Audiobook of the week

I am listening to the Librivox version of Isabella Bird's visit to Japan on Librivox. Actually the reader is good and so I have it on when I go to sleep. They have several of her books there: LINK

and for those who prefer the comic book version of her Japanese trip, check this out.

She also visited Korea, and although the book is on internet archive, I read a new released epub version of it on Scribd.

Much of the earlier part of the book is full of complaints of Korea being dirty (she does a lot of complaining about this in all her books...and this includes western countries, including Scotland and the slums of London so it's not just anti Asian sentiment) and she points out the corruption; but as she visits more, her attitude changes. Alas, unlike Japan, she had to travel with a westerner to translate/interpret what was going on, but as the book progresses, there are many observations of the country, the last monarchs, and the pros and cons of the Japanese take over, which at first she supports as a way to reform but then notes their cruelty and bad policies.

She also took Photos:

But now Librivox has released an audiobook version of the book.

From their description of the book:

Isabella's sojourn coincided with a time of great turmoil in Korea. Shortly after her arrival, the Japanese occupied the country, ostensibly to protect their expatriate community. But when relations worsend further, Isabella was forced to flee, first to Manchuria, and, after the outbreak of the first Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895), to Russia.

She returned to Korea only days after the assassination of Queen Min in October 1895, and saw King Gojong reduced to a mere "salaried automaton" until he fled to the Russian Legation in 1896.

Isabella, having had several audiences with the monarchs throughout her stay in Seoul, gives a first hand account of the political and governmental changes throughout this time. Altogether, this is a fascinating account of Korea at a time when the country was not only torn between tradition and modernisation, but also found herself a pawn of Japan, China, and Russia, all vying for control in the Far East. (Summary by Availle)

more here:

 

....no, I do not know much about Korean history, and am posting this as I learn about it.