Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BlaisePascal]

I was at Bandi & Ludi's yesterday, and in the Foreign/English books section, these caught my eye. I was wondering if anyone has owned/read them and could tell me if they are worth buying.

1. An Encyclopedia of Korean Culture

2. The 21st Century Korean English Dictionary

3. Joseon Royal Court Culture

4. Divided Korea: The Politics of Development 1945-1972



BP

[jeffkim1972]

I read the last book about a dozen years ago, but dont' remember much of it.

the most memorable and complete book written by the authority in Korean history (Bruce Cummings) is

http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Korean-War-Liberation-Emergence/dp/8976966120/ref=pd_sim_b_1/104-4663578-2424765

Get volumes I and II.

[BlaisePascal]

Thanks, but from what I've read, I should be avoiding books on Korea by Bruce Cumings. If anyone has any further comments on the books I've listed, I would appreciate it.


BP

[Bibbitybop]

What's the name of the recent anti-Korea book?

One book that's good is "What's So Good about Korea, Maarten?"

[dutchy pink]

Why should you avoid books by Bruce Cummings?

[taobenli]

I would NOT recommend "What's do good about Korea?" No one in academia takes it seriously (nor do many outside of academia).

I wouldn't say you should totally avoid books by Cumings. His "Korea's Place in the Sun" is a quick overview and so can be superficial, but is good as overviews go. In his North Korea book he doesn't hide his politics, but then he doesn't ever claim to be neutral. His "Origins of the Korean War" volumes are definitely worth reading.

I'm sorry, I don't know about the others on your list. But come find me at school and we can talk about more books. (:

[jeffkim1972]

I haven't read any other Bruce Cummings stuff, but you won't be disappointed with "Origins of the Korean war". This work is just so thoroughly researched and detailed compared to other books on the subject.

[paquebot]

One I would recommend is The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-Century Korea, translated by JaHyun Kim Haboush (if you pick up an English version of the book). It's the memoirs of a girl who was chosen to marry Prince Sado. Her husband gradually went crazy and was murdered by his father, and the memoirs describe how she coped with the situation. Lady Hyegyong's son later built a memorial to his father, which is the fortress in Suwon.

It's not as socially descriptive as the Chinese Dream of Red Mansions, but it does provide references to the introduction of Catholicism to Korea and the role of Confucianism in social interactions.

[JZer]

I plan on purchasing this book soon:

Sex Among Allies
by Katharine H. S. Moon


Has anyone read it?

[Beej]

[RedRob]

Buy anything by Micheal Breen. WTB has some.

[bgreenster]

My friend gave me that Culture Shock Korea book, and I started reading it recently, despite already being here for a bit. Am I the only one that finds it pretty darn outdated? Some of it I can dig, but the rest doesn't fully seem to represent what I've experienced in Korea (ie: the extent of the "don't let women do/enjoy anything" talked about).

Is this how other people felt when reading it, or have I just been fortunate not to experience these extremities of Korean society?

On a slightly more helpful note, I haven't read those particular books, but I did buy 2 that I found pretty interesting (albeit very "academic")

- A Topography of Confucian Discourse by Lee Seung-hwan (translated from Korean to English... talks about how Confucianism came about in Korea/how it effects their society)

- Diamond Dilemma by Tariq Hussain... the writing isn't terrific, but it's an interesting look on the economics, etc. in Korea- he's quite "right-wing" (he's German) but I found it insightful overall.

[Bagpipes11]

I read a good book a few years ago. It was written by a Korean American woman named Mira Stout. The book is called "One Thousand Chestnut Trees". It describes three generations of one family. From the Japanese occupation, to the Korean War, to post war Korea in the 1980's. I found the book gave me great insight into the Korean family makeup and a deeper understanding of why Koreans treat foreigners the way that they do.

[King Baeksu]

A while ago I reviewed several books about North Korea on my site, including Cumings' North Korea: Another Country:

http://www.kingbaeksu.com/bbs/view.php?id=bug&page=11&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=93

I also have reviewed Maarten Meijer's sucky book, with the aim of writing a critique almost as long as the book itself:

http://www.kingbaeksu.com/bbs/view.php?id=bug&page=9&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=128

A good summer book I would recommend is James Church's recent A Corpse in the Koryo, which is a thriller set in North Korea reportedly written by a former U.S. intelligence officer:

http://www.amazon.com/Corpse-Koryo-James-Church/dp/0312352085/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-1104750-6092138?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184032770&sr=1-2

BTW, Bibbitybop, my most recent book Korea Consumer Report (Korean-language only) is not an "anti-Korea book," it's a "shake-Korea-up-while-having-fun-doing-it book."

I've also heard that a tome called Korea Bug is not bad, it's already been "discussed" on this site but the thread was hijacked by some Christian silliness:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=48579&highlight=Burgeson

Happy reading, y'all!

[contrarian]

Cumings (only one "m") came to Korea as a near Marxist Peace Corps type. He became quite enamored of North Korea, and had a hard on against the south and the American military. If you don't mind Marxist dogma then read him.