Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History (Updated Edition)"Passionate, cantankerous, and fascinating. Rather like Korea itself."--Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times Book Review Korea has endured a "fractured, shattered twentieth century," and this updated edition brings Bruce Cumings's leading history of the modern era into the present. The small country, overshadowed in the imperial era, crammed against great powers during the Cold War, and divided and decimated by the Korean War, has recently seen the first real hints of reunification. But positive movements forward are tempered by frustrating steps backward. In the late 1990s South Korea survived its most severe economic crisis since the Korean War, forcing a successful restructuring of its political economy. Suffering through floods, droughts, and a famine that cost the lives of millions of people, North Korea has been labeled part of an "axis of evil" by the George W. Bush administration and has renewed its nuclear threats. On both sides Korea seems poised to continue its fractured existence on into the new century, with potential ramifications for the rest of the world. |
Contents
Preface to the Updated Edition | 7 |
Preface and Acknowledgments | 9 |
1 The Virtues | 19 |
2 The Interests 18601904 | 86 |
3 Eclipse 19051945 | 139 |
4 The Passions 19451948 | 185 |
5 Collision 19481953 | 237 |
Industrialization 1953Present | 299 |
The Democratic Movement 1960Present | 342 |
North Korea 1953Present | 404 |
9 Americas Koreans | 448 |
10 Koreas Place in the World | 470 |
515 | |
521 | |
Back Cover | 543 |
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Common terms and phrases
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