I’m looking for a book with a methodical and sober analysis of the history of Korea from the Korean War till present day. There’s a lot of sensationalist texts on NK given it’s isolation and secrecy for popular audiences but I’d prefer a very rigorous though not necessarily dry text.
Also, a book about the US’s economic history, trade history/international relations e.g. industrialisation the implementation of the Bretton Woods system, post-Bretton Woods, modern profiting off neocolonialism in the global south, the slave trade and imperialism.
Hello!
I have a few recommendations on the former. The Koreas (2020) by Theodore Yoo is a brisk trot through 20th century Korean history, albeit with a heavier emphasis on the Korean War and the division of the peninsula. I didn't really enjoy it while I was reading it, but I believe it's meant to be a primer text rather than something for people who are already very familiar
For more on the Korean War, the aptly named The Korean War (2010) by the eminent Bruce Cumings is another text aimed for popular audiences that rests on a wealth of thorough archival evidence.
Cumings' 2005 edition of Korea's Place in the Sun is a great read that includes more recent Korean history. Very passionate and influenced by the Bush administration's "axis of evil" discourse against North Korea at the time, it nonetheless is a serious work and commentary with a balanced view of North and South Korea. Some may find his informal style of writing bothersome, but having interacted with the man in real life, he writes how he talks in a conversation, which I thought was refreshing.
In undergrad I remember reading A History of Korea: From Land of the Morning Calm to States in Conflict by Jinwung Kim, which was a broad overview of Korean history and whose second half would be of relevance to your query. I felt it was dry but rigorous, and a valuable broad resource to return to until I became more specialized as a graduate student.
The Making of Modern Korea by Adrian Buzo is another work which offers a broad overview ofb20th century Korean history, which similarly has the intention of being a primer text for new students of Korean history or IR in Asia. I enjoyed it greatly. Buzo has a number of other books on South and Norfh Korea, but I have not read them myself and cannot make recommendations. You however, may find titles that interest you.
Background: PhD student with a field in Modern East Asian history.