TY  - BOOK
AU  - Haboush,JaHyun Kim
TI  - Epistolary Korea: letters in the communicative space of the Chosŏn, 1392-1910 
SN  - 9780231148023 (cloth : alk. paper)
U1  - 895.72 22
PY  - 2009///
CY  - New York
PB  - Columbia University Press
KW  - Korean letters
KW  - Translation into English
KW  - Korean literature
KW  - To 1900
KW  - Korea
KW  - History
KW  - Chosŏn dynasty, 1392-1910
KW  - Sources
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (p. [419]-432) and index; eee
N2  - "By expanding the definition of "epistle" to include any writing that addresses the intended receiver directly, JaHyun Kim Haboush introduces readers to the rich epistolary practice of Chosŏn Korea. The Chosŏn dynasty (1392-1910) produced an abundance of epistles, writings that mirror the genres of neighboring countries (especially China) while retaining their own specific historical trajectory. Written in both literary Chinese and vernacular Korean, the writings collected here range from royal public edicts to private letters, a fascinating array that blurs the line between classical and everyday language and the divisions between men and women. Haboush's selections also recast the relationship between epistolography and the concept of public and private space. Haboush groups her epistles according to where they were written and read : public letters, letters to colleagues and friends, social letters, and family letters. Then she arranges them according to occasion : letters on leaving home, deathbed letters, letters of fiction, and letters to the dead. She examines the mechanics of epistles, their communicative space, and their cultural and political meaning. With its wholly unique collection of materials, "Epistolary Korea" produces more than a vivid chronicle of pre- and early modern Korean life. It breaks new ground in establishing the terms of a distinct, non-European form of epistolography."-- Back cover
ER  -