Min Yŏnghwan
Min Yŏnghwan
Michael Finch
This book contains selected writings of Min Yŏnghwan, a statesman and reformist of late-Chosŏn Korea. Min's detailed descriptions of his journeys to Russia to attend Czar Nicholas II's coronation and London for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee produce vivid images of the world at that time while also revealing Min's perceptions from his Confucian background. Readers will find the translation smooth and the texts engaging.
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Title information
Min Yŏnghwan was a statesman and reformist of late Chosŏn dynasty Korea. His suicide in protest of the 1905 Japanese-Korean Treaty of Protection made him a "powerful symbol of Korean independence" and led to his being regarded as a major patriot in Korea to this day. This book, however, celebrates Min's life as a diplomat through his own words. Min's detailed descriptions of his journeys to Russia to attend Czar Nicholas II's coronation and London for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee produce vivid images of the world at that time while also revealing Min's perceptions of it from his Confucian background. Readers will find the translation smooth and the texts engaging.
Michael Finch
Michael Finch is a professor in the Department of Korean Studies at Keimyung University, Taegu, Korea.
B.A. University of Cambridge, M.A. Yonsei University, D.Phil. University of Oxford
Min Yŏnghwan (KRM 32)
Translator's Preface – vii
1. Introduction – 1
2. One Policy out of a Thousand (Ch'ŏnilch'aek) – 26
3. Sea, Sky, Autumn Voyage (Haech'ŏnch'ubŏm – 65
4. Additional Notes of an Envoy to Europe (Sagusokch'o) – 187
5. Min Ch'ungjŏnggong's Veritable Record: The Facts of November 1905 – 269
Glossary – 278
Select Bibliography – 299
Index – 301
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BLURBS |
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"Available for the first time in English translation, these documents contain valuable information on Min's diplomatic missions which have remained largely neglected by most scholars writing on the last decades of the Chosŏn dynasty." |
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JOURNAL REVIEWS |
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"As a window into the life and career of a senior official in the twilight years of theC hosōn dynasty, Finch's able translation and introduction are very helpful." ~Vipan Chandra, Wheaton College, in The Journal of Asian Studies (http://www.jstor.org/stable/20721817) |
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"Well researched, this book is both informative and enjoyable....Even those unfamiliar with Korean history should find this book accessible, especially as aided by the introduction that nicely contextualizes the translated texts." ~Eugene Y. Park, University of Pennsylvania, in Pacific Affairs (http://www.jstor.org/stable/25608996) |
