Redemption and Regret: Modernizing Korea in the Writings of James Scarth Gale

681 Pages·2021·7.153 MB·English

by  James Scarth Gale and Daniel Pieper

Redemption and Regret
Modernizing Korea in the
Writings of James Scarth Gale
The James Scarth Gale Library of Korean Literature
General Editors: Ross King and Bruce Fulton
Redemption and Regret
MODERNIZING KOREA IN THE WRITINGS
OF JAMES SCARTH GALE
James Scarth Gale
Edited by Daniel Pieper
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 2021
Toronto Buffalo London
utorontopress.com
Printed in the U.S.A.
ISBN 978-1-4875-0434-2 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-4875-2997-0 (EPUB)
ISBN 978-1-4875-2996-3 (PDF)
The James Scarth Gale Library of Korean Literature
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Redemption and regret : modernizing Korea in the writings of James
Scarth Gale / James Scarth Gale ; edited by Daniel Pieper.
Names: Gale, James Scarth, 1863–1937, author. | Pieper, Daniel, 1980– editor.
Description: Series statement: James Scarth Gale Library of Korean Literature
series | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210123664 | Canadiana (ebook) 20210123699 |
ISBN 9781487504342 (cloth) | ISBN 9781487529970 (EPUB) |
ISBN 9781487529963 (PDF)
Subjects: LCSH: Korea – History. | LCSH: Korea – Civilization. | LCSH:
Korea – Social life and customs. | LCSH: Korea – Foreign relations –
1864–1910. | LCSH: Korean language.
Classification: LCC DS902 .G156 2021 | DDC 951.9/02–dc23
This work was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies Grant funded
by the Korean Government (MEST) (AKS-2011-AAA-2103), as well as by the
Centre for Korean Research at the University of British Columbia.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its
publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts
Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
This book is dedicated to James Scarth Gale: Translator,
Koreanist, and Literatus
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Series Preface xi
List of Illustrations and Tables xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 3
Bibliography 50
PART ONE: PEN PICTURES OF OLD KOREA
Korean Songs and Verses 59
Eternal Life 73
Tobacco in Korea 79
Concerning the Occult 85
A Note of Warning 91
On and Off the Street Car 94
A Sample of Korean Labour Song 100
Marriage in Korea 104
Pak’s Experiences 108
The Mystery of It 113
viii Contents
The Family Line 116
Korea’s Electric Shocks 119
Broken Earthenware 129
Unconscious Korea 133
Korean Literature 142
A New Style of Courtship 153
Korea’s Receding Pantheon 158
Stone Fights 169
Standing for One’s Rights 174
That Old Dragon 182
Happy Yi 185
My Lord the Elephant 193
The Displeasure of the Rain God 198
Korean New Year’s 202
The Korean Woman 206
Korea’s Preparation for the Bible 210
The Waning Eunuch 216
A Freak of Language 221
An Affair of State 225
Private Minting 228
A New Korean 230
The Burning of the Temple 234
A Royal Funeral 238
“Belong” Small Boxer 241
The Foreign “Squeezer” 245
The Awful Kim 250
Exit Kim 254
The Opening of War 257
Prospective 262
All Good Things Are Three 265
Japan’s Task in Korea 274
Where Are We? 284
As Regards the Fates 288
Contents ix
PART TWO: OLD COREA
Corean Literature and History 293
Corea’s Noted Women 339
Yŏwa Ssi 342
Ahwang and Yŏyŏng 344
T’aeim and T’aesa 347
Wang Sogun 350
Princess Yang (Yang Kwibi) 353
Religious and Allied Themes 356
The Corean’s View of God 358
The Mirror of the Heart 368
The Worship of Confucius 378
Corea’s Filial Piety 383
How She Moved God 389
Father and Son 395
Social and Allied Subjects 403
Prohibition in Corea 406
Tea 411
Tobacco in Corea 416
Corean Paper 424
Corean Clothes 428
Corean Artists 432
Corean Chess 437
Teeth 441
Ancient Remains 445
The Tombs of Uhyŏlli 449
Ancient Burial Remains 452
When Kings Die 457
Hollanders in Corea 464
Superstitions 470
Guardians of the Year 472
One of the Immortals 474
The Spirit Medium 479