The King S Secret Emissary In The Chosun Dynasty

Kang Woo-suk has consistently performed the background role of a man of power in Korean film for the last ten years. He has made only 16 films since his debut as a director in 1988, but for the more than ten years since 1997 he has been in charge of investment, planning or production for no fewer than 120 films. In spite of this, Kang's name remains an unfamiliar one to the overseas film world. But his films have succeeded in capturing the rapidly changing Korean social and political situation of the last 20 years in a distinctive style; to be specific, a style of popular speech through satire and humor. Looking at Kang's films in sequence, one can grasp the twists and turns of the history of Korean capitalism. This book is a record of Kang's cinematic career over the past 20 years, and at the same time a document that demonstrates how Korean cinema possesses a fountain of diverse films and how considerable the potential commercial film is.

A beautifully illustrated, interdisciplinary look at the ceremonies and protocols of the dynastic court of Joseon Korea Recording State Rites in Words and Images provides an engaging and in-depth exploration of the large corpus of court statutes compiled during the Joseon dynasty of Korea. The term uigwe, commonly translated as “royal protocols,” is the name given to the collection of nearly four thousand books that were commissioned and written to document the customs, rituals, rules, protocols, and ceremonial practices of the Joseon dynasty. In this generously illustrated book, Yi Song-mi introduces readers to the rich and varied documentary tradition embodied in the uigwe, sharing invaluable insights into time-honored court customs through text and images and analyzing changes in ritual practice over time. The first comprehensive study of its kind in English, Recording State Rites in Words and Images presents groundbreaking research that opens a window on Korean history and art and will serve as an inspiration to students, scholars, and anyone interested in topics such as dynastic customs, court artists, and bookmaking. Published in association with the P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art at Princeton University

Written by one of the leading experts on Korea, A Brief History of Korea covers the history of Korea from the origins of the Korean people in prehistoric times to the economic and political situation in North and South Korea today. Providing a detailed overview of the cultural and historical influences that have shaped Korean society, the author discusses the major periods of Korean history Three Kingdoms, Koryo Dynasty, and Chosun Dynasty; the foreign invasions Korea has endured; the post-World War II situation that led to the country's division and the Korean War; and developments in North and South Korea from the end of the Korean War up through the present.

The History of Korea presents a chronological account of Korea from ancient days, over 2000 B. C, to modern 20th century Korea. Hulbert said that Korea and Japan have the same two racial types, but Japan is mostly Malay and Korea is mostly Manchu-Korean. He claimed that Korea is physically mostly of the northern type, but also said that the nation, being physically mostly of the northern type, did not disprove Hulbert's claim that the Malay element developed Korea's first civilization, although not necessarily originating Korea's first civilization, and the Malay element imposed its language in its main features in the entire peninsula.

From its creation in the early twentieth century, policymakers used the discourse of international law to legitimate Japan’s empire. Although the Japanese state aggrandizers’ reliance on this discourse did not create the imperial nation Japan would become, their fluent use of its terms inscribed Japan’s claims as legal practice within Japan and abroad. Focusing on Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910, Alexis Dudden gives long-needed attention to the intellectual history of the empire and brings to light presumptions of the twentieth century’s so-called international system by describing its most powerful—and most often overlooked—member’s engagement with that system. Early chapters describe the global atmosphere that declared Japan the legal ruler of Korea and frame the significance of the discourse of early twentieth-century international law and how its terms became Japanese. Dudden then brings together these discussions in her analysis of how Meiji leaders embedded this discourse into legal precedent for Japan, particularly in its relations with Korea. Remaining chapters explore the limits of these ‘universal’ ideas and consider how the international arena measured Japan’s use of its terms. Dudden squares her examination of the legality of Japan’s imperialist designs by discussing the place of colonial policy studies in Japan at the time, demonstrating how this new discipline further created a common sense that Japan’s empire accorded to knowledgeable practice. This landmark study greatly enhances our understanding of the intellectual underpinnings of Japan’s imperial aspirations. In this carefully researched and cogently argued work, Dudden makes clear that, even before Japan annexed Korea, it had embarked on a legal and often legislating mission to make its colonization legitimate in the eyes of the world.

This is the most reliable and popular history of Korea available in English. The tumultuous developments of the modern era receive the greatest coverage, but the book's balanced treatment of traditional Korea emphasizes cultural events as integrally related to the political, social, and economic evolution of this ancient nation.