Sheila Miyoshi Jager
Narratives of Nation Building in Korea: A Genealogy of Patriotism.
Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2003. First printing 076561068X xv/193 pages.
Softcover volume, measuring approximately 6.25" x 9.25", exhibits light shelfwear. Binding is sound. Interior is clean and bright. Illustrated with b&w photos.
"This book offers new insight on how key historical texts and events in Korea's history have contributed to the formation of the nation's collective consciousness. The work is woven around the unifying premise that particular narrative texts/events that extend back to the premodern period have remained important, albeit transformed, over the modern period and into the contemporary period. The author explores the relationship between gender and nationalism by showing how key narrative topics, such as tales of virtuous womanhood, have been employed, transformed, and re-deployed to make sense of particular national events. Connecting these narratives and historic events to contemporary Korean society, Jager reveals how these "sites" - or reference points - were also successfully re-deployed in the context of the division of Korea and the construction of Korea's modern consciousness."