Korean History In Maps

A concise, beautifully illustrated historical atlas of Korean history, specifically designed for English-speaking students of Korean and East Asian history.

Atlas of Korean history unveils Korean history by presenting text and related maps on each topic across facing pages for reading convenience. Readers are quickly involved in the atlas interactive literature consisting of concise information and maps that complement.

The globalization of space -- Separate worlds -- Early Joseon maps -- Europe looks East -- Cartographic encounters -- Joseon and its neighbors -- Cartographies of the late Joseon -- Representing Korea in the modern era -- The colonial grid -- Representing the new country -- Cartroversies -- Guide to further reading

This engaging text provides a concise history of Korea from the beginning of human settlement in the region through the late nineteenth century, equally emphasizing social, cultural, and political history. Students will be especially drawn to descriptions of everyday life for both elite and non-elite members of society during various historical periods. A Concise History of Korea emphasizes how Korean history can be understood as part of an interactive sphere that includes three basic areas: China, Japan, and the Manchurian/Central Asian region. Historical maps illustrate the changes in the region over time. The annotated bibliography of works in English is a useful addition to this clear and comprehensive Korean history.

First published in 1996. Always there are hills in the distance, backed by mountains, wreathed in mist, and always the sound of water. These are the things that have inspired the Korea’s poets and artists and haunt the dreams of its exiles. An eastern backbone of sharp mountains has ribs that run westward and from these wooded hills flow the water that trickles through the rice fields. Climatic maps show it to be at the centre of a small area that is almost unique in its combination of cold dry winters and hot rainy summers. Most of its plants and animals are common to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere but they are tested almost to destruction by seasonal alternations of Siberian cold and summer monsoons. In May the brown desert of winter begins to shimmer in a delicate veil of green which grows into a summer jungle and dies with glory in a long warm autumn of red and gold. About 600 miles in length and 150-200 miles wide, it reaches out from the mainland like an oriental Italy, with China embracing it to the north and west and Japan only 100 miles away to the south and east. This book illuminates the reader about the history of Korea.

Four hundred years ago, indigenous peoples occupied the vast region that today encompasses Korea, Manchuria, the Mongolian Plateau, and Eastern Siberia. Over time, these populations struggled to maintain autonomy as Russia, China, and Japan sought hegemony over the region. Especially from the turn of the twentieth century onward, indigenous peoples pursued self-determination in a number of ways, and new states, many of them now largely forgotten, rose and fell as great power imperialism, indigenous nationalism, and modern ideologies competed for dominance. This atlas tracks the political configuration of Northeast Asia in ten-year segments from 1590 to 1890, in five-year segments from 1890 to 1960, and in ten-year segments from 1960 to 2010, delineating the distinct history and importance of the region. The text follows the rise and fall of the Qing dynasty in China, founded by the semi-nomadic Manchus; the Russian colonization of Siberia; the growth of Japanese influence; the movements of peoples, armies, and borders; and political, social, and economic developments—reflecting the turbulence of the land that was once the world's "cradle of conflict." Compiled from detailed research in English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Dutch, German, Mongolian, and Russian sources, the Historical Atlas of Northeast Asia incorporates information made public with the fall of the Soviet Union and includes fifty-five specially drawn maps, as well as twenty historical maps contrasting local and outsider perspectives. Four introductory maps survey the region's diverse topography, climate, vegetation, and ethnicity.

As Army Chief of Staff during the Korean war, General Collins directly monitored operations in the Far East for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He describes the actions of President Truman, Dean Acheson, George C. Marshall, Robert Lovett, Omar Bradley and the field commanders: Walton Walker’s desperate defense of the Pusan perimeter, MacArthur’s brilliant success at Inchon and disaster at the Yalu river and Ridgway taking over from MacArthur to rebuild the morale of a dispirited army. “General Collins... has produced an absorbing book which will be of great interest to the general reader... The book is clearly written... and covers its subject well.” — Denis Stairs, International Journal “[A] superior memoir of policy making on Korea.” — Richard K. Betts, The American Historical Review “[T]he story is told in compact and clear fashion, from the broadest standpoint and in gripping detail, and is supported by excellent cartography... Collins weaves an extremely useful account of his own role within the Joint Chiefs of Staff system. He is particularly informative on the unified department of defense... If he was a cold-war warrior, Collins was of the most responsible breed: a general of intelligence and balance who recoiled from the insanity of playing with global fire.” — Alvin D. Coox, The American Historical Review “This volume should not be missed by those of our citizens who want a view of the Korean war from the vantage point of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army at that time.” — Virgil Ney, Ordnance “As a primary source for decision-making studies and American historians, the book has self-evident value.” — Kirkus