Korean Ancient Origins: Tales of Heroes, Gods & Monsters

Beautiful edition with a new introduction to the intriguing and unique history of Korea, its mythology and its people.

Korea’s myths and folklore are rooted in the ancient history of a land inhabited since Neolithic times. The earliest years are subject to myth with some references to the Gojoseon Kingdom being found in the northern region of Korea and Southern province of China in the 2300s BCE. Records become more reliable from the middle of the first millennium BCE before a 700-year stretch which is referred to as The Three Kingdom period before the ultimate domination of one of those Kingdoms, Silla, roughly at the time of the Viking Age in Europe and Scandinavia. Before long, though, the Mongol invasions of Korea in the 1200s overwhelmed the local rulers. Over 200 years later the Joseon Dynasty swept to power, heralding a golden era of independence, scientific and social development, and the creation of the Korean alphabet. This beautiful new book explores the ancient history of Korea through curated extracts form classic historical texts complemented by insightful new introductions from Stella Xu.

Flame Tree Collector’s Editions present the foundations of speculative fiction, authors, myths and tales without which the imaginative literature of the twentieth century would not exist, bringing the best, most influential and most fascinating works into a striking and collectable library. Each book features a new introduction, and lists of Ancient Kings & Leaders or a Glossary of Terms.

Stella Xu (Introduction) is John R. Turbyfill Endowed Chair and Professor of History at Roanoke College in Virginia, where she teaches East Asian history. She received her PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research topics include history and historiography of Korea; Korean-Chinese relations; nationalism in East Asia; history, memory and popular culture; contemporary historical disputes in East Asia; and early Korean-US relations from the late-nineteenth to the early-twentieth centuries. Her essays and book reviews have appeared in Korean Studies, Journal of Korean Studies, Pacific Affairs, ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts, Women and Social Movement in the United States, 1600-2000 and Japanese Studies Association Journal. Her book, Reconstructing Ancient Korean History: The Formation of Korean-ness in the Shadow of History (Lexington Books) was published in June, 2016.