Letters from Korean History 1 - From Prehistory to Unified Silla and Balhae

The English version of Letters from Korean History is published for young readers overseas who are curious about Korea and its people, and for young Korean readers keen to learn more about their own history while improving their language skills as global citizens. I hope that readers will not feel obliged to start at the beginning of Volume I and plow all the way through; rather, each letter contains a historical episode in its own right, and can be chosen and read according to the reader’s particular area of interest. The text is complemented by plenty of photos and illustrations, giving a more vivid sense of history - reading the captions that accompany these should enhance the sense of historical exploration. -Park Eunbong Progressing from the stones and bones of prehistory all the way to the turbulent twentieth century in the course of five volumes, Letters from Korean History can be browsed as a reference text or plowed through from beginning to end. As with most histories that cover such a long period, the density of information increases as the narrative approaches the present. The relatively recent Joseon period, for example, accounts for two of the five volumes (III and IV), rich as it is in events and meticulously recorded historical data. Letters from Korean History has been a great success in its native country among Korean readers. I hope that this translation will now be of help to ethnic Koreans overseas, others interested in Korea or history in general, Koreans looking to study history and English at the same time, and anybody else who believes that exploring the past is a good way to try and make sense of the confusing, flawed and wonderful present. -Ben Jackson

Contents Vol. 1

When did the first humans settle in Korea?
What did Paleolithic Koreans look like?

How did Neolithic Koreans live?
Stone tools

The Bronze Age and Gojoseon, the first state in Korean history
Korea, a land of dolmens

How was life in Gojoseon?
Gojoseon: originally just ‘Joseon’

What came after Gojoseon?
What was the purpose of ‘jecheon haengsa?’

The founding of the Three Kingdoms and Gaya
Gaya culture

Goguryeo: a Northeast Asian superpower
The riddle of the Gwanggaeto Stele

Baekje, land of cultural refinement
King Mu and Princess Seonhwa

Buddhism, key to the culture of the Three Kingdoms
Influence of the Buddhist culture of the Three Kingdoms on Asuka

Life in the Three Kingdoms period
Fridges and drinks

How did Silla achieve unification?
Hwarang: boys as beautiful as flowers

Silla, land of the bone-rank system
Hyangga: songs of Silla

Balhae, land of mystery
Balhae’s road network

ㆍIndex
ㆍImage credits and sources