Michael Seth - A Concise History of Modern Korea: From Late Nineteenth Century to the Present

Preface

K orea until recently has been a country little known to most of the world. Several decades ago it was possible to place almost all the scholarly literature on Korean history in English on a single shelf. Indeed, Korea was so little understood that when it appeared at all in Western textbooks it often was restricted to developments related to the Korean War and the Cold War. In recent years this neglect of Korean history has been replaced by a rapidly developing interest by Western academics, and the historical scholarship available to non-Koreans has grown enormously. Most of the recent historical literature is on modern Korea. In the six years since publication of the first edition of this book, enough new scholarship has emerged to warrant a number of revisions, as well as to add thirty titles to the select bibliography. At least some of this scholarship has been incorporated into each chapter.

Chapters 1 and 2 make reference to the insights from recent scholarship that attempt to provide a more complex and nuanced view of Korea under Japanese colonial rule. Increased interest in North Korea has resulted in a flood of books and articles. Most have been by political scientists viewing the country as a security issue, but there have been some excellent historical studies and enough information from defectors and careful analysis of what information is available to be able to construct a better picture of that states history. Based on this new information, parts of Chapter 3 and much of Chapters 4 and 7 have been substantially revised. Chapter 8 has been updated to incorporate new developments as well as some insights provided by recent scholarship.

While this edition has attempted to be as up to date as possible, Korean history in the West is an expanding field that constantly generates new information and insights. And Korea itself is a dynamic society capable of amazingly rapid change. As it evolves so will our understanding of its history.

Acknowledgments

A mong the people who have assisted me in some way I would like to thank Professor Lee Yoon Suk of Yonsei University, artist Lee Sang-guk, and Choi Soo-ok. Kirk Larson carefully read the manuscripts for the first edition, offered many suggestions, and caught some embarrassing mistakes. The Korea Foundation and the Academy of Korean Studies have partially sponsored some of my visits to Korea.