[KS] perspectives on Korean history

Joel Bradshaw bradshaw at hawaii.edu
Wed Dec 12 13:18:40 EST 2001


Hong's 1994 book on Paekche and Japan was also reviewed in the 1995 volume (19)
of Korean Studies. The reviewer is a linguist specializing in Japanese and
Ryukyuan, and their external relationships to Korean, etc. The review of Hong's
earlier book in JAS is by Sarah Nelson, an archaeologist.

Paekche of Korea and the Origin of Yamato Japan, Wontack Hong, rev. by Leon
Serafim, Korean Studies 19[1995]:193-196

Various online indexes and abstracts to KS articles and reviews are available
online via:
http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/journals/ks/issues.html
Unfortunately the review itself is not available online, but here are the first
and last paragraphs:

"Reading this book has me nearly convinced that Wontack Hong's main thesis,
namely, that the Paekche royal house--hardly just-arrived Puyôs from
Manchuria--conquered and unified Japan. I say 'nearly' because it has made me
want to find out more about specific, still-puzzling aspects of the hypothesis,
since he argues some parts of it not strongly enough and also leaves lacunae.
Further, this book has made me feel thoroughly pummeled--it's a hard read, with
a complexly interwoven and highly repetitious format." (p. 193)

"So, should you plunk down your hard-earned cash for this book? I think that
readers interested in the topic will find much to think about, and may even find
the book wholly convincing. Even those who do not accept the horserider
hypothesis will find the book thought-provoking, even though at times
maddening." (p. 196)

Joel
--
Joel Bradshaw <bradshaw at hawaii.edu>
Journals & Web Manager, University of Hawai'i Press
2840 Kolowalu Street, Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: 808-956-6790; Fax: 808-988-6052
http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/

Falco-Ramin Javazi wrote:

> In order to be able to read (as PDF) the content of this very interesting
> book, direct your browser to:
>
> http://gias.snu.ac.kr/wthong/publication/paekche/eng/paekch_e.html
>
> --
> Regards,
> Falco-Ramin Javazi
>
> P.S.: As I am currently writing an essay on the topic, I would appreciate
> more peoples opinions and thoughts about this (even better: sources and
> weblinks) in private eMail to asianlists at gmx.net . Many thanks in advance!
>
> Quoting Thomas Duverney:
>
> > > It is my understanding that the historical record is not at all clear on
> > > the question of Japanese control of Kaya, or Minama. I don't think it is
> > > even known where Minama was. Aren't there some scholars who think Minama
> > > might have been located in Kyushu? It is also a little difficult to
> > > identify a "Japan" that would have lost any territory at that time. That
> > which
> > > we call Japan is a relatively new phenomenon. I have heard it said that
> > > the tale of a lost Japanese province in Korea was a fiction of Japanese
> > > expansionists in the early and middle Meiji period.
> > >
> >
> > Mimana (or 'Imna Ilbonbu' in Korean) was located in the very southern part
> > of the peninusula.  The Japanese, in their rewriting of history, claimed
> > territory that roughly covered the expanse of Kaya.  A few years ago, I
> had
> > a newsgroup tif with a Japanist who was thoroughly convinced that the
> > Japanese version was 100% true (do a usenet search and you'll probably
> find
> > them).
> >
> > A couple of web sources are:
> >
> > http://prome.snu.ac.kr/~wthong/bookreview/1.html
> >
> > http://prome.snu.ac.kr/~wthong/paekche/paekch_e.html






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