Customer Reviews

Ethnic Nationalism in Korea: Genealogy, Politics, And Legacy (Studies of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center)

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Very solid overview of Korean nationalism. The first half of the book argues that the development of a strong sense of ethnic nationalism in Korea was not inevitable, but rather a product of the historical interplay of competing ideologies (pan-Asianism, International Socialism, etc). The second half looks at a number of more particular issues (education, agrarianism, minjung, etc). The first half was outstanding - tight, persuasive and interesting. The second half was a bit more rambling, but at times quite interesting. A good place to start learning about Korean nationalism, though I imagine it would be easier going if you had some grounding in 20th century Korean history.

Ethnic Nationalism: Genealogy, Politics, And Legacy by Gi-Wook Shin (Director of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center) explores the roots, politics, and legacy of Korean ethnic nationalism. Descriptively analyzing the separation and differences in the communist north and democratic south of the Korean peninsula, Ethnic Nationalism addresses the general identity formation of the two Koreas. A core addition to academic library International Studies reference collections, Ethnic Nationalism is strongly recommended to the attention of political science, sociology, and cultural anthropology students studying the contrasts and similarities of North and South Korea through their collective history of anti-colonialism, civil war, authoritarian politics, democratization, territorial division, and globalization.