The first English-language history of Korea to appear in more than a decade this translation
offers Western readers a distillation of the latest and best scholarship on Korean history and
culture from the earliest times to the student revolution of 1960. The most widely read and
respected general history A New History of Korea (Han'guksa sillon) was first published in
1961 and has undergone two major revisions and updatings. Translated twice into Japanese and
currently being translated into Chinese as well Professor Lee's work presents a new
periodization of his country's history based on a fresh analysis of the changing composition
of the leadership elite. The book is noteworthy too for its full and integrated discussion of
major currents in Korea's cultural history. The translation three years in preparation has
been done by specialists in the field.
