Culture and Customs of Korea (Culture and Customs of Asia Series) by Donald N. Clark

From the Publisher

Culture and Customs of Korea is an excellent introduction to the Korean people and their religion, arts and literature, daily life, and customs. It presents the most important experiences that have shaped life in both North and South Korea today. These include the migration of the people from farms in the countryside to crowded city apartments, the effects of rapid industrialization, and the continuing trauma of the country's division. Accessible and highly authoritative, Culture and Customs of Korea will be the ultimate source for students and other interested readers to learn about an important Asian society and the homeland of the many Korean Americans. For centuries, although strongly influenced by the Chinese, Koreans have maintained a unique civilization with their own language, social organization, food, national costume, political institutions, and customs. The disruptions of the 20th century have included a long and difficult period of foreign rule and a devastating civil war. However, Koreans continue to prize their traditional culture, and the younger generations have embraced "Koreanness" with a determination to assert Korea's place in the world. Culture and Customs of Korea artfully depicts the past and present in North and South Korea with chapters on the story of the Korean people, thought and religion, arts and literature, performing arts, daily life and folkways, life in a Korean village, life in urban Korean, and gender, marriage, and the lives of Korean women. A chronology and glossary supplement the text.

VOYA

Intended to provide a detailed introduction to the ancient nation of Korea, this volume opens with a brief history of the Korean people before going on to address such important topics as the nation's folkways, its complex religious background, its well-developed literary and fine arts traditions, and, of course, the Korean War and the separate paths followed by North and South Korea. The author devotes a fair amount of space to a detailed description of daily life in Korea, both in its more traditional rural form and in its now dominant urban complexity. In general, the writing here is somewhat pedestrian, although the book does provide all or most of the information an older middle school or high school student would be likely to need to fulfill a class assignment. Among the most interesting parts of the book are its descriptions of the Unification Church and its charismatic founder, Sun Myung Moon, which made headlines in the United States a few years ago with its purchase of the Washington Times and other American properties, and Clark's detailed discussion of what are, at least from an American perspective, Korea's deeply sexist gender and marriage traditions. Oddly, however, since Clark clearly is willing to discuss controversial issues and is writing a book at least partially intended for older children, he never raises the hot topic of the adoption of Korean children. VOYA CODES: 3Q 2P J S A/YA (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2000, Greenwood, 232p, Glossary. Index. Photos. Maps. Source Notes. Further Reading.Chronology. Ages 14 to Adult. Reviewer: Michael Levy SOURCE: VOYA, June 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 2)

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• Table of Contents

Table of Contents