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

by James Scarth Gale, Daniel Pieper (Editor)

Overview

Redemption and Regret presents two previously unpublished typescripts of James Scarth Gale, a Canadian missionary to Korea for four decades (1888–1927). During his time in Korea, Gale developed into the foremost Western scholar of Korean history, language, and literature, completing the first translation of Korean literature into a Western language, the first translation of English literature into Korean, and the first comprehensive Korean-English dictionary. In addition to these translations, the typescripts entitled Pen Pictures of Old Korea (ca. 1910) and Old Corea (ca. 1925), each presented here with introductory essays, contain Gale’s observations of various cultural artifacts, behaviours, and practices.

Gale lived in Korea during a tumultuous and transformative period that witnessed the transition of the country from a "hermit" suzerain kingdom to an independent empire, and finally to a colonial possession of Japan. Pen Pictures of Old Korea and Old Corea preserve what Gale viewed as inevitably fated for extinction. This realization imbues his writings with a sense of ambivalence towards the "passing" of traditional Korea – owing to the conflict between his profound admiration for pre-modern Korean culture and his Western missionary identity, which demanded that the country adapt to a modern, Christian world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487504342
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	04/27/2021
Series:	James Scarth Gale Library of Korean Literature
Pages:	680
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.45(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James Scarth Gale was a Canadian Presbyterian missionary, educator, and Bible translator in Korea.
Daniel Pieper is a Lecturer in East Asian Languages and Cultures at Washington University in St. Louis.

Table of Contents

Series Preface
Illustrations
Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Pen Pictures of Old Korea

Korean Songs and Verses
Eternal Life
Tobacco in Korea
Concerning the Occult
A Note of Warning
On and Off the Street Car
A Sample of Korean Labour Song
Marriage in Korea
Pak’s Experiences
The Mystery of It
The Family Line
Korea’s Electric Shocks
"Broken Earthenware"
Unconscious Korea
Korean Literature
A New Style of Courtship
Korea’s Receding Pantheon
Stone Fights
Standing for One’s Rights
That Old Dragon
Happy Yi
My Lord the Elephant
The Displeasure of the Rain God
Korean New Year’s
The Korean Woman
Korea’s Preparation for the Bible
The Waning Eunuch
A Freak of Language
An Affair of State
Private Minting
A New Korean
The Burning of the Temple
A Royal Funeral
Belong Small Boxer
The Foreign Squeezer
The Awful Kim
Exit Kim
The Opening of War
Prospective
All Good Things Are Three
Japan’s Task in Korea
Where Are We?
As Regards the Fate

Part II: Old Corea

Corean Literature and History

Corea’s Noted Women
Yowa Ssi
Ahwang and Yoyong 
T’aeim and T’aesa
Wang Sogun
Princess Yang

The Corean’s View of God
The Mirror of the Heart
The Worship of Confucius
Corea’s Filial Piety
How She Moved to God
Father and Son

Social and Allied Subjects
Prohibition in Corea
Tea
Tobacco in Corea
Corean Paper
Corean Clothes
Corean Artists
Corean Chess
Teeth

Ancient Remains
The Tombs of Uhyolli
Ancient Burial Remains
When Kings Die
Hollanders in Corea

Superstitions
Guardians of the Year
One of the Immortals
The Spirit Medium

Short Stories
The Spoiled Boy
Yi Changgon
A Question of Conscience
Worthy Prince and Lucky Girls
Powers of Imitation
The Tartar Hunter

Miscellaneous
The Dancing Girl
Music
Corean Transportation
Flies
The Rainy Season
A Trip to Sorae Beach

Poems
My Shadow by Yi Talch’ung
Clouds and Mountains by Yi Talch’ung
The Good and Bad of It by Yi Talch’ung
The Falling Flowers by Won Kam
The Joys of Nature by Yi Talch’ung
A Spell against the Tiger by Hong Yangho
Tribute to a Needle by Mrs. Yoo
The Wild Goose by Hong Yangho
A Far-Eastern Francis of Assisi by Song Hyon
The Snow by Yi Chehyon
The Cackling Priest by Yi Chesin

The Story of Unyong

Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Mark E. Caprio

“Redemption and Regret resurrects the writings of James Scarth Gale, a pioneer of Korean studies within whose footsteps many a student has journeyed. It shows the many windows that this often-misunderstood missionary/scholar opened to Korea's past, which he artistically meshed with the Korea of his day. Daniel Pieper's excellent commentaries succeed in connecting Gale's writings with contemporary Korean linguistics, culture, and society.”

Michael Seth

“The Canadian missionary James Scarth Gale as one of the first Westerners to master the Korean language and immerse himself in its literary tradition provides a unique window into Korea during its early transition into the modern world. This collection includes his 'Pen Pictures' nicely written observations of a now lost world of early modern Korea seen from a Western observer, as well as some of his essays on and translations of Korean literature. While his understanding of Korea was also colored by his notions of Christian superiority and of Western civilization as the font of human progress, his admiration and love of Korea's cultural tradition set him apart from most of his contemporaries. This book with its helpful introductions will likely be read with pleasure by anyone who shares Gale's interest if not also his affection for Korea.”

Young-mee Yu Cho

“Redemption and Regret finally reveals to the world one of the most significant legacies of James Scarth Gale, the foremost scholar missionary through a carefully curated examination of two of his unpublished works, 'Pen Pictures of Old Korea' and 'Old Corea' after a century of its production.”

Editorial Reviews

"Redemption and Regret resurrects the writings of James Scarth Gale, a pioneer of Korean studies within whose footsteps many a student has journeyed. It shows the many windows that this often-misunderstood missionary/scholar opened to Korea’s past, which he artistically meshed with the Korea of his day. Daniel Pieper’s excellent commentaries succeed in connecting Gale’s writings with contemporary Korean linguistics, culture, and society."—Mark E. Caprio, professor of Intercultural Communication, Rikkyo University
"Redemption and Regret finally reveals to the world one of the most significant legacies of James Scarth Gale, the foremost scholar missionary through a carefully curated examination of two of his unpublished works, ‘Pen Pictures of Old Korea’ and ‘Old Corea’ after a century of its production."—Young-mee Yu Cho, associate professor of Korean Language and Culture, Rutgers University
"The Canadian missionary James Scarth Gale as one of the first Westerners to master the Korean language and immerse himself in its literary tradition provides a unique window into Korea during its early transition into the modern world. This collection includes his ‘Pen Pictures’ nicely written observations of a now lost world of early modern Korea seen from a Western observer, as well as some of his essays on and translations of Korean literature. While his understanding of Korea was also colored by his notions of Christian superiority and of Western civilization as the font of human progress, his admiration and love of Korea’s cultural tradition set him apart from most of his contemporaries. This book with its helpful introductions will likely be read with pleasure by anyone who shares Gale’s interest if not also his affection for Korea."—Michael Seth, Professor, Department of History, James Madison University

From the Publisher