A Guide to Korean Cultural Heritage  (2004) Korean Overseas Culture and Information Service

Korean Heritage offers an insightful look at the traditional and cultural heritage of the Korean people. A compilation of 20 items from every corner of Korean life is provided here with numerous beautiful photographs. By witnessing the beauty of Korea summed up in the 2-volume book, you can get the full briefing of the Korean culture from past to present. Korean Heritage is for anyone interested in Korean Life, thought, and culture

An Introduction to Korean Culture  (1998) Andrew Nahm and John H. Koo

This book is intended to meet the needs of the general reader. Major aspects of traditional, as well as modern Korean culture are discussed reputable scholars specializing in particular fields, and each chapter is prepared specifically to introduce a particular aspect of culture. A brief survey of Korean history and other cultural information are provided to enable the reader to fully appreciate the roots of Korean culture and the ways in which it has grown and transformed throughout the ages. For those who wish to continue their quest for greater knowledge, a selected bibliography is provided at the end of each chapter. Illustrations.

Arts of Korea  (1998) Judith E. Smith and Judith G. Smith, eds.

Examining the significant developments in Korean art from the Neolithic period to the 19th century, this volume focuses on ceramics, Buddhist sculpture, painting, metalwork and the decorative arts. Published to coincide with the opening of a permanent Arts of Korea Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the book presents colour plates selected on the basis of their place in the historical development of Korean art, their manifestation of important changes in technique and style, and their representation of Korean aesthetics. The texts set the works in political, social and cultural context.

Culture and Customs of Korea  (2000) Donald N. Clark

Culture and Customs of Korea is an excellent introduction to the Korean people and their religion, arts and literature, daily life, and customs. It presents the most important experiences that have shaped life in both North and South Korea today. These include the migration of the people from farms in the countryside to crowded city apartments, the effects of rapid industrialization, and the continuing trauma of the country's division. Accessible and highly authoritative, Culture and Customs of Korea will be the ultimate source for students and other interested readers to learn about an important Asian society and the homeland of the many Korean Americans.

Culture Shock! Korea: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette  (2008) Sonja Vegdal Hur and Ben Seunghwa Hur

Part of the ever-popular "Culture Shock!" series, this book gives the nuts-and-bolts information you need to survive and thrive in Korea. It is easy to read, accurate, and an entertaining crash courses in local customs and etiquette by offering the inside information you need whether you're a student, a parent, a globetrotter, or a working traveler. "Culture Shock! Success Secrets" guides offer relevant, practical information with the real-life insights and cultural know-how that can make the difference between business success and failure. "Culture Shock!" titles are written by someone who's lived and worked in the country. This one on Korea is packed with practical, accurate, and enjoyable information to help you find your way and feel at home.

Korean Drama Under Japanese Occupation  (2004) Plays by Ch'i-jin Yu (1905 - 1974) and Man-Sik Ch'ae (1902 - 1950) Translated by Jinhee Kim

From 1910 to 1945, Japan occupied Korea and controlled every aspect of the Korean life. This book selects three plays by two prominent Korean writers, Ch’i-jin Yu and Man-sik Ch’ae, who ventured to voice anti-Japanese sentiments in their plays despite the harsh censorship. In "The Ox", two brothers suddenly find their lives and futures disrupted by the disappearance of their family’s aging ox. "The Shack" depicts the destruction of a family that has already been progressing toward doom under the roof of the crumbling shack. In "Memorial Day", the young protagonist discovers that his family’s past converges repeatedly with the major historical upheavals of Korea.

Korea's Cultural Roots  (1981) Jon Carter Covell

Dr. Covell is a professor of Asian Art, and this book -- her eleventh -- is in itself a work of art. It is oversized and boasts 35 full-color plates and 196 black and white illustrations. Korea's Cultural Roots is a first-ever, universal approach to the history, art and religion of Korea. Beginners will delight in it while old-timers will find much to ponder. Lively and light-hearted, the book makes appealing use of verve and humor. This text is particularly insightful because Dr. Covell views Korea's cultural history through the eyes of one familiar with both China and Japan, yet she is fascinated with the unique blend of ancient and modern which comprises Korea today.

Korean Musical Instruments  (1996) Keith Howard

This book is the first complete guide available in English to Korea's music and musical instruments. Musician and scholar Keith Howard outlines the thousand-year history of music on the Korean peninsula, describes the culture's various string, wind, and percussive instruments, and catalogs the instruments currently in use or preserved in Korea.

Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea  (2005) Yong-Na Kim

Korean Culture Series #1 Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea deals with issues of tradition, modernity, and identity in modern and contemporary Korean art in Korea. On a deeper level, this is one of the only books of its kind in English that exposes readers to specific artists and their works, an especially useful resource for those who wish to know more than just surface level facts about Korean art.

Sources of Korean Tradition, Vol. 2  (2000) Yôngho Ch'oe, Peter H. Lee and Wm. Theodore de Bary, eds.

This is a collection of seminal primary readings in the social, intellectual, and religious traditions of Korea from the sixteenth century to the present day. It lays the groundwork for understanding Korean civilization and demonstrates how leading intellectuals and public figures in Korea have looked at life, the traditions of their ancestors, and the world they lived in. The selections range from the mid- and late Chosôn dynasty in the sixteenth century, through the encounter with the West and imperialist Japan in the late ninteenth and early twentieth centuries, to the political and cultural events in South and North Korea since 1945 -ending with President Kim Taejung´s 1998 inaugural address.