Letters from Korean History 4 - From Late Joseon to the Daehan Empire

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. 4

    Hwaseong: King Jeongjo’s new city
    New martial arts for Joseon
    The Silhak vision
    ‘Wealth is created by the people’
    Evolving farms and markets
    ‘Sanga yorok’: A royal physician’s cookbook
    Popular culture flourishes
    Yi Danjeon, the ‘nobi’ poet
    Love and marriage in Joseon
    Gang Jeongildang and Yun Gwangyeon in love
    Kim Jeongho and ‘Daedong yeojido’
    Korean maps of the past
    The peasants rise up
    Hong Gyeongnae and the battle of Jeongju Fortress
    Seohak and Donghak
    Protestantism gains royal backing
    Isolation or enlightenment? Korea at the crossroads
    ‘Uigwe’: Joseon texts seized by France
    Opening the doors
    A ‘Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation’
    ‘A new world, for three days’: the Gapsin Coup
    A military uprising: The Imo Incident
    Jeon Bongjun and the Donghak Peasant Revolution
    The attack on Gyeongbokgung and the Gabo Reforms
    The death of Empress Myeongseong
    The Daehan Empire is born
    Treaty ports usher in the winds of change
    When did Korea start using the solar calendar?
    ㆍ Index
    ㆍ Image credits and sources