Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Modeled after the classic Sources of Chinese Tradition, Sources of Japanese Tradition, and Sources of Indian Tradition, this collection of seminal primary readings in the social, intellectual, and religious traditions of Korea from the sixteenth century to the present day lays the groundwork for understanding Korean civilization and demonstrates how leading intellectuals and public figures in Korea have looked at life, the traditions of their ancestors, and the world they lived in.

The selections range from the mid- and late Chosôn dynasty in the sixteenth century, through the encounter with the West and imperialist Japan in the late ninteenth and early twentieth centuries, to the political and cultural events in South and North Korea since 1945 -- ending with President Kim Taejung's 1998 inaugural address.

Average Customer Rating:

Nice collection of primary sources in English

Customer Rating:

This is a nice book to get for anyone serious about studying early Korean History (pre-Yi dynasty). It gives you a taste of the Samguk Sagi, Samguk Yusa, The Chronicles of Koryo as well as early Wei China accounts and the controversial inscription on King Kwanggetto's Monolith. From these documents, you can learn, quite literally from the horse's mouth, the struggle of the Three Kingdoms against each other, the struggle of the later Three Kingdoms and the thought and philosophy of the people at that time. Please bear in mind, these are excerpts, not full texts of the primary sources. These only give you a taste and flavor of the full texts.