Redemption and Regret : : Modernizing Korea in the Writings of James Scarth Gale / / James Scarth Gale; ed. by Daniel Pieper.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2021 English
• VerfasserIn: Gale, James Scarth,
• HerausgeberIn: Pieper, Daniel ,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: James Scarth Gale Library of Korean Literature
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (680 p.) :; 21 b&w illustrations

Redemption and Regret presents two previously unpublished typescripts of James Scarth Gale, a Canadian missionary to Korea for four decades (1888–1927). During his time in Korea, Gale developed into the foremost Western scholar of Korean history, language, and literature, completing the first translation of Korean literature into a Western language, the first translation of English literature into Korean, and the first comprehensive Korean-English dictionary. In addition to these translations, the typescripts entitled Pen Pictures of Old Korea (ca. 1910) and Old Corea (ca. 1925), each presented here with introductory essays, contain Gale’s observations of various cultural artifacts, behaviours, and practices. Gale lived in Korea during a tumultuous and transformative period that witnessed the transition of the country from a "hermit" suzerain kingdom to an independent empire, and finally to a colonial possession of Japan. Pen Pictures of Old Korea and Old Corea preserve what Gale viewed as inevitably fated for extinction. This realization imbues his writings with a sense of ambivalence towards the "passing" of traditional Korea – owing to the conflict between his profound admiration for pre-modern Korean culture and his Western missionary identity, which demanded that the country adapt to a modern, Christian world.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Series Preface -- Illustrations and Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Bibliography -- PART ONE Pen Pictures of Old Korea -- Korean Songs and Verses -- Eternal Life -- Tobacco in Korea -- Concerning the Occult -- A Note of Warning -- On and Off the Street Car -- A Sample of Korean Labour Song -- Marriage in Korea -- Pak’s Experiences -- The Mystery of It -- The Family Line -- Korea’s Electric Shocks -- Broken Earthenware -- Unconscious Korea -- Korean Literature -- A New Style of Courtship -- Korea’s Receding Pantheon -- Stone Fights -- Standing for One’s Rights -- That Old Dragon -- Happy Yi -- My Lord the Elephant -- The Displeasure of the Rain God -- Korean New Year’s -- The Korean Woman -- Korea’s Preparation for the Bible -- The Waning Eunuch -- A Freak of Language -- An Affair of State -- Private Minting -- A New Korean -- The Burning of the Temple -- A Royal Funeral -- “Belong” Small Boxer -- The Foreign “Squeezer” -- The Awful Kim -- Exit Kim -- The Opening of War -- Prospective -- All Good Things Are Three -- Japan’s Task in Korea -- Where Are We? -- As Regards the Fates -- PART TWO Old Corea -- Corean Literature and History -- Corea’s Noted Women -- Religious and Allied Themes -- Father and Son -- Social and Allied Subjects -- Ancient Remains -- Superstitions -- Short Stories -- Miscellaneous -- Poems -- The Story of Unyŏng (Unyŏng chŏn) -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index