한국사 편지 영문판 3 Letters from Korean History 3

눈부신 발전을 이룩한 조선을 조망하는 3권

조선은 고려와 달리 변화와 발전이 없어 실패한 나라라는 시선을 받곤 합니다. 현대사에 나쁜 영향을 준 나라로 지적하는 사람도 있습니다. 하지만 조선은 멸망한 고려와 같은 길을 걷지 않기 위해 정치 체제를 확고하게 가다듬고, 사관을 두어 역사를 끈질기게 기록했으며, 눈부신 문화 발전을 이룩한 나라입니다. ≪Letters from Korean History≫ 3권은 일제가 집요하게 심은 식민사관에서 벗어나 건국부터 왜란과 호란이 일어난 직후까지, 조선의 역사를 똑바로 응시하며 ‘고려 못지않게 활발하고 생기 넘치는’ 시대를 보여줍니다.

3rd volume overlooks the remarkable development of Joseon

Unlike Goryeo, Joseon is often seen as a failed country because of its lack of change and development. Some people point to it as a country that has had a bad influence on modern history. However, in order not to walk the same path as the collapsed Goryeo, Joseon was a country that firmly refined its political system, persistently recorded its history with a military officer, and achieved remarkable cultural development. Volume 3 of ≪Letters from Korean History≫ shows the era of 'lively and lively as much as Goryeo' by looking straight at the history of Joseon, from the founding of the country to the immediate aftermath of the Japanese invasion and war, away from the colonial view relentlessly planted by Japan.

BOOK 1 From prehistory to Unified Silla and Balhae ｜ 원시 사회부터 통일 신라와 발해까지
BOOK 2 From the Later Three Kingdoms to Goryeo ｜ 후삼국 시대부터 고려 시대까지
BOOK 3 Joseon - from founding to later years ｜ 조선 건국부터 조선 후기까지
BOOK 4 From Late Joseon to the Daehan Empire ｜ 조선 후기부터 대한제국 성립까지
BOOK 5 From the Daehan Empire to North-South rapprochement ｜ 대한제국부터 남북 화해 시대까지

The English version of Letters from Korean History is published for young readers overseas who are curious about Korea and its people, and for young Korean readers keen to learn more about their own history while improving their language skills as global citizens. I hope that readers will not feel obliged to start at the beginning of Volume I and plow all the way through; rather, each letter contains a historical episode in its own right, and can be chosen and read according to the reader’s particular area of interest. The text is complemented by plenty of photos and illustrations, giving a more vivid sense of history - reading the captions that accompany these should enhance the sense of historical exploration.
-Park Eunbong

Progressing from the stones and bones of prehistory all the way to the turbulent twentieth century in the course of five volumes, Letters from Korean History can be browsed as a reference text or plowed through from beginning to end. As with most histories that cover such a long period, the density of information increases as the narrative approaches the present. The relatively recent Joseon period, for example, accounts for two of the five volumes (III and IV), rich as it is in events and meticulously recorded historical data.
Letters from Korean History has been a great success in its native country among Korean readers. I hope that this translation will now be of help to ethnic Koreans overseas, others interested in Korea or history in general, Koreans looking to study history and English at the same time, and anybody else who believes that exploring the past is a good way to try and make sense of the confusing, flawed and wonderful present.
-Ben Jackson