“The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty” are a valuable treasury of the history of Korea’s longest- ruling Confucian dynasty, indispensable to any student and scholar of Korea’s history.
Although much work has been done to bring them to the modern world in Korean, “The Annals of King T'aejo: Founder of Korea’s Chosōn Dynasty” is the first time any part of the annals has been translated into English.
King Taejo was originally Yi Seong-gye, a general of the Goryeo Dynasty who led a coup against the monarchy, ascended the throne, and founded a new dynasty in 1392. His reign lasted for only six-and-a-half years, but he played a vital role in establishing the Joseon Dynasty [Chosōn Dynasty by the McCune-Reischauer Romanization system] before abdicating the throne in 1398 in favor of his second son. Compilation of the official annals of his rule did not begin until 1410, two years after his death, because it was thought that it would be impossible to write an objective record while the former king still lived.

The annals are straightforward in terms of their structure. A general introduction that describes Taejo’s rise to power is followed by the records of his reign, arranged according to year. It is not light reading by any means, although the general introduction does read more as a narrative than the official annals, with history interspersed with tales of Yi Seong-gye’s bravery and martial prowess, particularly his skill with a bow. The annals themselves are necessarily more disjointed, consisting of separate entries for each day (sometimes skipping a day or so when nothing of import happened), but they contain a wealth of information. Memorials to the throne, generally the longest kinds of entries, comment on statecraft and proper leadership, offering insight into the political processes of the Joseon Dynasty.
The shorter entries can be fascinating as well, with accounts of meteorological phenomena such as rain, hail, thunder, wind, fog, and frost; astronomical phenomena such as the movement of planets and the moon in relation to the stars and constellations, solar halos, eclipses, and the appearance of meteors; and other natural phenomena such as the blooming of trees, insect damage to flora, and the appearance of certain portentous animals. Sometimes the interest in such phenomena is scientific, while at other times it is clear that they are accorded deeper significance.
There are also, of course, discussions of political, economic, diplomatic, religious, and military affairs, giving readers a fuller picture of life at the time, while entries that detail the actions and interactions of the king often provide a glimpse into Taejo’s personality beyond his official role as head of state.
In addition to the text itself, the book benefits from meticulous annotations, glossaries of terms, people, and places, and a thorough index. Within the text, specific terms are often followed by the original (Romanized) Korean terms in parentheses.

This can slow down reading, but considering that this is a text for scholars as opposed to casual readers, such attention to detail is very welcome. Finally, the translation reads quite naturally and easily, avoiding the awkwardness that can sometimes plague translations of academic texts.
This may not be an entry-level text for readers new to Korea and her history, but for scholars who may not have the full command of Korean required to read modern Korean translations it will be an invaluable resource. No serious scholar of Korean history will want to be without this book.

“An Intellectual History of Seonbi in Korea” provides a comprehensive look at the historical development of an important social and cultural concept in Korea, the “seonbi.” It is a translation of a Korean work, rather than a work written in English, and this does show — not in the quality of the translation itself, which is quite good, but in the fact that it was clearly written for a Korean audience already familiar with the concept.
The book does define the term at one point (“We commonly call Joseon Confucian scholars seonbi, and hence believe that the meaning of the word is limited to that.”), but this comes on page 216, nearly halfway through the book. And the author does not mention the fact that “seonbi,” especially in modern usage, doesn’t always have positive connotations. In fact, one definition for the term in a Korean dictionary reads: “A figurative term for someone who is gentle in character but limited in knowledge of the real world.”
Without this basic understanding of the term, the Englishspeaking reader may be left confused at first. It may appear that the author is merely using “seonbi” as a keyword to encompass all that is good in traditional Korean culture. In fact, while the author may not directly mention it, he is addressing the modern misunderstanding of “seonbi,” which has gone from referring to a respected figure to being used as a mildly derogatory term. The author maintains that seonbi, far from being ivory tower idealists with no grasp of the real world, were influential figures in Korean society.
They were, in the author’s words, “the intellectuals who have shaped Korean history.”
The reader who keeps the above in mind will find a great deal of insight here into the minds that shaped Korea into what it is today. In particular, the seventh chapter, which focuses on the Joseon Dynasty and comprises roughly half the book, shows how the preexisting seonbi culture fused with and expressed itself through the dominant ideology of Neo-Confucianism, as opposed to merely being a product of it.

The seonbi examined here include not just scholars but kings, warriors, idealists, reformers, and religious leaders, illuminating a concept that has been an important part of Korean culture for centuries.

While America has its superhero comics and Japan manga, Korea has “webtoons.” Webtoons are cartoons created to be uploaded onto websites mainly for mobile users. Cartoons were invented in the 20th century, and depending on the country concerned they can vary greatly in representative genres and styles, narrative development, and forms of publishing. Korean webtoons, which have grown into a full-fledged genre since 2000, broke from the past cartoon convention of horizontal presentation by adopting a vertical format. Mobile readers like this change, as vertical presentation immerses them in the content more easily.
At Korean webtoon sites, about 1,000 series are uploaded every week (webtoons are typically released in weekly installments), while leading webtoon sites attract an estimated 10 million visitors per day. Riding this wave, various cartoon community sites overseas introduce Korean webtoons to readers in translation, but often without permission. While Korean webtoon artists and companies appreciate the keen interest of overseas readers, they find the unauthorized translation and distribution a matter of concern.
In response to this development, a number of webtoon artists formed an association and opened Spottoon (www.spottoon. com), a webtoon site in English, in July 2015. About 40 serialized works of cartoonists popular with both domestic and overseas readers — Yoon Tae-ho, Kang Do-ha, Ko Young-hun, and Im Kanghyuk, among others — are uploaded in English. Readers can view 10 episodes of a single work for free, and thereafter pay 99 cents per episode. Webtoons can also be read on smartphones.

According to Spottoon’s management staff, since the English service was launched, readers from 170 countries have visited the site and the number of paying users is increasing steadily.
While Spottoon is operated by the contributing cartoonists, another English site, Webtoons (www.webtoons.com), is presented by the portal site Naver. Series already popular overseas, such as “Noblesse” by Son Jae-ho, “The God of High School” by Park Yongje, and “Girls of the Wild’s” by Hun and Zena, are available for free. Tapastic (www.tapastic.com) welcomes anyone, whether professional or amateur, to upload their own webtoon works. This site is enjoying increasing popularity in North America as it features Korean as well as American cartoonists. For anyone who is curious about this new form of cartoon or is looking for something new to read, these sites are the places to go.