The best books on modern Korean history

This book is, quite simply, the best introduction to modern Korean history. Like other similar books, it covers the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, but it also has a helpful chapter that gives an overview of Korea’s premodern history.

What really sets this book apart is its carefully chosen insights on key aspects of modern history that give readers a deeper understanding of current events in Korea.

The book is a pleasure to read thanks to the author’s engaging writing style; it also provides an intellectual thrill because of the author’s questioning of Western assumptions about Korea as well as about the Cold War.

It is fortunate that this book is among the growing number of Korean novels that have been translated into English. I think this is the best book at capturing the historical experience of Koreans in the twentieth century.

Cho Chong-Rae, one of South Korea’s foremost novelists, has a particular genius for depicting how the lives of complex and compelling characters were impacted by the turbulent events of Korean history.

The book is especially memorable because of its main character–a communist peasant who adopts a new identity during the Korean War and becomes a successful businessman in the South. By doing this, the novel shows that the division of the country is not just political but has also split the collective psyche of the Korean people.

Park Wan-suh is perhaps postwar fiction's foremost chronicler of women’s lives. Of the many translations of her novels and short stories, I think this book is the best to start with.

A mixture of autobiography with fictional and essay-like elements, it covers the first twenty years of her life, from her early years in the countryside outside the city of Gaeseong to her family’s move to Seoul and the outbreak of the Korean War.

There is much to learn about modern Korea from this unique generation of writers as they experienced life during the Japanese occupation, had clear memories of what Korea was like before its division, and directly witnessed the horrors of the Korean War.

This book is a true rarity. Written by the journalist Helen Foster Snow (using a pseudonym), it recorded the life story of a Korean communist working in the Chinese communist movement–the result of their chance encounter in Yan’an.

It provides an intimate view of his conversion to communism, his involvement in some of the major struggles between Chinese communists and nationalists, and his time in Chinese prisons. What emerges is a compelling portrait of an intelligent and well-read man who is open about his life and willing to be self-critical–a portrait that upsets many preconceptions of what a communist is like.

This is essential reading for understanding Korean communism and, by extension, the division of the country.

This is the book that I always recommend to anyone who is just getting interested in modern Korea and wants to learn more.

A former Korea correspondent for The Economist, Daniel Tudor displays tremendous range in his command not just of business and the economy but also of politics, religion, and culture. His enthusiasm for exploring Korea is clear, but he is also able to criticize aspects of the country with genuine sensitivity.

If something on the news, in a South Korean TV drama, or in an article piques your curiosity, you can always turn to this book to get more context, get an interesting tidbit from one of Tudor’s interviews with prominent figures, or find ways to go deeper into the topic.