Recommended Reading

Defending the U.S. Embassy. © Martin Moos. Lonely Planet Images

• Lonely Planet's Seoul and Korea are comprehensive guides containing information about Seoul.

• One of the most up-to-date histories is Harvard University's Korean Old and New--A History of Korea, and another current title is Korea, Tradition & Transformation, by Andrew Nahm.

• Martina Deuchler's Confucian Gentlemen and Barbarian Envoys is a fine work that covers the opening of Korea between 1875 and 1885.

• A good primer, covering Shamanism, Confucianism and Buddhism is Korea's Cultural Roots, by Jon Carter Covell.

• Folk Art and Magic--Shamanism in Korea is an excellent work by Covell's son, Alan Covell.

• The book to read to understand the soul of Korean Confucianism is To Become a Sage--The Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning by Yi T'oegye.