Donald N. Clark

This edition of Korea Briefing, the fourth in the series, is issued in conjunction with The Asia Society's Festival of Korea, a yearlong, nationwide celebration of Korean history, culture, and contemporary life.

Published in conjunction with The Asia Society's Festival of Korea, this expanded issue of Korea Briefing provides historical insight into Korea, with retrospective chapters on politics and economics, and illuminates Korea's cultural heritage through chapters on music, dance, and literature. In addition, the political and economic chapters treat events of the past year, outlining the challenges and possibilities facing Kim Young-sam, the newly elected South Korean president. Another chapter examines the implications for U.S. policy toward Korea of Bill Clinton's election to the U.S. presidency. A chapter by the editor describing the U.S. outlook toward Korea is balanced by a chapter on the changes in Korean perspectives on the United States since the Korean War. The Korean American community's struggles in the United States are explored in a chapter that addresses the aftereffects of the Los Angeles riots in the broader context of issues facing the Korean American community.

In this new edition, Donald Clark has thoroughly revised and updated Donald Macdonald's widely praised introduction to Korea, describing and assessing the volatile and dramatic developments on the peninsula over the last five years. Remaining true to Macdonald's original conception, Clark has reworked the existing text from the perspective of the mid-1990s to take account of the enormous political and economic changes in South Korea, the evolving relationship between North and South, and the implications of North Korea's leadership transition and nuclear capability.

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.

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.

In this new edition, Donald Clark has thoroughly revised and updated Donald Macdonald's widely praised introduction to Korea, describing and assessing the volatile and dramatic developments on the peninsula over the last five years. Remaining true to Macdonald's original conception, Clark has reworked the existing text from the perspective of the mid-1990s to take account of the enormous political and economic changes in South Korea, the evolving relationship between North and South, and the implications of North Korea's leadership transition and nuclear capability.

Co-published with the Asia Society.