Reviews
The content is excellent. It is the most regrettable moment in our history.
The comparison between Joseon and Japan holds significant historical value.
It is true that Joseon was an incompetent nation. I read this book because it was recommended, given the lack of objective books on the subject. However, one must be wary of the author's distorted feminist victim mentality. For example, let's look at the end of page 283. It makes me feel a bit stifled when posts appear claiming that they felt a pang of sadness seeing a mother's hands—fingers crooked from frostbite after suffering doing laundry in cold water—or that mothers with such hands are
Let's stay awake!!
There is a change in thinking.
While learning our history, we frequently heard narratives such as the ideal of "Hongik Ingan" (benefiting all humanity), being a homogeneous nation, the "White-Clothed People," a globally superior people, and a peace-loving nation that has never invaded another country. Subconsciously, our country came to be perceived as a good nation with proud ancestors. To some extent, it may be necessary to glorify history and rationalize our past to boost national pride. However, considering that failing
Moon So-young: Ugly Joseon
*Ugly Joseon* is a book that sheds new light on the Joseon Dynasty from the 16th to the 18th centuries. It reveals the seeds of reforms aspiring for modernity emerging in a Joseon prior to its modernization under the coercion of foreign powers. Was there no gap between the "Royal Family" and the "People," and between the "Institution" and "Reality"? Why was the once-flourishing Joseon inevitably doomed to collapse in the 19th century? Conversely, how was Japan, which we dismissed as barbarians, able to emerge as a superpower? This book begins with these questions.
Korean title: 못난 조선
Korean author: 문소영
Korean publisher: 나남
ISBN-13: 9788930087162
Reviews
The content is excellent. It is the most regrettable moment in our history.
The comparison between Joseon and Japan holds significant historical value.
It is true that Joseon was an incompetent nation. I read this book because it was recommended, given the lack of objective books on the subject. However, one must be wary of the author's distorted feminist victim mentality. For example, let's look at the end of page 283. It makes me feel a bit stifled when posts appear claiming that they felt a pang of sadness seeing a mother's hands—fingers crooked from frostbite after suffering doing laundry in cold water—or that mothers with such hands are
Let's stay awake!!
There is a change in thinking.
While learning our history, we frequently heard narratives such as the ideal of "Hongik Ingan" (benefiting all humanity), being a homogeneous nation, the "White-Clothed People," a globally superior people, and a peace-loving nation that has never invaded another country. Subconsciously, our country came to be perceived as a good nation with proud ancestors. To some extent, it may be necessary to glorify history and rationalize our past to boost national pride. However, considering that failing
