<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3 FAMILY="SERIF" FACE="Times New Roman" LANG="0">Could I add a footnote to this? Another new work in the same area,<BR>
which may have had less attention so far - being written by a Russian<BR>
in Australia, and brought out by a small British publisher - is:<BR>
<BR>
<B>Andrei LANKOV. From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: the Formation<BR>
of North Korea, 1945-1960. London: C Hurst & Co, Nov 2002.<BR>
pp xviii, 202. Price £35 pounds, hardback. www.hurstpub.co.uk<BR>
</B><BR>
Dr Lankov has worked extensively in the Russian archives.<BR>
I have yet to see Charles Armstrong's book, but it sounds as if they<BR>
may complement one another. They would surely make a fine pair<BR>
for a joint review.<BR>
<BR>
Those unfamiliar with Andrei Lankov and his work can find a <BR>
selection, in English and Russian, on the very useful North Korea<BR>
website maintained by his compatriot and fellow-Antipodean<BR>
resident, Leonid Pletnov. The URL is:<BR>
http://members.fortunecity.com/leonid7/lankov.htm<BR>
(It can be slow to load, in my experience)<BR>
<BR>
Finally, season's greetings to all Listeners!<BR>
<BR>
Aidan FC<BR>
<BR>
AIDAN FOSTER-CARTER<BR>
Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University<BR>
17 Birklands Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD18 3BY, UK<BR>
tel: +44(0) 1274 588586 mobile: +44(0) 7970 741307 <BR>
fax: +44(0) 1274 773663 Email: afostercarter@aol.com <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
__________<BR>
<BR>
In a message dated 12/17/02 01:21:54 GMT Standard Time, gkl1@columbia.edu writes:<BR>
<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Subj:<B>[KS] Important new works in modern Korean history </B><BR>
Date:12/17/02 01:21:54 GMT Standard Time<BR>
From:<A HREF="mailto:gkl1@columbia.edu">gkl1@columbia.edu</A><BR>
Reply-to:<A HREF="mailto:Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws">Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws</A><BR>
To:<A HREF="mailto:Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws">Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws</A><BR>
<I>Sent from the Internet </I><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
I wish to bring to the attention of the list two new works in<BR>
modern Korean history that I don't think have been mentioned yet on the<BR>
list. In fact it is a sad thing that so little has been mentioned on this<BR>
list recently.<BR>
The first is by Andre Schmid, associate professor of East Asian<BR>
Studies at the University of Toronto. It's called <Korea Between Empires,<BR>
1895-1919>, published by Columbia University Press (2002, 369 pp.). It is<BR>
a very good book on the construction of Korean nationalism by journalist-<BR>
intellectuals during the period following the Sino-Japanese War up through<BR>
the early years of the Japanese colonial regime in Korea. It is<BR>
remarkable how much of their project still inhabits the heart and soul of<BR>
Korean nationalism today, especially in South Korea. Schmid's book really<BR>
is an excellent introduction to the subject and should be welcomed by all<BR>
who want to understand where today's Korean nationalism started from. It<BR>
also is a remarkable evocation of the world of the TaeHan Cheguk, from<BR>
1895 until its end in 1910. No other book covering that period touches<BR>
very much on the materials or the perspective that Andre Schmid deals with<BR>
here.<BR>
Appearing more recently is a comprehensive history of the origins<BR>
of the DPRK state and its society by Charles Armstrong, <The North Korean<BR>
Revolution, 1945-1950>, published by Cornell University Press, 265 pp.<BR>
(It's listed on the Cornellpress website as a Fall 2002 release, but the<BR>
publication data page in the book itself says, "First published 2003...")<BR>
This is a superb book on the prehistory as well as the early history of<BR>
the DPRK. It accords due respect to such prominent predecessors as Suh<BR>
Dae-Sook and Scalapino & Lee, but is really new in its formulations and<BR>
approach. Armstrong doesn't spend too much time on the Soviets, nor on<BR>
all the ins and outs of the politics at the top; rather it concentrates on<BR>
society and culture, and the changes at the bottom. At the same time it<BR>
does not neglect issues that relate powerfully to the dilemmas and<BR>
problems--and the challenges--of the DPRK today. The core of the book is<BR>
based on close research in original sources found in the archive of<BR>
documents and materials captured by U.S forces in P'yongyang in late 1950,<BR>
now available to scholars in the U.S. National Archives.<BR>
Both of these books are essential additions to any reading list<BR>
for modern Korean history courses.<BR>
<BR>
Gari Ledyard<BR>
King Sejong Professor of Korean Studies Emeritus<BR>
Columbia University in the City of New York<BR>
<BR>
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