September Link Dump

- 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

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

- 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

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

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

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

- 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.