A concise history of Korea : from antiquity to the present / Michael J. Seth.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Seth, Michael J., 1948- author.

Standardized Title:

• History of Korea.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Korea--History.
• Korea.
• History.
• Korea--Civilization.
• Civilization.

Genre:

• History.

Physical Description:

xiv, 589 pages : maps ; 23 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016]

Summary:

Now in a Fully Revised and Updated Edition, this comprehensive book surveys Korean history from Neolithic times to the present. Michael J. Seth explores the origins and development of Korean society, politics, and still little-known cultural heritage, showing how this ancient, culturally and ethnically homogeneous society was wrenched into the modern world, ultimately to be arbitrarily divided into two opposed halves after World War II. Tracing the six decades since, the book explains how the two Koreas, with their deeply different political and social systems and geopolitical orientations, evolved into sharply contrasting societies. Throughout, the author adds a rare dimension by placing Korean history into broader global perspective. All readers looking for a balanced, knowledgeable history will be richly rewarded with this clear and concise book. Book jacket.

Contents:

• 1 The Origins 9
• The Koreans 9
• Early Inhabitants 10
• The Age of Rice Farming Begins 12
• Sources for Early Korea 15
• Choson 16
• The Chinese Commanderies 17
• Chinese Commanderies and Their Neighbors: The Northern Peoples 19
• Chinese Commanderies and Their Neighbors: The Southern Peoples 21
• Politics of the Third Century 23
• Korea in Global Perspective: 5,000 Years of History 24
• Notes 25
• 2 The Period of the Three Kingdoms, Fourth Century to 676 29
• The Emergence of the Three Kingdoms 30
• The Wa and Mimana 33
• Korea and Northeast Asia in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries 35
• Culture and Society of the Three Kingdoms 36
• The Bone-Ranks, the Hwabaek, and the Hmarang 41
• The Changing Environment of the Sixth and Seventh Centuries 45
• The Unification of Korea under Silla 47
• Korea in Global Perspective: State Formation 48
• Notes 50
• 3 Late Silla, 676 to 935 53
• The Peninsular Kingdom 53
• Consolidation of Central Monarchical Rule under, Silla, 676-780 54
• Silla and the Chinese Model 56
• Supporting the Silla State 57
• Silla Society 61
• Religion and Aristocratic Culture 63
• Silla and Its Neighbors 68
• Parhae 71
• The Decline of Silla 74
• The Later Three Kingdoms 75
• Korea in Global Perspective: Silla's Rise and Fall 77
• Notes 80
• 4 Koryo, 935 to 1170 83
• The New Koryo State 83
• Koryo in East Asia 91
• Internal Politics, 935-1170 94
• Koryo Culture 96
• The Samguk Sagi 100
• Koryo Society 102
• Korea in Global, Perspective: Koryo's Examination System 105
• Notes 108
• 5 Military Rulers and Mongol Invaders, 1170 to 1392 111
• Military Rule 111
• Son Buddhism 115
• Korea, Japan, and Feudal Europe 116
• The Mongol Invasions 118
• The Legacy of the Mongol Period 121
• Late Koryo Society 123
• The End of the Koryo 124
• Late Koryo Culture 126
• The Rise of Neo-Confucianism 126
• Korea in Global Perspective: The Mongols and Korea 131
• Notes 133
• 6 The Neo-Confucian Revolution and the Choson State, 1392 to the Eighteenth Century 135
• Establishing the Yi Dynasty 135
• The Neo-Confucianist Project 137
• The Choson State 140
• The Censorate and the Classics Mat 141
• Historians 143
• The Examination System 144
• Education 147
• Agricultural Improvements and the State 149
• Military and Foreign Affairs 150
• The Japanese and Manchu Invasions 154
• Competition for Power among the Elite 158
• Choson Politics in Perspective 162
• Korea in Global Perspective: Choson as an Ideologically Driven State 163
• Notes 165
• 7 Choson Society 167
• The Family 168
• Women During the Yi Dynasty 171
• Social Structure 175
• Slaves and Outcastes 178
• Crime and Punishment 182
• Religious Beliefs and Practices 184
• Philosophy 187
• Arts, Literature, and Science 190
• Technology and Inventions 194
• Korea in Global Perspective: Women in Korea 195
• Korea in Global Perspective: Choson's Social Hierarchy 196
• Notes 199
• 8 Late Choson, Early Eighteenth Century to 1876 201
• The Politics of Late Choson 202
• Late Choson and the Confucian World Order 203
• Korean Travelers to China and Japan 206
• Taxation and Reform 209
• Agriculture 212
• Commerce and Trade 213
• Cultural Flowering of Late Choson 216
• Sirhak 222
• Everyday Life 224
• Korea in the Nineteenth Century: The "Hermit Kingdom" 227
• Internal Problems in the Nineteenth Century 228
• Korea in Global Perspective: The Hermit Kingdom? 234
• Notes 237
• 9 Korea in the Age of Imperialism, 1876 to 1910 241
• Early Contacts with the West 241
• The Opening of Korea 246
• Early Reforms, 1876-1884 250
• The Chinese Decade, 1885-1894 256
• The Tonghak Rebellion 259
• Kabo Reforms 262
• The Russian Ascendency and the Independence Club 265
• The Russo-Japanese War and the Protectorate 268
• The Protectorate, 1905-1910 271
• Korea in Transition 274
• Korea in Global Perspective: Korea in the Age of Imperialism 276
• Notes 280
• 10 Colonial Korea, 1910 to 1945 283
• The March First Movement 285
• The Post-March First Period 287
• Cultural Ferment of the 1920s 289
• Moderate and Radical Nationalism 290
• Economic Development 298
• Modernity and Social Change 300
• Rural Society 307
• Wartime Colonialism, 1931-1945 311
• Forced Assimilation 314
• A Society in Turmoil: The Legacy of Colonial Rule 315
• Korea in Global Perspective: The Korean Nationalist Movement 318
• Korea in Global Perspective: Korea's Colonial Experience 319
• Notes 322
• 11 Division and War, 1945 to 1953 325
• The End of Colonial Rule in Korea 328
• North Korea under Soviet Occupation 329
• South Korea under U.S. Occupation 331
• Trusteeship 333
• Establishing a Separate Regime in the North 333
• The Beginnings of a New Regime in the South 335
• Toward Division 336
• The Republic of Korea 338
• The Democratic People's Republic of Korea 340
• On the Eve of the Korean War 341
• The Korean War 344
• The Impact of the Korean War 352
• Korea in Global Perspective: Divided Countries 354
• Korea in Global Perspective: The Korean War 355
• Notes 358
• 12 North Korea: Recovery, Transformation, and Decline, 1953 to 1993 361
• The Divergent Paths of the Two Koreas 361
• North Korea's Recovery 362
• North Korea's Great Leap Forward 364
• The Political Consolidation of Kim II Sung and His Manchurian Guerrilla Comrades 367
• Creating a Monolithic State 369
• The Cult of the Kim Family 371
• Kim II Sung's Juche Society 373
• Everyday Life 377
• Foreign Policy 382
• Economic Problems 387
• Korea in Global Perspective: North Korea as a Communist Country 390
• Notes 395
• 13 South Korea: From Poverty to Prosperity, 1953 to 1997 399
• The Syngman Rhee Years, 1953-1960 399
• The Democratic Experiment, 1960-1961 402
• The Military Coup 404
• Economic Transformation 407
• Economic Growth under Park Chung Hee 409
• Chaebols 415
• Transformation of the Countryside 418
• Economic Development in the 1980s 420
• Explaining South Korea's Economic Miracle 421
• Education 424
• Korea in Global Perspective: Educational Development 426
• Korea in Global Perspective: Economic Development 428
• Notes 430
• 14 South Korea: Creating a Democratic Society, 1953 to 1997 433
• Military Authoritarianism 433
• The Yushin Era, 1971-1979 435
• Seoul Spring, 1979-1980 439
• The Fifth Republic 442
• 1987: A Political Turning Point 443
• Transition to Democracy 446
• Understanding the Democratic Turn 450
• Student Activism 454
• Organized Labor 456
• Social and Cultural Transition 459
• Korea in Global Perspective: Democratization 462
• Notes 465
• 15 Contemporary North Korea, 1993 to 2015 467
• In Decline: A Period of Crisis 467
• Under Kim Jong II 469
• Ideology 470
• Famine 472
• Crisis and Summitry 474
• Tentative Reforms 476
• Confrontations and the Policy of Survival 479
• North Korea Under Kim Jong Un 484
• Korea in Global Perspective: North Korea's Famine 489
• Korea in Global Perspective: North Korea as a Failed State 490
• Notes 495
• 16 Contemporary South Korea, 1997 to 2015 497
• Return to Civilian Government 497
• Economic Crisis and Recovery 501
• Domestic Politics 503
• Foreign Policy 509
• Rethinking Reunification 513
• A Society Undergoing Rapid Change 514
• Changing Gender Relations, Changing Families 518
• Ethnic Homogeneity and Multiculturalism 521
• Facing History and Preserving Heritage 522
• New Crises and New Problems 525
• Korea in Global Perspective: South Korea's Place in the World 526
• Notes 530.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

• 9781442235168
• 1442235160
• 9781442235175
• 1442235179

OCLC:

920818502