A selective abridgement of the Sourcebook of Korean civilization v. 2 (1996), intended to be read alongside general historical accounts and to give readers a sense of how participants and observers viewed major historical and cultural developments . The focus of the series overall is more on the social and civic than on the broadly humanistic and literary. The volume comprises the text of letters, speeches, manifestos, essays, proclamations, and other documents that comment on politics, education, reform proposals, society and culture, philosophy, encounters with the West, and specific historic events, concluding with the 1998 inaugural address of South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)