Ancient Asian History Online

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.

G.I.s Gone Wild

originally posted elsewhere.

I've been on a history bender recently. I mean, it's always a 24/7 interest but it seems that lately I've carved out more time to read and watch some truly compelling sources of history. I'll just mention my two favorites out of the four or five I've come across. these two sources are easy to swallow - less than 50 minutes each and both will freakin blow you away with their content.

The first one is as scandalous as it gets - it deals with 21 American POWs that, after given the chance to come back to America at the end of the Korean war, refuse repatriation and chose instead to live in China. Keep in mind that this took place during the height of McCarthyism. Watch They Chose China (2005) to see what exactly happened.

For an even more shocking documentary (which apparently is possible) watch this short on a few American soldiers who crossed the DMZ in the 1960s in order to live in North Korea. Most ended up starring in propaganda films portraying evil foreigners in the Unsung Heroes series. I really wish I had a copy of Crossing the Line (2006) to get an even closer look. In the meantime, here's a two part 60 Minutes episode from 2007 here and here. UPDATE: I think I found the documentary here.

That there's some good history.