Korean History

Part 1: Once upon a time in Far East

1. Korea: in the beginning …
Dangun the legendary founder
The first kingdom Gojoseon
Southern states

2. Three-Kingdom Era: Koreans bring culture to Japan
Goguryeo - expanding Korean territory
Baekje mentor of Japan
Silla - smallest state flourishes
Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo

3. First united kingdom: Unified Silla
Struggles against Chinese forces
Prince of seas

4. Balhae dominates Manchuria
Balhae - Koreans and non-Koreans
Farewell to Manchuria

Part 2: Two long-lasting dynasties

5. Goryeo: the dynasty that offered Korea its name
Later Three Kingdoms
Foundation of newly united country
Mongol invasions
Contribution to world intellectual history

6. Joseon: Confucian kingdom (1)
Confucian kingdom
Bloody struggles
King Sejong the Great and Korean alphabet
Another bloody campaign

7. Joseon: Confucian kingdom (2)
Great philosopher and invading neighbors
Neo-Confucian synthesis
Two great philosophers
Japanese invasions - the seven-year war
More invasions ? the Manchus

8. Joseon: Confucian kingdom (3)
The country struggles with modernity and a fast changing world
Factional struggles and sage kings
Opening the hermit kingdom
Assassination of Empress Myeongseong
Gojong’s final maneuvers - the end of Joseon
* The search for a photograph of Empress Myeongseong

Part 3: Dramatic ups and downs

9. Darkest days
Koreans suffer greatly under Japanese colonial rule
A period of darkness
Tragic times
Korea gains independence
* Tragedy of a sex slave

10. Korea rising: From rags to riches
Division and war
1961 military coup
Another military coup
Democracy arrives

South Korea has charged ahead to record one of the fastest economic growths in the world over the past few decades, turning it into a vibrant, modern, technological and democratic success story.
This compares to North Korea, headed by Kim Jong-il’s son, Jong-un, a barely 30 year old “supreme leader” of one of the world’s poorest countries, with a disastrous record for human rights. The numbers of North Korean defectors are growing, and while some are fortunate enough to escape unhurt, others are not.
Will South Korea and North Korea be reunited soon? Nobody can answer that question. In the meantime - PEACE is something that is very meaningful to all of the people on the Korean Peninsula - long may it last.
-본문 중에서

We cannot deny what really happened in the past. That is the raison d’etre of history. Without that, it would be a waste of time and energy to learn about what took place long ago.
- Kim Tae-gyu (author)

This book shows the dramatic changes that took place in Korea during the late 19 and early 20 centuries, culminating in the dark period of Japan’s colonial rule, and in particular, highlights the plight of Korean women used as sex slaves by the Japanese military.
- Kevin N. Cawley (author)
-머리말 중에서