The Western world found itself miserably ill-informed about Korea when that ancient nation suddenly leapt into international prominence in the summer of 1950. Authoritative sources giving essential information about the land and its people were virtually nonexistent. Since the recent tragic conflict, interest in Korea, both academic and popular, has continued unabated. Because the welfare of Korea has come to be recognized as having paramount significance in maintaining peace and security in the Far East, this book answers a real need both for the intelligent layman and the serious student of Korea. Wide in scope, Professor McCune's informed discussion includes history, political forms , geography, climate, economic resources, techniques of production, social and population patterns, and regionalization. In addition to twenty-one maps and charts directly illustrating matter discussed in the text, there are fifty-seven carefully chosen photographs giving a graphic presentation of the various land forms in Korea, the people at work and at play, the havoc wrought by the war, the first steps on the long road of reconstruction --- excerpt from book's dustjacket
