Reading the ‘real’ stories of history—unheard elsewhere—felt like watching the making-of film for a historical drama. From the origins of expressions like ‘going to get married’ and ‘going to get married off,’ to the history of excessive dowries and betrothal gifts, the actual scenes of the civil service examinations, and the story of Empress Myeongseong. However, confronting uncomfortable truths—the ruling class’s repeated incompetence and betrayal of the people, wasteful political squabbles, and even the shaman’s tyranny behind Empress Myeongseong—left me feeling deeply regretful about why such things still repeat today.

Especially since Korea’s unfortunate modern history became further distorted during the Japanese colonial period, it’s confusing where to find our roots and carry on our historical spirit. However, this book instilled in me a sense of mission to properly safeguard our history against Japan’s historical distortion and China’s Northeast Project. It might simply be a desire to escape ignorance, but I realized that only by having my own firm historical perspective can I accurately explain it to the next generation. In fact, discussing history with my children and sharing our knowledge and views has been a very rewarding time for establishing our historical perspective.

I recall remarks made by popular history lecturer Seol Min-seok during his lectures on topics like the Jeju April 3 Incident or the Gando region. I deeply agree with his view that history repeats itself, and only with accurate historical knowledge and preparedness can we prevent the recurrence of tragedies and move forward into the future. I’m now looking for my next history book, and this time, I wonder how Korean history viewed through the lens of a foreign author might be.