Product Description
A deeply compelling saga of love, jealousy, honor, and greed, And So Flows History (Yoksanun hurunda, 1947) depicts the relentless power of exterior forces on the individual lives of three generations of the illustrious Cho family—from the waning years of the Choson dynasty in the late nineteenth century to the tumultuous post-liberation era. The novel opens with a tragic confrontation between two classes: the rape of a young slave by her master, the respected magistrate Cho Tongjun. Within a year, the magistrate has been murdered by Tonghak rebels, and his two sons are leading the family to ruin—one on account of his blind adherence to tradition, the other owing to his collaboration with the Japanese. Only Tongjun’s youngest child provides hope for the future through her marriage to a enlightened young teacher and patriot.

"[This] is the first modern Korean novel that defines, both in duration of its action and the issues it addresses, the trajectory of recent Korean history.... [Hahn Moo-Sook] devises a form, which can be characterized as a novel of ideas, in which each character is a symbolic figure, and which interweaves the lives of the Cho family with the social forces of the time. Enormously influential, it prefigures such themes as tradition versus modernization, the repositioning of gender, the redefinition and recomposition of class, the interaction between Koreans in Korea, and those in the diaspora that are taken up in later works." —from the Introduction by JaHyun Kim Haboush ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Bad for a General Reference
Contents:
(Part 1)
History
The emergence of a nation from pre-history to 668
The nation:its community and identity from 668 to mid-17th century
Movements for change:mid-17th century to 1864
Korea and the international stage:1864-1910
Japanese colonization:1910-1945
Division and the establishment of the republic of korea:1945-present

Review:Part 1 covers about 90 pages of the book and are well arranged by topic and time period. Each section contains a brief (and well edited) summary of the key historical points. An effort is made to tie in religious/philosophicalinfluences, foreign influences, and key events' influences into the narrative for a bit "deeper" exploration of each topic. The text is fairly non-biased and doesn't shy away from negative representations of Korea. Overall, for a book available from the Korea Overseas Information Service (free) or secondary sources (cheap), this is a real good general guideline of Korean history which covers the very beginnings to the 1990s in a general, non-biased way. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a general survey of Korean history.

(Part 2)
Culture
Philosophy and religion
Language and literature
Fine art
Performing arts
Crafts

Part 2 Review: The remaining 50 pages or so spotlight some key Korean cultural developments and their impact on Korea in general. The focus is mainly on ancient remains but these are contrasted with contemporary examples as well. The depth of this section is much less than the preceding section is more akin to a travel book description than a history text. Regardless, it does supplement the "history" part well and is lavishly illustrated. ... Read more

Product Description
"Simple, brief, yet comprehensive and interpretive" history of Korea for the general reader.

The purpose of this book is to present the history and culture of Korea to meet the needs of the general reader. While providing essential historical and cultural background of the Korean people, emphasis is given to the process of transformation of the ancient Korean society into an aristocratic/feudalistic state first, and then into a modern nation.

Unlike other Korean history books, this includes various aspects of radical changes that took place under the Communist rule after 1945 in the northern half of Korea. As for the southern half, the aspects of struggle for democracy, economic and cultural development, and social modernization have been given particular attention.

16 maps and 87 photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Warning: Useful for Beginners, but Not for Advanced Students
INTRODUCTION TO KOREAN HISTORY AND CULTURE has now passed through at least three editions, so it is probably the passing standard for histories of Korea. It is useful and generally correct, however, it is no longer cutting edge.

Recent archaeological discoveries and the continuing maturation of South Korean political culture have increased debate about many topics in the history of the Korean peninsula. But, still, Professor Nahm's role in this movement has to be acknowledged. His works are probably the first popular tomes most non-Koreans have consulted about Korean history.

The most serious deficiency about this book, and nearly all mass market books about Korea, is the perspective, that Korea is a political entity existing since prehistory. Many nations have existed on the Korean peninsula and in Manchuria, and the idea of a Korean national history is problematic and controversial. This book adds nothing, because it antedates it, to this contemporary debate. It is highly questionable, if Choson peasants or Koryo aristocrats had a national consciousness. Identifying Koryo or Choson as Korean is a subtle form of propaganda, not good historical writing.

This book is also riddled with awkward phrasings and typographical errors. As with most books on Korea, the transliteration scheme is always problematic, and the use of different schemes, is confusing. Because, for instance one person (e.g. Lee Syng Man) is known best in the West as Syngman Rhee, his name is so transliterated, but other persons and places are transliterated differently. This confusion is always irritating.

The final sections on modern South and North Korea are sparse and uncritical, and do not reflect the depth of debate in South Korean society. if Professor Nahm has any perspective, it is pro-development, but by which political regime? By echewing partisan labels, this book sacrifices substance and depth. This book is no more critical than the bad history taught in the schools.

As a quick reference quide, this book is still useful, but with a great deal of caution. There are other more relevant and insightful introductions. But this book has a deserved place in the evolution of Korean scholarship, and in Korean history. ... Read more

Product Description

Legislation to change Korean society along Confucian lines began at the founding of the Chosŏn dynasty in 1392 and had apparently achieved its purpose by the mid seventeenth century. Until this important new study, however, the nature of Koryŏ society, the stresses induced by the new legislation, and society's resistance to the Neo-Confucian changes imposed by the Chosŏn elite have remained largely unexplored.

To explain which aspects of life in Koryŏ came under attack and why, Martina Deuchler draws on social anthropology to examine ancestor worship, mourning, inheritance, marriage, the position of women, and the formation of descent groups. To examine how Neo-Confucian ideology could become an effective instrument for altering basic aspects of Koryŏ life, she traces shifts in political and social power as well as the cumulative effect of changes over time. What emerges is a subtle analysis of Chosŏn Korean social and ideological history.

Customer Reviews (1)

Comprehensive, well researched
Deuchler's book is a wonderful examination of the social changes brought about by the adoption of Neo-Confucianism as the ruling ideology of Korea from 1392 onward.Despite her dense writing style (fewer authors pack as much information per page), the work is fascinating and highly readable.My only major complaint is that she focuses almost exclusively on the upper classes, although to be fair, evidence from the lower classes is largely non-existent.I would have also liked to have seen more diagrams, but other people may not find this a problem. ... Read more

Product Description
With illustrations by Takashi Taniguchi, distribution maps by Satori Hamaya, translation and English adaptation by Desmond Allen, and editor in chief Noritaka Ichida (WBSJ), this is a magnificent field guide, the first covering the whole of the Korean peninsula in English and Korean editions. The illustrations (depicting all of the 450 species recorded in the Peninsula up to November 2000) are superb, with species descriptions and maps given on facing pages. Species names are given in Latin, English and Korean. At the front of the guide there is a useful checklist of Korean birds. A must for any birder visiting the region. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Best Current Guide to NE Asia, good for Asian Russia
I have my eyes keenly focused on Mark Brazil's new guide "Birds of East Asia", due out in March 2009, but until then this is hands down the best guide available for northeast Asia, as Birds of Japan is long out of print and hard to find.It is also the best guide for the southern Russian Far East, although some of the more northern species (some owls, raven, etc.) are omitted as they do not occur on the Korean peninsula.

This title can be found with a little effort from Korean online booksellers for far less that the price offered here (as of 30 December 2008, Seoul Selection has it listed for [...]

Good field guide to cover Korea and much of Japan
Basics: 2000, 1st edition, softcover, 328 pages, 119 color plates; all 450+ species;range map for each bird

This book is a standard identification guide with plates on the right and accompanying text and range map on the left.The authors created this book to reflect all species in the entire Korean peninsula; thus, a few marginal birds are included that may not be seen by birders visiting only South Korea.The book does a good job of illustrating the various plumage differences between gender, ages, seasons, and some phases.There is a near absence of subspecies being addressed in the plates or the text.

The artistry effectively brings out the key identification points of the birds.While the illustrations are quite good, I'll have to disagree with the coloration of the pipits and larks as well as with some of the sparrows and warblers.These birds appear to be too light in color for the grays and browns.However, I suspect this may be due to an overall muted, or faintly washed-out appearance due to the printing efforts rather than to the artists.

The text of one concise paragraph focuses on a physical description of the bird, but does not compare similar species.A couple more brieflines address habitat and vocalizations.

Upon opening this field guide, you might think you've seen it before, if not three times before.Much of this book's illustrations are taken directly from the earlier works of Birds of Taiwan (chinese only, 1991) and A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia (1993).Some of the borrowed illustrations appear to have undergone some touch-ups.The color is also a tiny bit faded in this Korean book.The second similarity is the range maps.The same template and color scheme was borrowed from an even earlier work, A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan by the WBSJ (1982).As a plus, these range maps have been updated with a bit more detail.

This book will be very useful to you in both Korea and most of Japan.In fact, it might be your best available English book for Japan since the English version of the Birds of Japan has been out of print since the 1980s and is typically priced, if even found, at US$100 or higher.The Japanese version is still in print as of 2007.

I've listed several related books below...
1) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Shimba
2) A Field Guide to the Birds of China by MacKinnon/Phllipps
3) The Bird of Korea by Gore/Won
4) Coloured Wild Birds of Korea
5) Wild birds of Korea by Yoon (ISBN 8909016698) ... Read more

Product Description
More than 230 full-color images by someof theworld's most-renowned photographers.South Korea, with its craggy hillsides, gnarledtrees, and ancient temples, is steeped intradition yet, at the same time, is thoroughlymodern—the tenth-ranking industrial power in the world. Its capital city, Seoul, is one of themost populous cities in the world and home tosuch cutting-edge buildings as the Samsung Tower Palace.

The beautiful landscape andday-to-day details of life in South Korea aredepicted here in images taken by thephotographers of Magnum—the famed cooperativewhose members are among the greatestphotographers of our time. Here we see a richculture that both respects a dynamic culturalhistory and celebrates the latest trends infashion, technology, and architecture. Theseextraordinary photographs are set in theirhistorical context by an insightful text byhistorian Bruce Cumings. 247 color photographs ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Korea
Beautiful book-perhaps a bit heavy on "people" and less on the physical beauty of the country.

Korea at its finest.
Of the dozens of photo books of countries that I have this is the finest ever.I have travelled extensively in Korea and have lived there.This book is true to the country and the people.It truely is agreat work of art and terrific value.

A Lovely Book
A lovely book, high quality pictures and, for someome who lived there for 2 years, a nice trip down memory lane. ... Read more

Product Description
The divided families problem is a serious social issue in North and South Korea, involving hundreds of thousands of first generation divided family members, most of whom have not seen their relatives since the Korean War. It is the most pressing humanitarian issue between the two Koreas, and is connected to the greater issue of human rights in North Korea today. However, little serious academic work exists on the subject, in either English or Korean. This new study, based on research conducted in Korea, including interviews in 2001 with Korean families who benefited from the most recent exchanges, addresses the many issues surrounding the divided family problem, and highlights its importance in the path towards Korean rapprochement. ... Read more

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Some 2,000,000 lives were lost in the Korean War. The full story of the bloody and gruelling conflict is here portrayed in over 300 pictures from the Associated Press archive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I was with the 187 ARCT referenced in the book
I would like to have the book, "Battle for Korea, in hard cover.

At least two sectins of the book address combat actions by my unit the 187 Airborne Regimental Combat Team (ARCT).

We jumped twice into combatwhile in Korea.

I jumped as a radio operator with L Company, in thefirst to operate for Capt Hart, and in the second one to operate radio forLt Brami who lead the third platoon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Cutting edge study of Nationalism and Korea
This book will appeal to anyone who is interested in cutting edge scholarship on the history of modern South Korea and more broadly, on Nationalism and Nation-building. Jager succinctly and brilliantly pulls together the dispersed and disparate strands of how a nation develops a modern conception of its identity. In the case of South Korea the focus is on the gendered aspect of that identity, which is not only rooted in tradition but also in new narrative conceptions of that tradition. By taking a long and broad view of the dispersed development of these parallel and gendered narratives of modern identity (long because Jager's account covers the whole of the 20th century, and broad because she delves into literature, politics, historiography, economic development, and monuments and museums), Jager is able to show why South Koreans are who they are today with the kind of social structure that comprises its modern nation. Although this book is invaluable in the insights it provides to South Korean national identity, the true value of the book lies in providing a new approach to the study of national identity that can be applied to just about any other modern nation. This book is a must for the specialist and the generalist, the particularist and the theorist, in all fields of the humanities and the social sciences. ... Read more

Product Description
Why are there so many Gims (Kims), Yis (Lees) and Baks (Parks) in Korea? What was life like in Korea hundreds of years ago? What kinds of communities did the Korean people form? How did they celebrate their birthdays and holidays? What kinds of games did they play in their spare time? These are some of the questions Lee E-Wha answers in Korea¡¦s Pastimes and Customs: A Social History. In this book, Lee makes Korean history more accessible and relevant to today¡¦s readers by bringing a contemporary and down-to-earth perspective to his historical interpretation. His discussion of Korean pastimes is laced with enlightening journeys into their origins and interesting episodes associated with them. His examination of the significance of clan affiliation and genealogy in traditional Korean society helps shed light on the general attitude modern-day Koreans have toward family. Through Lee¡¦s rendering of farmers¡¦ co-ops, mutual-aid societies, various ceremonies and rituals, superstitions and fortune telling, the reader can virtually reconstruct Korean communities of the distant past. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Truly it is Kim Jong-Il's Korea
The authors argue that North Korea is a postmodern state in which simulation trumps actuality. The beautiful and imposing subway stations seem to only play host to photo opportunity train arrivals, for example. Their set of photos, with no captions and just text from his Kim-ness, illuminate both the artificiality and the great imposed distance between ourselves and the subjects (victims?) in the pictures. This is a strange photo essay, certainly not a straightforward one, but one which makes demands of the viewer. What is real and what is simulated? A nation of P.K. Dick tales.

Not nearly enough truth
The cult-of-personality-land seems to be getting an invigorating showing these days.This is the fourth book of photos to be released in the last two years and though they might have North Korea in the title it is mostly photos of Pyongyang that always predominate.The Ministry of Truth follows this pattern with just under a hundred photos and some posters.

It is unfortunate that what is on show is of such poor quality.So many are soft focus, grey, badly composed and lacking in any creativity to really show anything of this odd country. I wonder if many of the shots were snapped while the minders were looking elsewhere?The authors also, annoyingly, take an easy out by not writing any captions but supply the dotty thoughts of the Dear Leader to go with some photos on many spreads.The uninspiring layout doesn't help either.

Far better I think to go for Philippe Chancel's excellent North Korea with 129 photos that show the extent of the totalitarian regime in dazzling color

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

The Things Unseen
The photographs in "The Ministry of Truth" came back to haunt me long after I put the book down. Humans appear in the photographs, but we never connect. The public places seem empty of people and activity, but filled with the ghosts of...what, I just don't know. There is a quiet elegance to this collection of photographs, we are seeing things we don't really feel we have the permission to see, and then it's puncuated by a jolt of humanity, a smile, a human face caught off guard. We are looking at propaganda...its grand and its humble all at the same time.

The cool distance of the photographs gives us a feeling of and anthropological study: here are the places, here are the things, here is what it looks like in this mysterious land. This distance allows us to decide for ourselves, look at things objectively, and come to peace with it all.

After all that, this is a great book. Accessible to everyone interested in history, photography, and the things unseen.

A Mind-opening Glimpse into North Korea... and Ourselves
While attending the 9th International Pyongyang Film Festival in 2004, writer Christian Kracht and photographers Eva Munz and Lukas Nikol were granted extraordinary leeway to see a different side of North Korea.The Ministry of Truth reproduces their journey to an unseen side of the North Korean peninsula, something beyond the standard CNN-issued footage of military parades and nuclear facilities.Kracht's preface wrily points out the paranoia and anxiety that forms the basis of the Western media's impressions of the country as he elegantly weaves together an essay on the seemingly disparate absurdism of Neo-con thought and Kimgjongilism.If you are looking for an "out-of-the-box" postmodernist take on the 21st century Hermit Kingdom, then buy this book! ... Read more

Product Description
From ancient times, Koreans developed their unique cultural heritage and a strong national character. Indian Nobel Prize Winner Tagore once called Korea a lamp bearer which illuminated the East. Despite the rise and fall of dynastic rule and repeated foreign invasions, Koreans maintained their nationhood while making cultural progress until they became victims of an imperialistic power. Once liberated from foreign rule, the Koreans re-emerged as a vigorous and creative people, revitalizing their cultural and social heritage. At the same time, they achieved remarkable economic success despite the divisions of the country and worries of difficulty brought about by the partition of the land.

There has been a need of reading materials on Korea written in the English language, particularly on her history and culture, for young students and general readers. In this book, words and pictures combine to give a wide panoramic view of the political, social and cultural history of Korea.

119 color plates. 109 b/w plates. ... Read more

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Product Description
In 1952, overriding American political objectivesdictated that the tactics of UN forces in Korea shift from those ofmaneuver to those of holding on to territory recently gained at greathuman cost.In western Korea, along “main lines of resistance,”men of the 1st Marine Division patrolled from lonely outposts.Thusbegan “the outpost war,” a forgotten period of the “forgottenwar”—but one during which 7800 Marines lost became casualties.

Lee Ballenger’s THE OUTPOST WAR tells the story of thedivision’s move to the Jamestown Line in western Korea where theassault-trained-and-equipped troops must dig in and learn to fight anunusual defensive war.It describes their steep, deadly learningcurve and reports on major battles of the period, including BunkerHill and The Hook, while including the trials and tribulations ofindividuals who were there.The author’s use of official archivalsources blended with oral accounts places the reader on the battleline with the Marines.Nearly all of the material in THE OUTPOST WARhas never been published before.

LEE BALLENGER served in U.S. Marine Corps reconnaissance and tankunits during the Korean War.He is currently at work on a sequel tocover Marine Corps operations in 1953.This is his first book.Helives in California. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

........ "THEOTHER KOREANWAR" ........
....This Marine author has zeroed in on the final two [2] years of the Korean WAR Victory, why Victory??...it was just that, ask any combat Marine who fought and survived that WAR. Most all Americans thought the WAR was over after the 1st Marine Division's heroic/fighting withdrawl from the Chosin Reservoir sector, far from it...the WAR raged on for almost two [2] years later; in fact, Marine casualties far exceeded what happenned up on the Reservoir, our Marine blood flowed/gushed just as red, I kid you naught...this is the beauty of Sgt Lee Ballenger's two [2] revealing volumes, which Ballenger shines light on 1952 and 1953 on what the hell was going on the Western Front 40-50 miles north of Seoul until an uneasy truce was signed on 27Jul53...this is indeed a tome to fill in the gaps for eternal miltary history...the author researched every one of his chapters through the US Marine Command Diaries so diligently collated; in addition, the writer brings you into each combat situation as if you were a recent replacement...his penchant for this attribute is unique compared to alot of historical books on Korea, men of the pen, who were not directly involved; conversely, Lee was a Marine combat tanker with much Reconstealth and ability. Another attraction is his military acumen to cover Marine Tank Bn sorties which took place every single day or nite, if so required...it's a wonderful read of bad and good times in mortal/close combat or in the mischievious Reserve Areas when Asiatic Marine types act up due to the stressors of too much combat...I love this book as if it was mine...thank you, Sgt Ballenger for shedding more light on this other Korean WAR, it was Harry-[S]-Truman's WAR which he was totally incapable of stopping...it's rarified air being a survivor to Bon Voyage out of Korea..who am I??...I invite you to read Chapter 3..[thank you]......Sgt Lee Ballenger-USMC..."Well Done, Marine"......SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

A long overdue history.
A Marine Korean War combat veteran, Lee Ballenger has gone far toward filling a major gap in the history of the "forgotten war." Almost all Korean War books dealing with the Marine Corps are about the epic fighting withdrawal from the Chosin. It would almost seem that the stalemate that followed was not worth mentioning. In fact, when the 1st Marine Division was assigned responsibility for western Korea in an extended front known as the Jamestown Line, there was almost constant sharp fighting. The difference was that the conflict was rarely on a grand scale, but rather sharp, short, and vicious fights, often hand to hand. This book is the first of two volumes to chronicle the Marines and their new kind of war. Trained to assault and aggressively attack, the Marines found themselves in static positions, frequently patrolling, but most often in defensive battles for outposts.

This is a very good book and long overdue. Most of the information in it is seeing print for the first time and the personal accounts of the fighting are well presented. One of the better recollections is LT William Watson's account of the fighting on Bunker Hill and the Hook. Also of interest was the use of armor in the fighting and patrolling.

Like my war, Vietnam, Korea saw a lot of responsibility placed on the shoulders of young sergeants and lieutenants and the very young grunts. Even the upper level mismanagement (I won't dignify it by calling it leadership) was reminiscent of Vietnam. This book is a valuable recounting of a neglected part of our military heritage, a time when the property fought for was not as important as the killing done to hold or retake it. Any Marine-- indeed, any American -- should be proud what was done in the Outpost War. Semper Fi, Mr. Ballenger. I look forward to Volume Two.

Provides Many Missing Pieces of Korean War History
Lee Ballenger has written an important work in this first book, and hisdecision to produce another as a sequel covering the final stages of theKorean War is admirable.For a first-time author, this initial book is amajor achievement.It is rich in coverage and attention to chronologicaland geographical detail.No other comparable written work is available tothe researcher on the "forgotten part of the forgotten war" --Korea 1952-1953. Ballenger gives the Marines earned respect with hisrecognition of the tactical role played by the First Division of the Corpsin defending the Imjin River line in the last 2 years of the war.As anamateur military historian and former Marine, I salute Lee Ballenger andhis efforts.His book will have a prominent place in my personal library. It belongs in many others. ... Read more

Product Description
Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader offers in-depth portraits of North Korea+s two ruthless and bizarrely Orwellian leaders, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. Lifting North Korea+s curtain of self-imposed isolation, this book will take readers inside a society that, to a Westerner, will appear to be from another planet. Subsisting on a diet short on food and long on lies, North Koreans have been indoctrinated from birth to follow unquestioningly a father-son team of megalomaniacs. Revised and expanded for the paperback edition, this fascinating, definitive history brings the reader right up to the present-day tensions. For as this book direly predicted, North Korea has a legitimate nuclear program and appears to be the greatest threat to the world today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (67)

A Real-Life Horror Story
I'm still reeling from this book.If you think things couldn't get any worse, this is the blueprint for exactly how they can get worse, and stay that way for the indefinite future.That North Korea is an internal mess is no surprise, but 'tightly controlled' doesn't begin to describe the apparent life the average person leads.It's easy to take what the government has been telling us for years about this country with a grain of salt, but I was left with the ghastly impression that they haven't been telling us enough.Who knows where the story of North Korea will lead?

A fascinating tour of a strange place
A while back I saw a bizarre video put out by DPRK, featuring Kim Jong Il and Alexander Cao de Banos.This video triggered a strange curiosity in me about North Korea.I rarely read history books, but I found this a great read. Considering it is around 800 pages, and I finished it, that is saying something.I am not qualified to question the accuracy, but the author does mention possible criticisms of the book (for example regarding the veracity of some of the defector testimony), which gets him a couple of points with me.

Amazing to consider the fate of these people, and the starvation.In so many regions of the world, humanity is terrible, failed experiment.I never miss a meal.

Great book.

Eminently Educational, Eminently Unsettling
"Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader" is an astounding volume of facts and first-hand accounts that tells the story of the Koreas from the beginning of the 20th century to the present, focusing on the Kim dynasty and what they have wrought on North Korea and the rest of the world over the past century.Bradley Martin, a veteran professional journalist and Asia expert, writes with a polished cadence and delivery that allows for smooth and tireless reading despite the disturbing nature of the material.

Mr. Martin appears level-headed and fair as he describes exhaustively the abject state of 20 million North Koreans, many of whom appear so profoundly impacted that they could never adjust to another reality.So total and so prolonged has been their indoctrination that they are broken psychologically, as is the nation broken economically and socially, as is the land broken ecologically, and as are the leaders broken morally.More depressing is the evidence Mr. Martin offers that the gene pool of this population has been altered by generations of purges and culls, until the only survivors are the "loyals", a quarter of the population who have been resourceful enough to have risen to top, and the downtrodden other three-quarters who are either too ignorant or too powerless to do anything but suffer in persecuted silence until they are sucked down into the depths to drown.

I have only read three books on North Korea, but it is hard to imagine any book coming close to "Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader".I am confident that Nicholas Kristof of The New York Review of Books was on target when he called it "simply the best book ever written on North Korea".Mr. Martin's work inspired in me horror, despondence, and some nightmares too.The emotional impact of the book is high, like John Hersey's "Hiroshima".

This is not a book for the faint-hearted, nor for readers who require happy endings.But anyone with an interest in the Koreas, in Asia as a whole, or indeed in the various phenomena of totalitarian societies in general, will find this work eminently educational -- and eminently unsettling.

The Loving Fatherly Leader Slept Here

I thought UNDER THE LOVING CARE OF THE FATHERLY LEADER, NORTH KOREA AND THE KIM DYNASTYwas an excellent book.It is a good size book and full of detailed facts, some which Bradley Martin observed and some from extensive research. It was very educational. The book also shows Martin's excellent wit.

The book tells all about howKim Il-sung fought grew up and became a rebel fighter against the powers and how he became the power.He magically enhanced the masses to believe in him and his wisdom, which he became a deity to them., not that he didn't have a little down to earth human in him also (psst!He preferred newly teened girls).

Then, along came his son Kim Jong-il who loved movies and even tried his hand in making a few.Kim Jong-ilwas a spoiled brat in his formative years and became an eccentric recluse, which I think goes with the job description as being leader of North Korea.

Another apparent duty of the highest office for father and son is to trust no one.If someone disagrees with you or to tell the heavenly leader facts he doesn't want to the best thing to do for that person is to have him reeducated and inspired at a center specially designed for such education.Many people have defected to avoid being reeducated.... it must be a "tough-love" type of education.

I really enjoyed the book.I feel I know a little more about Korea as a whole.

The front cover blurb sums it up perfectly.
Simply the best book ever written about North Korea. I had recently seen a few documentaries, most notably the Vice Guide, on North Korea and my interest became piqued. This was the one book everyone seemed to recommend and I can see why. Starting with Kim Il-Sung's life and going all the way into the Bush years this book covers almost every detail about North Korea, the people who run it, and the people who live there. The way the book carefully outlines different situations that had occurred and mixes it with defector testimony is striking. And nothing is ever presented in such a way that it seems like reading a text book (aside from perhaps the earlier chapters on Kim Il-Sungs early life), the book is written and edited perfectly so the reader feels engrossed the entire way through, though it may just be because the subject matter is so interesting and terrifying.

If you have any curiosity into the North Korean totalitarian hell, this is the first book you should read. You may not need to read another. ... Read more

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Product Description
In this sweeping intellectual and cultural history of the minjung ("common people's") movement in South Korea, Namhee Lee shows how the movement arose in the 1970s and 1980s in response to the repressive authoritarian regime and grew out of a widespread sense that the nation's "failed history" left Korean identity profoundly incomplete. The Making of Minjung captures the movement in its many dimensions, presenting its intellectual trajectory as a discourse and its impact as a political movement, as well as raising questions about how intellectuals represented the minjung. Lee's portrait is based on a wide range of sources: underground pamphlets, diaries, court documents, contemporary newspaper reports, and interviews with participants.

Thousands of students and intellectuals left universities during this period and became factory workers, forging an intellectual-labor alliance perhaps unique in world history. At the same time, minjung cultural activists reinvigorated traditional folk theater, created a new "minjung literature," and influenced religious practices and academic disciplines. In its transformative scope, the minjung phenomenon is comparable to better-known contemporaneous movements in South Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

Understanding the minjung movement is essential to understanding South Korea's recent resistance to U.S. influence. Along with its well-known economic transformation, South Korea has also had a profound social and political transformation. The minjung movement drove this transformation, and this book tells its story comprehensively and critically. ... Read more

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This is a historical survey of all the religious traditions of Korea in relation to the socio-cultural trends of seven different periods of Korean history. The book includes a discussion of the history of the study of religion in Korea, a chronological description of Korean folk religion including shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, Islam, and Korean New Religions, and some final observations about the unique characteristics of religious beliefs and practices in Korea. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Reviewed by non Korean speaking, lay person
I am reading several books about Korea. My interest stems from my love of watching Korean historic and romantic tv mini series (available with English sub- titles). Mr. Grayson's style of writing is surprisingly fluid and readable for such a scholary and intellectual work. I did wonder whether English is his first language because his vocabulary can get a bit strained (at one point he uses the word "transitoriness").Although the author usually translates into English the name of a Korean treatise when it is first introduced, he then refers to it throughout his book by its Korean name. Scholars, manifestos and schools of thought are so numerous and brought up in such quick succession that it became much too much for me to absorb, so like a student, I had to create my own key list of the name of each scholar, the date he lived, the Buddhist, Confucian or Christian school he ascribed to and the title of his writings in both English and Korean. (If another edition of this book comes out such an appendix would be very helpful. In fact, this book seems to beg for charts). The author also had a bad habit of referencing a certain scholar prior to that scholar's formal introduction which may not then appear until the next paragraph or sub-chapter.Despite the difficulties I encountered, this book did give me an understanding of the basic religious history of Korea. I am grateful that Mr. Grayson has applied his scholarship to writing this book so that an ordinary non Korean speaking person such as myself can appreciate the scope and depths of the religious culture and history of the Korean people and Korea's religious and culture relationship to its neighboring countries.

Impressive
I wrote a short (choppily edited by deleting paragraphs for Amazon) response paper to this book for a class I took, and I am attaching it below.But in general, I want to say this is one of the most amazingly clear and totally inclusive books on religion I've ever seen.To encompass the entire history of Korea with all its complexity is an incredibly impressive task and Grayson deserves accolades and more.Throughout the book Grayson begins by explaining the historical happenings of the time period, then details the corresponding religious developments.It works admirably not just as religious history but as history.

There are many things to like, even love, about Grayson's small book "Korea: A Religious History".Though Grayson occasionally confuses, and there are several places in which he doesn't mention that other interpretations exist (much less introduce the other interpretations), overall Grayson's book is the most concise, coherent and all inclusive book covering the entire gamut of religions through the entire history of human life on the Korean peninsula.


To Western people, in general, religious affiliation is exclusive.At their most liberal, religiously inclined people may be Unitarians, which essentially just means they can embrace the whole gamut of Christian faiths, or should I just say, Protestantism.Across the board, though, you would hard pressed to find any westerner who would consider shamanism a religion (it would generally be classified as a `cult' or `superstition') and this has led to countless problems in the evaluation of religiosity using western methodology.In fact, this very thing was studied by Professor Yoon Yee-heum in cooperation with Gallup Korea in 1984.The polling they did found clearly that Christians could be counted accurately from a questionnaire (the study found a 5% deviation between self-identification and "practical" identification as Christian).The same survey found that Buddhists could not be counted accurately, with twice as many practical Buddhists as those who self-identified as such.Confucianism absolutely could not be self-identified, with many Koreans holding tight to Confucian thought, yet not identifying themselves as Confucians.In 1984 Yoon's study found that 91% of respondents were "practical" Confucianists.I suspect this number is down somewhat now, as the younger people in Korea are increasingly losing their traditional thought.An interesting subject for study would be a follow-up trying to identify if women were more likely to abandon Confucian concepts than men.Even though Yoon did not address Shamanism, just from the data he did gather we have seen that the majority of people in Korea obviously can live with and accept two or more religions simultaneously.


Though many people say that the attraction of Christianity had to do with the aspect of `equality in the eyes of the Lord' I disagree with this position.Simply speaking, Koreans even today show a tendency to be more likely to follow a Christian faith if they are more highly educated members of the white collar or executive class of society.These are -not-the people who will feel the strongest pull in `equality'.If the aspect of love for all was so important, we'd see that more destitute families adopted Christianity, but rather we see a much larger former yangban tendency to be Christian.The people who live the lives of farmers and fishermen today, are, according to the most recent data available still more likely to be Buddhist than Christian.And, while we argue this whole equality issue, it should be too obvious to state, but perhaps I do need to remind people that Buddhism does not support stratification in society outside of the simple `layperson v. bhikku/bhikkuni' dichotomy.Confucianism, which still underlies (as per Yoon's data) the thoughts of a majority of Koreans did, however, support stratification and Korean society today does, unfortunately, still have a very classist vein running through it.

I also have on more than one occasion detected a tendency in the Korea of the 1960s and 70s to throw the baby out with the dishwater.Or, in other words, in the rush to modernization and economic strength many Korean traditions were discarded carelessly to adopt western styles with little critical thinking in advance.Far too many people turned their backs on hanbok, pansori, and Buddhist temples in favor of button down collars, Beethoven and baptism.A large number of the converts to Christianity, then, may simply have been following the latest trend, accepting Christianity as part and parcel of modernization.

In conclusion, I enjoyed Grayson's book and feel it is a well-written text.

Informative, interesting, brief.
This book briefly covers Korea's religious history from prehistory until the present. It's an interesting story because Korea has always been a unique society: in the ancient past it bred unusual forms of Buddhism; then it was the most Confucian society in history; today it is the only country in Asia to really embrace Protestant Christianity, while at the same time interesting syncretic religions emerge and the shamanist traditions continue.

Grayson gives the most important facts and a few interpretations about each of these phenomena; but the book is too brief to go into any depth on any matter. It's a good first book on Korean history and religion, but I constantly wanted to know more than he was telling me. Like me, you'll probably want deeper books after this fine introduction. ... Read more

Product Description
Examines internal changes in North Korea under the expanding rule of Kim Jong Il. ... Read more