hanguk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. Boasting the most prestigious interpreter/translator department in the country, HUFS cranks out the best and the brightest in English-Korean professional translators. The author's background in journalism and teaching at HUFS allowed him to get to know the life of translators in Korea a little bit better. Although what new knowledge can be gained for the field is indeed measurable but the average reader will find himself falling asleep when faced with the realization that after a hundred pages, the book still hasn't started. It's still being introduced.

The biggest fault lies with the lack of substance. The entire book is just one repetition after another. The information for the average reader could have easily been summarized into a text half its size. Important aspects of the book include a mention that most effective translators and interpretators have lived overseas at some point in the life. Also, there exists a division between 국내파 (kungnaepa) and 해외파 (haewaepa) translators (the ones who learned English in Korea and those who learned it overseas, respectively).

A fascinating point discovered here is that most interpreters consider Korean language skills to be more important than proficiency in English. Last and most intriguing is that on the whole, Korean men are, by and large, not attracted to the translation job field because simultaneous interpretation is seen as a service and is not held to the same level of respect that interpreters have in the West. The author explores the reasons why these students are choosing to go into interpretation and what kind of education background could provide such a possible qualified candidate. Despite the mention that translation has typically been a second-choice profession, some indeed primarily choose to go into translation because of the allure of money and the freelance lifestyle it can provide.

All in all, I learned something from the book but a few paragraphs would have sufficed it for me. For a dissertation about translators telling their story, this one is a disappointing void of their real voice. After a brief glance into a thought or two, the author breaks the flow and expounds. I can't blame someone for publishing a dissertation but despite my interest in this particular field, I was bored to tears.

I picked up this book because I wanted to know more about the life of a Korean-English translator. I now know more but I regret the amount of time I spent on it. Indeed the stories the translators had to tell were interesting but sadly their words were few and far between in this heavily padded skipping record of a book. Skip it and move on.

- - -

I feel like I'm ripping this professor's work apart but looking at it as it is, a book, it isn't much to write home about. I feel guilty almost, too, because I wanted to enjoy it. I almost didn't want to publish this review for fear of personally meeting him one day. He certainly has accomplished much more in his field than I in mine, so respect is given where it's due, but there's no excuse for dry writing.

Also, anyone else having trouble finding a print copy of this book? I can't seem to even find it on Amazon or LibraryThing.

RAS walking tour

2010-03-30T20:25:00.000+09:00

I went on a walking tour run by Peter Bartholomew of the Royal Asiatic Society - Korea Branch last Sunday. It was a bit early for me but I am incredibly glad that I went. It was a tiring but enjoyable tour full of stuff that is often left out of some basic books. I was also surprised at how much the tour focused on architecture, something that I had not actively thought of before. The tour focused on the fall of the Choson Dynasty, 한옥, and Japan-Korea relations among others. Some highlights:

round support pillars were only for royal homes and not regular 한옥 homes.
painted exterior walls were allowed on official royal homes and religious structures only.
the arched roofs of old were designed to protrude just enough not not allow rain to enter in nor splash near the actual home.
the roofs themselves are extremely heavy necessitating the thick line on top to help distribute he weight.
the further the chimney of the 온돌 is from the house, the faster the draw of circulation.
Korean granite has a surprisingly high amount of tungsten in it which helps to make it retain heat longer.
광화문 has been moved a lot. it's current reconstruction location is also the original location.
the Russian legation suffered a bomb blast in the Korean war leaving a massive wreck and a lone standing tower in the aftermath. what's more interesting is what happened after the cleanup. it's currently a curiously shaped hill with a pointless park at the bottom of what used to be a nice flat piece of land. the explanation? when Russia wanted the land back, Seoul felt compelled to built a slanted piece of land in its stead. Russia not wanting the lemon, politely gave back the land to Seoul. thanks but no thanks kind of thing.
Prince Sunjong was an imbecile not by birth but by an attack via an overdose of opium
경복궁 is the only Korean palace setup in the Chinese style of a single line.
speaking of Gyeongbokgung, every time it gets repaired, the Japanese seem to invade (1590s, 1910s)
the tradition of naming a state flower for a dynasty is a Japanese tradition. The Korean Ewha comes to mind.
approximately 97% of 덕수궁 was demolished primarily by Japanese occupation (in 1910 310 buildings existed but by 1945 there were only 12 left)
also, there's visible Korean war damage at 덕수궁.

I was really happy with the level of detail of the tour. Peter's knowledge of the Korean language, Asian architecture and public speaking skills provided me and the rest of the group with what one hopes for in a historical tour or lecture for that matter. I hope to attend more of RAS's events. This was my second event with RAS; the first being Martin Uden's lecture. Taken from the website:

WALKING LECTURE TOUR OF CHOSUN DYNASTY SEOUL

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Tour Leader: Mr. Peter Bartholomew

For all of the time that we spend in Seoul many of us are not aware of the many historical sites that present themselves to us everyday. Today's tour will help point out some of the many sites that are available.

This tour will help make residents and visitors to Seoul aware of Seoul's vast cultural heritage in and around the extensive royal compound, most especially showing how the five major palaces and their eight "detached" and service palace compounds were contiguously linked (from Doksu to the present Seoul National University Hospital "Daehak ro" area), and why. We will see little known nooks of virtually forgotten royal compounds.

Dok Su Palace Library (former Seoul Club from around 1906 until the 1970's in which King Gojong was forced by the Japanese to put the royal seal on the annexation papers). The former Czarist Russian Legation site and other former diplomatic mission sites in Jeong Dong, most of which were formerly part of Dok su Palace.

Kyong-Hui Palace, a little known minor palace on Shinmun-ro 2-ka (later became Seoul Boy's High School site and now under restoration as a palace).

The compound of the 600 year-old White Pine in Hyo-Ja Dong, and several of the large traditional Korean houses in that former Choson Dynasty aristocratic residential area. Important sites surrounding Gyeongbok Palace, formerly serving the royal compound, when it served as the center of the Joseon Royal Government until the late 19th Century.

The Jong Chin Bu, Office of the Royal Household.The An Dong Detached Palace (An Guk Dong).Seoul's only remaining aristocratic "great house" (99 "kan") house, the home of Korea's second president, Yun Po Sun and other significant homes in the Ga Hoe Dong area.

The Royal Astrological Observatory next to Chang Dok Palace.The Unhyon Palace, former residence of the Daewon-gun, or Prince Regent, Yi Ha-ung. The Taewon-gun's second son, born and raised in Unhyon-gung, went on to become King Kojong, the last reigning king in Korea prior to colonization.

Other interesting Choson Dynasty period homes and structures along the way will be explained and put into context, especially in the "Hyoja-Dong" area and in "Ka-Hoe-Dong", the other primarily aristocratic residential area of the Joseon period, between the major places of Gyeongbok and Changdok.

We are fortunate to have as our tour leader Mr. Peter Bartholomew. Mr. Bartholomew has lived in Korea for more than 20 years and has made an intensive study of the Joseon Dynasty period from the architectural point of view into its history, culture and politics. He has made a special study into the evolutionary aspects of the royal Capital of Seoul, and his fascinating article entitled "Choson Dynasty Royal Compounds Windows to a Lost Culture" can be found in Volume 68 of Transactions of the R.A.S., Korea Branch. He will continuously narrate the tour with historical, cultural and aesthetic/ architectural descriptions. Mr. Bartholomew will be our guide for Dok Su Palace and the remains of the formerly larger Dok-Su compound palace now outside of the palace walls.

Cost of the tour is W20,000 for members and for non members W24,000. The tour will depart from the main gate of Dok-Su Palace at 9:00 a.m. and finish about 3:30 p.m. around the Chang dok Palace. Please remember to bring some money for lunch (W 5,000-6,000). You may bring some soft drinks and snacks for the tour since we will have lunch later in the afternoon. SINCE THIS IS A WALKING TOUR, COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES AND CLOTHES ARE RECOMMENDED.

A brief intoduction to hanja (한자)

2010-03-22T17:00:00.004+09:00

It begins.

한자 (Hanja) is like the boogeyman for learning Korean. Hanja is endlessly referenced and is this never-ending source of conversation enders. Want to win an argument about the Korean language? Throw the word "Hanja" in. Bam. pie hole shut. But Hanja shouldn't be this awful beast of an obstacle to learning Korean. I personally grew tired of hearing about it and not knowing why it was important or why people even cared. It really shouldn't be feared.

While certainly not necessary to learn basic and intermediate Korean, Hanja does make life a lot easier. Honestly even a survival knowledge of Hanja makes Korean a lot more manageable. Like all skills in life, there are varying degrees of mastery and the more you learn, the more useful it becomes. Think of it as a car owner's knowledge of auto repair. Necessary? Not at all but if you know even the basics like how to jumpstart a dead battery or change a tire it does tend to make things not as scary.

So let's start out with some history. First and foremost, Hanja is not Chinese (the language). If you hear anyone, including a well meaning native Korean speaker, who refers to Hanja as Chinese, please slap them gently across the face for me. Mandarin is not Hanja. Hanja is not Cantonese. It never was. It never will be. 한자 are individual characters that, when combined into a sentence, form 한문, or Traditional (Classical) Chinese writing. The differences are subtle but clearly exist. From a Korean linguist via email: 한문 consists of 한자. 한문 refers to full sentences whereas 한자 means Chinese letters. Sometimes both terms are used interchangeably to call Chinese characters in general. Simply put, Hanja is a written language that should probably be dead but isn't. 한자 slash 한문 formed the partial basis for many languages including Japanese and Mandarin. Although it is true that knowing Hanja will help one learn these other languages quicker, knowing Hanja is not the same as knowing Chinese or Japanese. It's like the similarities in Romanantic languages; knowing Spanish of course makes learning English or French easier. However, French speakers cannot effectively communicate with Spanish speakers just because they both have Latin-based languages.

Linguistically, it all starts with China. Traditional Chinese script has existed in various forms for thousands of years. However, like all languages, it evolved and underwent reform countless times. One such time occurred around the 1940s with a government-sponsored initiative to add a simplified Chinese script in an effort to increase literacy. This was not designed to replace the traditional script, which other countries had been using for the basis for their own languages. Korean was one such language that maintained the old script. Japanese, in comparison, currently uses hiragana, katakana and kanji (revised Hanja). Since the mid 1940s, Japan has used simplified versions of Traditional Chinese letters and therefore currently don't fully resemble their old forms found in the copy of a original known as Hanja. That is to say, Traditional Chinese, Korean Hanja and Japanese Kyujitai developed relatively independent of each other.

Although Korean has expanded from its original dependency on the 천자문 (Thousand Character Classic), Hanja was still the literary script of choice in Korea for centuries despite the creation of the native script 한글 (Hangul) in the 1440s. Koreans now proudly celebrate Hangul as a gift to the world from the great King Sejong, but it might surprise you to find out that it was not exactly well received back then. The literati were understandably upset when a script that was easy enough to learn in a day emerged as a possible contender to the traditional Chinese script that took them decades to master. Certainly such an uncivilized script could only be used by the lower classes; a poor man's Chinese. Some of Hangul's early nicknames include 암글 (women's script) and 아침글 (the script you can learn within a morning). Hangul did not begin to resemble the nationalistic script of choice that it is today until 1894. Two years later, Hangul was used to publish pro-Korean, anti-Chinese sentiments in The Independent (독립신문). The adoption of Hangul increasingly became related with the spread of anti-Japanese nationalism as well as Korean Catholicism. All that from something that'll take you less than a day to get used to.

As Traditional Chinese took a different linguistic direction, Korea faithfully adhered to their own development of the Korean language with the phonetic preservation of old Hanja as well as the more recent additions of foreign words (외래어) from languages such as English and Japanese. Although currently Hangul is the obvious script of choice to decipher and distribute Hanja-based documents and texts (as well as express original words and thoughts) several other Korean writing systems preceded Hangul including 이두 (Idu), 향찰 (Hyangchal), and 구결 (Gugyeol). Each had their varying levels of usage though all have pretty much been cast to the wayside. Hangul is simply much easier to use.

The upside to Hangul phonetization is you don't have to write in Hanja. No stroke counting, no big calligraphy pen, to questionable looking pictograph, nothing. Just a phonetic spelling of the word. This would be like spelling "hallepehnyo" for the Spanish word "jalapeño". Obvious downfalls to Hangul phonetization include a dangerous amount of homonyms. For example, "성" could mean anything from castle (城), gender (性) to last name (姓). Thankfully, as Hanja is still used sparingly in modern newspapers and moderately in some formal documents, it thus maintains a modest-sized Hanja-literate population. When a word in Hangul needs to be clarified, the original Hanja is used for clarification. This brings up the issue of who learns real Hanja and when.

Native speakers of Korean are ideally fluent (if not just pleasantly exposed) to 1800 different Hanja throughout public school. However, seeing as how Hanja is left out of the dreaded 수능, I imagine the pressure to learn Hanja diligently is quite low. I also imagine the actual number of instantly recognizable characters is actually quite a lot smaller; probably closer to a few hundred if I were to pull a number out of nowhere. It's much more likely that the native speaker of Korean knows the Korean spelling and definition of most major Hanja characters but does not know the proper Hanja spelling. I would also presume that many high frequency words that have both a Korean and Hanja base are also well known such as 대 (大), 중 (中), 수 (水), 인 (人), etc.

So why do there exist foreign history buffs who possess a higher understanding of Hanmoon when compared to an average native speaker? What's the point? Two reasons. First, old books (고서) and documents are likely to be written in Chinese, Japanese or Hanja depending the source and time period. Hangul is really not going to do you much good unless it has already be translated into Korean. Second, modern Korean is evolving away from its old roots and adopting an increasing amount of native and loan words. An estimated breakdown of Korean vocabulary in modern use is about 35% native Korean words (e.g. 길, 가죽), 60% Sino-Korean words (e.g. 신문, 약속) and about 5% loan words (e.g. 아르바이트, 택시). Therefore, knowing Hanja is clearly not a necessity but certainly gives one a leg up.

Advantages to knowing Hanja roots? Learning new Korean vocabulary is much easier. It's safe to say that knowing a hundred or so common Hanja roots will make picking up Korean a lot quicker. Disadvantages? Hanja is not always the socially acceptable word. It's not as if Hanja words are inherently dirty it's just that some words might be more easily understood in native Korean. Saying 오른 쪽 for "turn right" will probably be a bit more clear than saying "우회전". Unfortunately, due to the increasing influence of bad Konglish, the more common word instead might be actually be a Konglish word instead. Boo on that.

I leave you with this attempt at a summary in order to inspire those who have put off learning Hanja. Sure it's a little embarrassing to start relearning to write numbers again (just when you finally felt comfortable with the two sets of numbers in Korean) but a little goes a long way. If you're interested in learning Hanja, I'd recommend Useful Chinese Characters for Learners of Korean or the entry over at the Korean Wiki Project. Also, check out this creative Hanja advertising ploy.

Ignorance, Expectations and Comic Books

2010-03-21T01:01:00.002+09:00

It's clear that I'm nowhere near the level where I'm ready to write my dissertation let alone thesis, however, I am gaining familiarity with a lot of repeat offenders in the limited scope of Korean history. But of course I feel a bit ashamed to proudly write about something that dozens of authorities have lived and breathed decades before me - let alone the historians who are still living and breathing and who are ready to rip apart my interpretations. It just intimidates me a bit to write 300 words on 김구 when it will surely just expose my lack of understanding. However, what am I do to instead? Pretend I'm an expert, just sit back and don't pursue the passion? Lame. It puts me out there a bit but everyone has to start somewhere.

I like what Jonathan Dresner once wrote over at Frog in a Well - "I freely admit that I blog out of ignorance. I blog when I discover something that I didn’t know; I blog when I want to learn something; I blog when I discover that someone else doesn’t know something that I know." Well said. Everyone's got to start somewhere.

I just finished three short 만화 (Manga) books about Korean history and I can't help but want to write a short review of them. In a nutshell they were effective in telling some of Korea's historical past through cute pictures and easy to follow stories although the nationalistic foreign slandering was set on "high" and no countries were spared. Japan, due to their colonial past, are portrayed like wild animals in many instances while the greedy Russians who provided King Kojong with temporary asylum are drawn with unnaturally large, protruding noses. Do I even need to mention the occasional Chinese emmisary who looks like Krusty the Klown doing his "Me So Solly" bit? I suppose such is propaganda but I just expected more objectivity and less "feel how I feel and hate the Japanese as I do" in a seemingly harmless set of cartoon books. I just expected something else.

Speaking of which, I can't find ISBN numbers for these. It makes it a bit difficult to properly review them. How is that even possible to sell books at a place like 교보문고 without ISBN numbers? Anyways, all I can tell you is that these books are published by SeSe Publish House (세세 출판사), written in English and Korean, are brightly colored and come separately in a set of differently shaped books with the following name: "한국의 역사 문화 - Korean Culture and History" followed by a subtitle for each volume:
- vol 1 - 한국의 고대사 Ancient Korean History
- vol 2 - 한국의 중세사 Medieval History of Korea
- vol 3 - 한국전쟁과 근대사 The Korean War and Modern History
- vol 4 - 6.25전쟁과 박정희 The 6.25 War and Jung Hee Park

If you see them, pick them up and get a laugh out of the predictably biased bits of filtered history. Although at roughly 10 000원 a pop, you might be better off checking them out of a rental shop or reading them in the store.

양화진 (Yanghwajin Foreigner's Cemetery in Seoul) and a review of Donald Clark's 1998 book

2010-03-15T17:08:00.004+09:00

A wonderful piece of history that deserves better. I recently read Professor Clark's amazingly useful yet hopelessly impossible to find book and thought to myself how sad it is that more people don't know about Yanghwajin. History has a tendency to sink. The best way I could think to contribute was to write this modest post and to start a Yanghwajin page on wikipedia. Without further ado:

Title: The Seoul Foreigners' Cemetery at Yanghwajin: An Informal History with Notes on Other Cemeteries in Korea and Individuals and Families in the History of the Foreign Community in Korea
Author: Donald Clark
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Seoul Union Church (1998)
ISBN-10: N/A
ISBN-13: N/A
Full Listing: Clark, Donald N., comp and ed. The Seoul Foreigners' Cemetery at Yanghwajin: An Informal History with Notes on Other Cemeteries in Korea and Individuals and Families in the History of the Foreign Community in Korea. Seoul: Seoul Union Church, 1998.
Not to be confused with a previous edition: Clark, Donald N. Yanghwajin Seoul Foreigners' Cemetery, Korea: An Informal History, 1890-1984, with Notes on Other Foreign Cemeteries in Korea. Seoul: Yongsan RSOK Library, 1984.

A treasure in every sense of the word: something that is hard to find but worth so much once obtained. I assure you its value is not lost on its relative obscurity. I'm simply shocked that there isn't more written on the foreigners' cemetery in Seoul known as Yangwhajin (양화진외국인묘지공원). Clocking in under 160 pages about half of which is actual written content with the other a sort of directory guide, it certainly isn't a long read but it certainly is a sad read and one that touches me on a personal level.

Regardless of one's politics, I must attempt to draw a parallel. If it seems reaching, please bear with me. This book and its history reminds me of another Korea-related topic known as the Comfort Women; not because the graveyard was wronged by the Japanese but because like the so-called Comfort Women, Yanghwajin, too is having itshistory quickly forgotten. Soon, all women directly affected by the Japanese military will pass away leaving only heartbreaking stories and hopeless pleas behind in their stead. Their memories and hardships will disappear without proper stewardship. Like the tragedy that is the Comfort Women, Yanghwajin has a story that deserves to be told, retold and preserved. I don't mean to draw parallels in terms of importance or sexual slavery or anything like that; it's just that both topics come to mind when I think of history on the verge of disappearing. I certainly mean no disrespect if that parallel is inappropriate. I simply feel connected to the cemetery out of respect for those who have came before me and for their accomplishments and contributions.

Yanghwajin has a history that is full of controversy and Clark's book accurately begins the tale with it's introduction to the cemetery itself and the unofficial steward church, the Seoul Union Church. As both histories are intertwined, to understand the cemetery and it's history, one must understand the plight of this church-without-a-home. Despite confidently proclaiming a permanent home at publication time, the church could not foresee that in 2007, its modest foreign congregation would be forced out of their chapel and away from the cemetery they had taken care of since its creation.

The book was originally published in 1984 and later updated, revised and expanded to include a map in 1998. Although I have not seen the 1984 version, I have been told that all pertinent information is also present in the 1998 version. If you ever are in the market to get a used copy, make it count and get the 1998 pressing as it includes much more content and is more accurate.

If one were to try to obtain a copy of the 1998 book, it's more than a little difficult. First of all, both editions have no ISBN number and therefore fly well under the radar. Secondly, the title doesn't exactly roll off the tip of your tongue. Asking for it by name will likely get one a reference to a modest museum attached to the church next to the cemetery. Unfortunately, the current church management who takes care of the grounds has their own materials to tell their version of the stories of the men and women interred at Yanghwajin but not so much in the way of how they acquired the rights to do so. Therefore, contacting the cemetery itself is not exactly going to work. Just for clarification, according to a personal correspondence via email with the author "The book was meant to be distributed at the cemetery, but as you surely know, that ship sailed a long time ago."

I scored my copy by politely emailing the current pastor of Seoul Union Church if he had any old prints left. Thankfully he did have a few left for a modest 5000원 each. Since I currently live in Seoul, he was able to mail them to me and I made a small donation to the church (in addition to the price of the book) for his efforts. I mention this story of how I acquired my copy not because I want to tell the world of my amazing emailing skills but because of the relative difficulty in obtaining this valuable book. The pastor just happened to have some old copies laying around, thankfully. Basically, if you're looking to read a copy, cross your fingers and hope that a local library has it on file or get friends with someone that bought one a while back because I'm not sure if any new prints are available. Otherwise, attending one of the church's services (currently on Yonsei's campus) is about the only advice I can offer. In hopes of curbing needless emails to the author, contacting the church and hoping for the best was also the advice of the Professor Clark.

If you are in Seoul and you want to experience some genuine history, you owe it to yourself to make plans to visit this cemetery. The current church does indeed have a modest museum that will help tell some of the story. To me, this is certainly better than nothing at all. Simple English language brochures are available and will help to pique interest about the fascinating stories that can be found there.

In closing, some might wonder why it's such a problem to have an organization with less than a high level of vested interest in the cemetery take care of Yanghwajin, take note of the example found in Incheon. The Chemulpo Foreigner's Cemetery, which predates Yangwhajin, was completely removed from its original place in 1965 and relocated without much of a fuss.

If you haven't been to Yanghwajin already, make it a point.

Muninn

2010-02-24T16:14:00.002+09:00

I originally came across Konrad's blog through his efforts over at Frog in a Well, a collaborative history blog with dedicated entries for Korea, China and Japan. Normally I just read the Korean posts and I also make it a point to read the comments. Through a five part series he published, he caught my attention:
Early Western Perceptions of Koreans: Part I
Early Western Perceptions of Koreans: Part II
Early Western Perceptions of Koreans: Part III
Early Western Perceptions of Koreans: Part IV
Early Western Perceptions of Koreans: Part V

I would guess that most readers would not find his blog not extraordinary. It's a modest personal blog of a graduate student of East Asian history. What gets me is that he is very detailed about his research methods and writes down his thought process meticulously. Fortunately for me, I'm in a position to learn a lot from people who are in MA and PhD programs and Konrad's blog fits the bill to a T. One really gets a vicarious feeling from his frustrated posts about language study, sifting through archives in a Chinese library, finding a good program to organize pdfs for the dreaded dissertation and his helpful experiences as a Teaching Assistant. Notable posts include his: 2007 year in review, how to organize a jungle of pdfs, his thoughts on Hanja, Making choices in research methods, a great account of Foreigner Shock Meltdown, a nice background on the Seodaemun Prison Museum (서대문형무소 역사관), faults of Archive Digitization, a surprising account of Anti-Korean sentiment in Taiwan, an entertaining post on code-switching, a three-part series on organizing information for dissertation writing, a new-fangled timesaving device known as a PDF scanner, and a little about his oral (general) exams. Thank you for blogging.

Kind readers, if there are any other blogs of this nature, for the love, share them.
UPDATE: Prison Notebooks will do nicely.

Brief interview with a Korean History student

2010-02-24T14:59:00.000+09:00

Similar to the email I had with the Seoul public school history teacher, a language school classmate's brother is studying Korean history here in Korea. What makes his story unique is that he's Japanese. The email is in Korean and other than the main points, I am unable to translate the whole email to post here. I'm sure with enough time and torture, I could do it but alas I seem to have more excuses than ability in Korean.

Essentially I asked him to tell me about his school life, how he got here, how's the program, etc. It's a pretty informal email but it did have some insight. I didn't realize he spoke such good Korean but then again, seeing as his classes are in Korean, he would have to be pretty fluent to catch everything in class.

Anyway, I asked him if he wouldn't mind me posting his response minus his name. I'm more than obliged to do so. Enjoy!
- - - - - - - - - -

안녕하슈~~ ^^ (죄송해요,, 이름을 보니깐 그냥 생각나서ㅋㅋ)
Matthew씨가 야후! 메일로 보내주셨는데, 야후 메일로는 한국말로 보내지 못해서 (글이 깨져버리기 때문에ㅡ;;)
네이버로 보내요ㅋㅋ

이야기는 제 누나한테서 대충 들었고요, (앗 아까도 말했군..)
제가 지금 다니는 학교가 <전남대학교>라 해서, 전라남도에 있는 대학교에요.
학생들이 대학교로 입학할라면 일단 다 서울쪽으로 가죠,
그치만 여기는 지방대 중에서는 그나마 괜찮은 대학교랍니다 ^^;
지방에서는 세 개 손가락으로 뽑힌다는 소리도,,,ㅋㅋㅋ 부산대, 경북대, 전남대~~

전남대에는 물론 외국인들을 대상으로 한국말을 가르치는 기관이 있어요,
뭐 언어교육원이라 하는데,,,,,,, 근데 여기는 별로 강하게 추천할 만한 데는 아닌 거 같고요..ㅠ ㅋㅋ
한국말을 제대로 배우고 싶으시면, 나중에 어느 대학교로 들어가든 간에, 일단 서울에서 하시는 게 제일 나울 듯해요.
그리고 나서 대학교를 골라야 되는데,

Matthew씨가 역사에 관심이 있다고 하셨죠?
구제적으로는 혹시 하고 싶은 시대가 정해져 있나요? ^^
저는 근대사를 전공해요, 근대 시기 목포(전라남도 바다쪽에 위치한 항구도시에요ㅎㅎ)의 도시 건설 과정에 대해 하고 있어요,
그래서 나중에 논문을 쓸 때 자료 수집을 하기 위해서 저 같이 지방사를 할 경우에는 연구 대상이 된 지방에서 가까운 것이 하나의 조건이 될거에요 ^^

그리고 한국 고대사, 중세사, 근세가, 근대사, 현대사... 여러 분야 중에, 각각에 실력이 뛰어난 교수님이 있단 말이에요ㅎㅎ
입학하기 전에 되도록이면 앞으로 하고 싶은 연구 분야, 시대 중에서 어떤 교수 밑에서 하는 게 좋을지, 교수를 알아보시는 게 좋을 거에요 ^^
덧붙여서 다른 분야에서도 마찬가지겠지만,
(성격 등등)잘 맞는 교수님, 잘 이해해주는(외국인에 대한 이해심이 많은) 선생님 밑에서 하는 것을 강추합니다ㅡ; ㅋ
자기가 하고 싶은 분야도 중요하지만, 교수와의 궁합 또한 중요해요..
아무튼 대학원에서 제일 중요한 것은 졸업논문이기 때문에, 일단 그것을 유념하시고,,,

수업 진행 방식은 왼만하면 다 한국어로, 물론 쌤들이 쓰는 말의 수준이 좀 높죠, 워낙 날마다 미친듯이 공부만 하는 사람들이다보니.. ㅋㅋ
그치만 자기 전공분야에서 쓰는 말만 알아도 어느정도 수업에 때라갈 수는 있을거에요 ㅎㅎ
물론 기본적인 어휘를 많이 알고 있으면 좋은데, 수업을 듣다보면 처음에는 뭔 말인지 이해못하다가
한달~한학기 정도 지나면 하는 말이 귀에 붙어서 익숙해질테니깐요ㅎㅎ
처음에는 힘들긴 하되 점점 이헤되기 시작하면 할만해요 ^^

우리 대학교 같은 경우에는 수업료가 한 학기에 한 180만원 정도 되요,,
물론 장학금 제도도 있으니까 전부가 아니어도 어느정도는 보상해줘요 ^^
저도 처음에는 장학금을 받았었는데 성적이 안좋으면
(보통 A를 유지해야 하는데 B이하를 받았을 때 - 보통 대학원에서는 아무리 공부를 못하더라도 그런 경우가 흔하지 않지만)
다음학게에는 장학금이 지급되지 않을 수도 있기 때문에 조심해야 되요,,
이것도 학교마다, 과마다 다르니까 많이 좀 알아볼 필요가 있겠죠,
근데 보통 외국인을 대상으로 한 장학금 제도가 있을테니까 많이 걱정 안하셔도 될 듯함,,
그리고 어떤 대학교에서 권력을 가진 선생님이 꼭 몇 명씩 있잖아요?ㅋ
거의 모든 일은 교수님에게 걸려있기 때문에ㅋㅋㅋ 잘되면 교수님이 그냥 알아서 다 챙겨주실거에요,,

기숙사는 우리 전남대가 유일하게 할 수 있는 자랑거리인가?ㅋㅋ일단 기숙사가 많아요ㅎ
우선 식사를 제공해주는 기숙사가 있는데,
이 기숙사에는 대략 한학기에 120만원 정도 들어요.(한달 20만원 정도?)
저같은 돈이 없는 불쌍한 외국인들은 싼 대신에 건물이 지저분한 기숙사로 입주해야 되는데ㅡ;ㅋㅋ 한학기 60만원 정도 해요(한달 약 10만원)
식사를 제공 안해준 대신에 취사실이라는 역시 지저분한 부엌이 있는데, 거기서는 가스를 쓰는 데 10분 100원인가? 코인을 넣아야 되요,,
그리고 두 기숙사에는 또 1인실이랑 2인실이 있는데, 1인실은 2인실 방 값의 두배를 내야 되요,,
200만원 넘는다는 말이죠,,ㅋ (식사 제공 안한 기숙사는 약 120만원이고)
밥이 나오는 기숙사에서는 따로 공용 샤워실이랑 개인 샤워실(화장실도 마찬가지고)이 비치된 방으로 나눠지는데,
물론 개인 방에 둘 다 비치된 방이 좋죠, 비용도 같으니까 ^^

근데 서울 쪽의 하교나 사립 대학교보다는, 국립 대학교가 전체적으로 모든걸 싸게 해결할 수는 있으니까 그런 부분에서는 좋아요ㅎㅎ
서울은 물가가 세니까,, 못 쓰것어,,,ㅋㅋ
기타 자세한 정보는 홈페이지에서 확인 해보세요~~ ㅋㅋ

전대 홈페이지

생활관 (기숙사)

인문대 사학과 (역사 학과를 말한 거임)

너무 많이 길어졌죠, 쏘리요ㅡ;
만나서 얘기할 수 있으면 좋은데 서울까지 머니까 못가겠음,,ㅋㅋ 아쉽네영ㅠ

Free Korean History

2010-02-23T15:02:00.003+09:00

Free is good. Knowledge should be free and a little free book or two now and then is always welcome. But as a good scholar should always keep in mind, consider the source of the information and analyze it's neutrality. Sometimes a hard thing to find on subjects like Dokdo. Here's a short list of free resources (other than the ones found in the sidebar of this blog):

The Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project (KSCPP) has a small but growing list of publications. My pick from them is Fifty Wonders of Korea I and II.
As mentioned in the Korean History Journals post, a new online journal called Korean Histories has appeared and is available free of charge. Check out the 1.1.2010 issue.
Recently featured in a Korean newspaper (can't seem to remember which one at the moment) is Professor Wongtack Hong's website. My pick is his East Asian History: A Triploar Approach.
The Internet Archive also has many books available as does Google Books. But before you start searching, Brother Anthony has already compiled and linked a sea of old books on Korea. An incredibly helpful list for sure!
Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO) also has some propaganda-laden tour guides and books for free. So does Korea.net's publication library which would have to be best for Korean government-approved free ebooks. Worth mentioning is Korean History for International Citizens, the multilingual Facts About Korea and an understandably pro-Korean stance on the History of Dokdo.
Speaking of Dokdo and Japan-Korea relations, I suspect after I really dig into the Northeast Asian Foundation, I'll post a summary. Till then, their The Truth of Japanese Military "Comfort Women" is good reading. I downloaded it a while back on Korea.net but I can't seem to find the link now. UPDATE: found it.
Continuing in the vein of polished "good-side" texts, VANK has got plenty to read. You remember them, right?
KBS World has even contributed by writing up a History of Korea as well as a Korean History 101 series.
Finally, I've personally never used this Nate site but I've read that it has some Korean language pdfs.

If you know any other resources, please let me know!

Korean History Journals

2010-02-22T23:44:00.001+09:00

When it comes to my history of learning about Korea, I started lowtech by just listening to stories from family and friends about grandpa in the Korean War, my friend's mom making 김치 and of course those curious little rods of rice wrapped in seaweed from my buddy at my nanny's house when I was four years old. When I got older, I found some compelling articles from Korean newspapers and eventually a few interesting blogs that were written quite informally and oftentimes turned into mouthpieces of aggression and frustration. I then moved on to Korean culture overview books found at Barnes and Noble near my apartment in college. Once I thumbed through a few a got more specific and ventured into topics I didn't really know much about.

I would say that I'm only slightly above this stage now. I've amassed a decent collection but true knowledge isn't based on my accessibility of books and being able to read quickly. My next step is to get into academia. It's a bit intimidating seeing as how they can be a bit dry at times (not to mention lengthy). Nonetheless, I am genuinely interested in learning more and a few journals would certainly compliment my current hunger for printed material. First things first, what is out there? UPDATE: added three more.

Transactions is the over hundred year old journal published by the Royal Asiatic Society - Korea Branch (RASKB). I anxiously await its new website.
The Journal of Asian Studies isn't Korea-specific but since 1941, this quarterly journal has been published by the Association of Asian Studies.
Since 1961, Korea Journal has got to be one of the first to come to mind when it comes to Korean academic journals.
University of Hawaii has an annual journal dating back to 1977 with easily the longest name: Korean Studies: Journal of the Center for Korean Studies. There's a few articles available for download via Project MUSE.
Founded by the late Dr. James Palais in 1979, The Journal of Korean Studies was published by Harvard until 2009 but seems to be picked up by the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.
The Seoul Journal of Korean Studies is published by Seoul National University's Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, a relatively new institute formed in 2007.
A new but innovative peer-reviewed journal launched over at Korean Histories in connection with the Centre of Korean Studies at Leiden University and the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS).
The Korea Observer is a quarterly published by the Institute on Korean Studies (IKS) and has been doing so since 1968.
The International Council on Korean Studies (ICKS) prints a biannual journal called the International Journal on Korean Studies.
Acta Koreana started back in 2002 by Keimyung University.
Since 1993 Korea Focus started as a society and culture journal but now is more of an informative webzine
Koreana is less history focused but still covers culture, art and famous figures and is available online.

If I'm missing any, please let me know!

Where to buy history books about Korea?

2010-02-22T21:56:00.004+09:00

I love getting new books. Something about the passing of knowledge in written form captivates me. I can't really express it more clearly than a restrained yet triumphant "아싸!".

Where is one to find English language materials? My Korean is not par enough to start reading Korean texts so in the meantime, I'm stuck acquiring new knowledge through my native language. There's many ways to get new books but it may not be as simple as one might guess. Despite the internet age, English language Korean history is still a relative niche in terms of accessibility. While far from impossible, living outside of Korea makes things considerably more difficult despite the modern convenience of worldwide delivery. I easily doubled my collection simply by living in Korea and having easy access to Korean bookstores. Normally the answer would be to order these same books over a Korean retailer's website and have them delivered internationally but we all know that a foreigner has a snowball's chance in hell in successfully ordering a product on a Korean website. So, if you live in Korea or are just visiting and want to pick up a few books during your visit, I would recommend the following places:
UPDATE: found a great link courtesy of the East Asian Libraries and Archives

- Living in Korea -
영풍문고 - Yong Poong Bookstore
(한국어) (English) (Directions)
By far my favorite place simply because the English language section is huge. Furthermore, they have the best selection of rarities, translations of Korean literature, reprints and modern harder-to-find texts. I can't speak for their service because usually I just come in, look around and walk out with more than what I thought I was going to buy. The prices are more than reasonable. If you live in Korea, this is the place to go.

교보문고 - Kyobo Bookstore
(한국어) (English) (Directions)
The foreign book section is humongous but the Korean history books leave a lot to be desired. I can't fault them though - there's a lot to look through but you might have to hunt for them. In addition to the few shelves dedicated to Korean history, check over by the Korean language textbooks near the entrance. Plenty of reprints, culture guides, coffee table photo album books and the occasional gem or too. Kyobo also has a great ordering service. Free, quick and efficient. If it's in print and in the country, they can order for you. Just ask any of the many English speaking staff members.

밴디앤루니스 - Bandi & Lunis Bookstore
(한국어) (English) (Directions)
Don't write this one off just because there's too other power house mega-bookstores nearby. No joke - the three largest bookstores in Korea seem to be all within a stone's throw of 종각 (and 광화문). Bandi has a few other rarities in their modest section. What surprised me the most is the selection of Korean children's books in English, Fine Art texts and a few other curious additions. If you can't find what you're looking for, maybe these guys have it. Plus, it's right there in the subway stop - trust me when I say that if you've been in 종각, you've seen this bookstore.

What The Book?
(한국어) (English) (Directions)
I've personally never purchased from them but I imagine that they might be willing to help you if you were really in a jam. Other left-field choices include Aladdin books

- Living Outside of Korea -
Amazon
(한국어) (English)
One would think such a gigantic online retailer like Amazon would have any book written in English that's ever been published but sadly many great books are simply not available for whatever reason. It's still a great resource and I use it for my wishlist and keeping track of prices but there are just some books that won't ever be on here for some reason. Still, it's still by far the best resource for online shopping worldwide.

Royal Asiatic Society
(한국어) (English) (Directions)
Korea's branch of the Royal Asiatic Society dates back to 1900 and has published numerous personal accounts, diaries, manuals, primers and other useful texts including their own journal Transactions. They ship domestically and internationally. I've purchased several seemingly out-of-print books with ease simply via email. Being a member doesn't hurt, either. RASKB has published countless classics.

Seoul Selection
(한국어) (English) (Directions)
Online retailer and brick and mortar publisher and distributer based in Seoul, Seoul Selection is how I find out when new Korea-specific books are published. Their website is easy to use but I must admit that I have yet to purchase a book from them. Regardless, they print English and Japanese language books about Korea including some under-the-radar gems. Not to be missed.

Half
(한국어) (English)
Ebay's textbook online retailer, I use Half when Amazon seems a bit pricey. I have countless bargains from this used and new book retailer.

Korean Historical Connection @ Hong-Ik University
(한국어) (English) (Directions)
Another service that I have yet to use but seems quite valuable. If you need a resource but don't know exactly what it is or what it might be called, get set up with them and they'll do the legwork for you and send it to you overseas.
- - - - - - - - -

Of course your local Barnes and Noble might have some of the more common books but honestly with the ease of Amazon's internet interface and low prices, it's hard to justify a brick and mortar shop for this type of product. Let's face it, Korean history is not the best-selling genre that fiction or self-help is.

If you're just looking to copy or peruse through some archives, I've got the link for you. Here's a list of libraries and archives in Korea.

UPDATE: A similar post with helpful pointers can be found over at Korean Modern Literature in Translation.

Know your 'Hak'

2010-02-18T00:11:00.003+09:00

I don't know about you, but when I read about trouble in old Korea involving social upsetting movements and just all around blasphemy, I can't help but get my 'haks' mixed up. Which 학 is which? It seems we have three flavors to choose from: 실, 동, 서. A brief summary if I may.

UPDATE: In research for this small post, I was disappointed to find that there was no wikipedia article on Seohak. So I created one. Ah.. you never forget your first...But it soon turned into a case of "If you give a mouse a cookie...". Once I created that page, I also went on to create a page on the Catholic Persecution of 1801, the founder of Donghak, beefed up a few other related pages and added a few links here and there. It turned into a ~~few~~ several hour project but I'm happy with it. I'm actually starting to accumulate a decent contribution history. My contributions aren't perfect but they should get the ball rolling for future edits.

Silhak (한글:실학, 한자:實學, "Practical Learning")
(실 = practical, actual) (학 = school of thought, studies)
Sometimes written as Sirhak, this movement was a social reform movement originating after the 1592 Japanese Invasion (임진왜란). Essentially, this reform movement was an attempt at Korean nationalism and a self-identity separate from China's ever present sphere of influence. It gained momentum by appealing to the lower classes who had a lot to look forward with such promised improvements. It's also intrinsically tied to the introduction of Christianity (namely Catholicism) into Korea. Although they were not mutually exclusive, not all Silhakers were Seohakers (yes I just created those terms).

Donghak (한글: 동학, 한자: 東學, "Eastern Learning")
(동 = east)
This "Oriental Culture" movement was deemed a religion but like all religions, many of the precepts are philosophical in nature. The donghaks are noted for cutting their long hair short. Donghak, unlike the other movements, had a distinct leader and founder (Choe Je-u). This movement was established in 1860 and was fiercely opposed to the Seohaks. They still exist today in an evolved form known as 천도교.

Seohak (한글: 서학, 한자: 西學, "Western Learning")
(서 = west)
Many of the Silhakers (yes, there's that made-up term again) were also active in this movement. This was essentially the introduction of Catholicism to Korea. It also brought with it western technologies but was initially dismissed as a Buddhism knock-off. What's important to note is that Seohak represented social and religious change that was considered dangerous. Subsequently, many Seohak believers were persecuted.