I am loving this book and I am only finishing the first chapter, Virtues.

So many books on Korea speak about the country and its culture as if the Koreans were Chinese or only known through their coping with the Korean war or struggles with Japan.

I have been looking for a book about Korea and about Koreans. And Bruce Cummings attempts to do this.

The first chapter handles the history prior to the modern era. Korea had its own history and culture, something quite unique: a history I have been interested in for some time.

So far so good. ( )

Selectively detailed almost to a fault. Korea's Place in the Sun is an incredibly long read that I was hungry for but unfortunately, it's also overwhelmingly subjective at times. I strongly recommend familiarizing yourself with ancient and modern Korean history prior to reading this book because Cumings doesn't slow down for the casual reader. Recommended for anyone interested in more than a intro course on Korean history. However, be forewarned that this particular author is controversially subjective in his selective (mis)interpretations of Korean history.

His obvious North Korean apologetic stance aside, Cumings makes especially moving descriptions of the Korean war and demystifies the so-called Miracle on the Han economic movement into practical terms. His coverage of the Korean War is eye-opening and certainly the highlight of the book as it is one of his strengths. Ironically, though, I prefer his coverage of the Korean War in this book rather than his most recent title.

However biased it may be, this book is exactly what it claims to be: a one volume course on Korean history. it just may not be the most well-agreed upon history out there. Get ready for a level of detail that borders so much on muck-racking that might scare you. Take notes because Mr. Cumings is not afraid to cite his sources, although you might be wondering where the balance is in his arguments. ( )

The best introduction to Korean history and society on the market. ( )

I read this book several years ago, when a Korean colleague gave it to me. I really knew very little about Korea before reading this. Cumings's book gave me a great foundation - though, I confess, I haven't done much with it since.

I remember reading how the USA bombed North Korea in the Korean War - not into oblivion, but into the ground. They just moved the whole country into underground shelters. Cumings tells about the plans of MacArthur to use atomic weapons to force the North to submit. The US would fly mock bombing runs, dropping bombs of the same size and weight as an actual fission bomb, and flying the same pattern they'd use for a real bomb. The real bombs got as far, I think, as Guam, before MacArthur got fired.

Cumings also discussed a controversy in Neo-Confucian thought, between Chu Hsi and Wang Yang-ming. Korea kept the faith with Chu Hsi, while China went in the Wang Yang-ming direction, which Korea considered something of a disgrace. It's like Korea considers itself the preserver of true Chinese culture.

Sure, lots of the details have faded in my mind - it might have been seven or eight years ago that I read this - but I still remember the impact reading it had on me. ( )

Korean history is very interesting ( )