Redemption and Regret
Modernizing Korea in the Writings of James Scarth Gale
Published on 27. April 2021
Book
Hardback
680 pages
978-1-4875-0434-2 (ISBN)
Description
Redemption and Regret presents two previously unpublished typescripts of James Scarth Gale, a Canadian missionary to Korea for four decades (1888-1927). During his time in Korea, Gale developed into the foremost Western scholar of Korean history, language, and literature, completing the first translation of Korean literature into a Western language, the first translation of English literature into Korean, and the first comprehensive Korean-English dictionary. In addition to these translations, the typescripts entitled Pen Pictures of Old Korea (ca. 1910) and Old Corea (ca. 1925), each presented here with introductory essays, contain Gale's observations of various cultural artifacts, behaviours, and practices.
Gale lived in Korea during a tumultuous and transformative period that witnessed the transition of the country from a "hermit" suzerain kingdom to an independent empire, and finally to a colonial possession of Japan. Pen Pictures of Old Korea and Old Corea preserve what Gale viewed as inevitably fated for extinction. This realization imbues his writings with a sense of ambivalence towards the "passing" of traditional Korea - owing to the conflict between his profound admiration for pre-modern Korean culture and his Western missionary identity, which demanded that the country adapt to a modern, Christian world.
Gale lived in Korea during a tumultuous and transformative period that witnessed the transition of the country from a "hermit" suzerain kingdom to an independent empire, and finally to a colonial possession of Japan. Pen Pictures of Old Korea and Old Corea preserve what Gale viewed as inevitably fated for extinction. This realization imbues his writings with a sense of ambivalence towards the "passing" of traditional Korea - owing to the conflict between his profound admiration for pre-modern Korean culture and his Western missionary identity, which demanded that the country adapt to a modern, Christian world.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
21 b&w illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
1057 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-0434-2 (9781487504342)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
James Scarth Gale was a Canadian Presbyterian missionary, educator, and Bible translator in Korea.
Daniel Pieper is a Lecturer in East Asian Languages and Cultures at Washington University in St. Louis.
Daniel Pieper is a Lecturer in East Asian Languages and Cultures at Washington University in St. Louis.
Content
Series Preface
Illustrations
Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Pen Pictures of Old Korea
Korean Songs and Verses
Eternal Life
Tobacco in Korea
Concerning the Occult
A Note of Warning
On and Off the Street Car
A Sample of Korean Labour Song
Marriage in Korea
Pak's Experiences
The Mystery of It
The Family Line
Korea's Electric Shocks
"Broken Earthenware"
Unconscious Korea
Korean Literature
A New Style of Courtship
Korea's Receding Pantheon
Stone Fights
Standing for One's Rights
That Old Dragon
Happy Yi
My Lord the Elephant
The Displeasure of the Rain God
Korean New Year's
The Korean Woman
Korea's Preparation for the Bible
The Waning Eunuch
A Freak of Language
An Affair of State
Private Minting
A New Korean
The Burning of the Temple
A Royal Funeral
Belong Small Boxer
The Foreign Squeezer
The Awful Kim
Exit Kim
The Opening of War
Prospective
All Good Things Are Three
Japan's Task in Korea
Where Are We?
As Regards the Fate
Part II: Old Corea
Corean Literature and History
Corea's Noted Women
Yowa Ssi
Ahwang and Yoyong
T'aeim and T'aesa
Wang Sogun
Princess Yang
The Corean's View of God
The Mirror of the Heart
The Worship of Confucius
Corea's Filial Piety
How She Moved to God
Father and Son
Social and Allied Subjects
Prohibition in Corea
Tea
Tobacco in Corea
Corean Paper
Corean Clothes
Corean Artists
Corean Chess
Teeth
Ancient Remains
The Tombs of Uhyolli
Ancient Burial Remains
When Kings Die
Hollanders in Corea
Superstitions
Guardians of the Year
One of the Immortals
The Spirit Medium
Short Stories
The Spoiled Boy
Yi Changgon
A Question of Conscience
Worthy Prince and Lucky Girls
Powers of Imitation
The Tartar Hunter
Miscellaneous
The Dancing Girl
Music
Corean Transportation
Flies
The Rainy Season
A Trip to Sorae Beach
Poems
My Shadow by Yi Talch'ung
Clouds and Mountains by Yi Talch'ung
The Good and Bad of It by Yi Talch'ung
The Falling Flowers by Won Kam
The Joys of Nature by Yi Talch'ung
A Spell against the Tiger by Hong Yangho
Tribute to a Needle by Mrs. Yoo
The Wild Goose by Hong Yangho
A Far-Eastern Francis of Assisi by Song Hyon
The Snow by Yi Chehyon
The Cackling Priest by Yi Chesin
The Story of Unyong
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Pen Pictures of Old Korea
Korean Songs and Verses
Eternal Life
Tobacco in Korea
Concerning the Occult
A Note of Warning
On and Off the Street Car
A Sample of Korean Labour Song
Marriage in Korea
Pak's Experiences
The Mystery of It
The Family Line
Korea's Electric Shocks
"Broken Earthenware"
Unconscious Korea
Korean Literature
A New Style of Courtship
Korea's Receding Pantheon
Stone Fights
Standing for One's Rights
That Old Dragon
Happy Yi
My Lord the Elephant
The Displeasure of the Rain God
Korean New Year's
The Korean Woman
Korea's Preparation for the Bible
The Waning Eunuch
A Freak of Language
An Affair of State
Private Minting
A New Korean
The Burning of the Temple
A Royal Funeral
Belong Small Boxer
The Foreign Squeezer
The Awful Kim
Exit Kim
The Opening of War
Prospective
All Good Things Are Three
Japan's Task in Korea
Where Are We?
As Regards the Fate
Part II: Old Corea
Corean Literature and History
Corea's Noted Women
Yowa Ssi
Ahwang and Yoyong
T'aeim and T'aesa
Wang Sogun
Princess Yang
The Corean's View of God
The Mirror of the Heart
The Worship of Confucius
Corea's Filial Piety
How She Moved to God
Father and Son
Social and Allied Subjects
Prohibition in Corea
Tea
Tobacco in Corea
Corean Paper
Corean Clothes
Corean Artists
Corean Chess
Teeth
Ancient Remains
The Tombs of Uhyolli
Ancient Burial Remains
When Kings Die
Hollanders in Corea
Superstitions
Guardians of the Year
One of the Immortals
The Spirit Medium
Short Stories
The Spoiled Boy
Yi Changgon
A Question of Conscience
Worthy Prince and Lucky Girls
Powers of Imitation
The Tartar Hunter
Miscellaneous
The Dancing Girl
Music
Corean Transportation
Flies
The Rainy Season
A Trip to Sorae Beach
Poems
My Shadow by Yi Talch'ung
Clouds and Mountains by Yi Talch'ung
The Good and Bad of It by Yi Talch'ung
The Falling Flowers by Won Kam
The Joys of Nature by Yi Talch'ung
A Spell against the Tiger by Hong Yangho
Tribute to a Needle by Mrs. Yoo
The Wild Goose by Hong Yangho
A Far-Eastern Francis of Assisi by Song Hyon
The Snow by Yi Chehyon
The Cackling Priest by Yi Chesin
The Story of Unyong
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index