Concise History of Premodern Korea

Michael J. Seth is professor of East Asian and world history at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Professor Seth, who has lived and worked in South Korea, is the author of Education Fever: Society, Politics, and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea (2002), North Korea: A History (2018), and Korea at War (2023). He is also the editor of the Routledge Handbook of Modern Korean History (2016).

• ContentsPrimary Source ReadingsPreface to the Second EditionAcknowledgmentsMapsIntroduction1 The OriginsThe KoreansEarly InhabitantsThe Age of Rice Farming BeginsSources for Early KoreaChosonThe Chinese CommanderiesChinese Commanderies and Their Neighbors: The Northern PeoplesChinese Commanderies and Their Neighbors: The Southern PeoplesPolitics of the Third CenturyKorea in Global Perspective: 5,000 Years of HistoryNotes2 The Period of the Three Kingdoms, Fourth Century to 676The Emergence of the Three KingdomsThe Wa and MimanaKorea and Northeast Asia in the Fourth and Fifth CenturiesCulture and Society of the Three KingdomsThe Bone-Ranks, the Hwabaek, and the HwarangThe Changing Environment of the Late Sixth and Seventh CenturiesThe Unification of Korea under SillaKorea in Global Perspective: State FormationNotes3 Late Silla, 676 to 935The Peninsular KingdomConsolidation of Central Monarchical Rule under Silla, 676–780Silla and the Chinese ModelSupporting the Silla StateSilla SocietyReligion and Aristocratic CultureSilla and Its NeighborsParhaeThe Decline of SillaThe Later Three KingdomsKorea in Global Perspective: Silla’s Rise and FallNotes4 Koryo, 935 to 1170The New Koryo StateKoryo in East AsiaInternal Politics, 935–1170Koryo CultureThe Samguk SagiKoryo SocietyKorea in Global Perspective: Koryo’s Examination SystemNotes5 Military Rulers and Mongol Invaders, 1170 to 1392Military RuleSon BuddhismKorea, Japan, and Feudal EuropeThe Mongol InvasionsThe Legacy of the Mongol PeriodLate Koryo SocietyThe End of the KoryoLate Koryo CultureThe Rise of Neo-ConfucianismKorea in Global Perspective: The Mongols and KoreaNotes6 The Neo-Confucian Revolution and the Choson State, 1392 to the Eighteenth CenturyEstablishing the Yi DynastyThe Neo-Confucianist ProjectThe Choson StateThe Censorate and the Classics MatHistoriansThe Examination SystemEducationAgricultural Improvements and the StateMilitary and Foreign AffairsThe Japanese and Manchu InvasionsCompetition for Power among the EliteChoson Politics in PerspectiveKorea in Global Perspective: Choson as an Ideologically Driven StateNotes7 Choson SocietyThe FamilyWomen During the Yi DynastySocial StructureSlaves and OutcastesCrime and PunishmentReligious Beliefs and PracticesPhilosophyArts, Literature, and ScienceTechnology and InventionsKorea in Global Perspective: Women in KoreaKorea in Global Perspective: Choson’s Social HierarchyNotes8 Late Choson, Early Eighteenth Century to 1876The Politics of Late ChosonLate Choson and the Confucian World OrderKorean Travelers to China and JapanTaxation and ReformAgricultureCommerce and Trade Cultural Flowering of Late ChosonSirhakEveryday LifeKorea in Global Perspective: Korea’s Place in the Early Modern WorldNotes9 Korea in the Nineteenth CenturyKorea in the Nineteenth Century: The “Hermit Kingdom”Internal Problems in the Nineteenth CenturyEarly Contacts with the WestExternal Threats and “Western Learning”The Opening of KoreaThe Legacy of Traditional KoreaKorea in Global Perspective: The Hermit Kingdom?NotesAppendix: RomanizationGlossary of Korean WordsAnnotated Selected BibliographyIndexAbout the Author

Michael Seth's A Concise History of Korea stands as the singular authoritative history of Korea for the undergraduate audience. Seth makes the story of the Korean nation come alive. Comprehensive and engaging, Seth's work is an excellent text for college students new to the subject.