Reading the Korean Cultural Landscape

The 21st century is the age of culture, and thus cultural competition will intensify among countries. The internal or regional diversity in a national culture is necessary for a nation to develop its own cultural capability. If Koreans comprehend their own national culture as a mixture of many regional cultures, they will be more prepared to adapt themselves to the process of globalization. Cultural geography is still not a popular field in Korea. However, Dr. Ryu shows its usefulness here as a tool for seeking a new vision. He adapts his deep experience in cultural geography to Korea’s long history of over 5,000 years and its complicated cultural phenomena. He looks forward to seeing widened geographical discussion of Korean culture in the future. Books about geography usually show areas with their provinces, boundaries or geographical districts, but Dr. Ryu shows Korean landscapes with their religious, folk, linguistic, rural and urban aspects. With this book, you can see many interesting stories of Korean landscapes related to towns, cities, and districts. —Amazon.com