Last updated April 28, 2011
Ancient books about Korea online
An expanded page
with the text of and the photos from Isabella Bird's Korea and
her Neighbors (1898), with additional photos of Korea taken by
her.
An expanded page with the text
of and the illustrations from Constance Tayler's Koreans at Home
(1904).
James Gale's version of The
Cloud Dream of the Nine, a 17th-century novel by Kim
Man-jung published in 1922.
I have received files of 3 "missionary novels" by Lois Hawks Swineheart
: "Jane in the Orient", "Sarange: A Child of Chosen" and "Korea Calls!"
These books are not yet in the public domain so these files may not be
accessed legally for another 10 years or so. They are simply resting
here in the meantime.
Catalogue of
an exhibition of poetry books and fiction published in Korea between
1945 and 1950. At the library of the University of Washington,
Seattle.
Project Gutenberg texts
Account of a Voyage of
Discovery to the West Coast of Corea, and the Great Loo-Choo Island (1818)
by
Basil
Hall
Corea or Cho-sen by
A. Henry Savage Landor (1895) - An HTML version with fully scanned
pictures is available here.
Our Little Korean Cousin
by Henry Lee Mitchell Pike (1905) - Online version complete with
the original pictures here.
Korea’s Fight for
Freedom by F. A. McKenzie (1920) - a book which expands his earlier
arguments presented in The Tragedy of Korea (see below) (on
another site a PDF file)
The Dutch text of Hendrik Hamel's Journal, Verhaal
van het vergaan van het jacht de Sperwer En van het wedervaren der
schipbreukelingen op het eiland Quelpaert en het vasteland van Korea
(1653-1666) met eene beschrijving van dat rijk, published in 1920
Internet Archive texts
(To start a new search for other online texts, go to the Internet archive
then click on "Texts" at the top of the page. Enter a search term (eg
Korea). Some books are available as PDF images of the original, all can
be read in a streaming form, raw OCR files of all can be downloaded).
The list below is in alphabetical order of the author's family name. It
is restricted to books of
which a pdf image is available.
Horace Newton Allen, Things
Korean (1908) PDF
download
Henry Gerhard Appenzeller, The Korea
Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1905) PDF
download
Annie Laurie Adams Baird, Daybreak
in Korea : a tale of transformation in the Far East (1909) PDF
download
Frederick Henry Balfour, Leaves
from
my
Chinese
Scrapbook (1887) PDF
download
William Richard Carles, Life in Corea
(1888) PDF
download
Charles Allen Clark, First
Fruits in Korea (1921) PDF
download
Everard Cotes, Signs and
Portents in the Far East (1907) PDF
download
Constance J. D. Coulson, Korea (1910) PDF
download.
M. Eissler, My Voyage
in Korea (1918) PDF
download
James Scarth Gale, A
Korean-English Dictionary (1898) PDF
download
James Scarth Gale, Korean
Sketches (1898) PDF
download
James Scarth Gale, The
Vanguard, a Tale of Korea (1904) PDF
download
James Scarth Gale, Korea in
Transition (1909) PDF
download
James Scarth Gale, Im Bang & Yi Ryuk, Korean
Folk
Tales (1913) PDF
download
Daniel L. Gifford, Everyday
Life in Korea (1898) PDF
download
George W. Gilmore, Corea of
Today (1894) PDF
download
William Elliot Griffis, Corea,
the
Hermit
Nation (4th edition, 1894) PDF
download (See also 1st
edition with PDF
file)
William Elliot Griffis, A
modern Pioneer in Korea: The life-story of Henry G. Appenzeller
(1912) PDF
Download
Basil Hall, Voyage
to
Loo-Choo . . . (1826) PDF
download
Angus Hamilton, Korea
(1904) PDF
download
Angus Hamilton, Korea:
its history, its people, and its commerce (1910) PDF
download
Homer B. Hulbert, The
Passing of Korea (1906) PDF
download
Homer B. Hulbert, The
History of Korea, Volume 1 (1905) PDF
download
Homer B. Hulbert, The
History of Korea, Volume 2 (1905) PDF
download
Homer B. Hulbert (editor) The Korea
Review, Volume 2 (1902)
PDF of corrected text DejaVu
version
Homer B. Hulbert (editor) The
Korea Review, Volume 3 (1903) DejaVu
version
Homer B. Hulbert (editor) The
Korea Review, Volume 4 (1904) DejaVu
version
Homer B. Hulbert (editor) The Korea
Review, Volume 5 (1905) DejaVu
version
George Heber Jones, Korea,
the land, people, and customs (1907) PDF
download
George Heber Jones, The
Bible in Korea (1916) PDF
download
Emily Georgiana Kemp, The Face
of Manchuria, Korea and Russian Turkestan (1911) PDF
download
George Trumbull Ladd, In
Korea with Marquis Ito (1908) PDF
download
Arnold Henry Savage Landor, Corea,
or
Cho-sen:
the
land
of
the
morning
calm (1895) PDF
download
Elizabeth A. McCully, A Corn of
Wheat: The Life of W. J. McKenzie of Korea (1904) PDF
download
Fred Arthur McKenzie, The
colonial policy of Japan in Korea (1906) PDF
download
F. A. McKenzie, The
Tragedy of Korea (1908) PDF
download
Fred Arthur McKenzie, Korea’s
Fight for Freedom (1920) PDF
download
Louise Jordan Miln, Quaint
Korea (1895) PDF
Download
John M'Leod, Narrative
of
a
voyage
in
His
Majesty's
late
ship
Alceste . . . (1817) PDF
download
William Arthur Noble, Ewa, A
Tale of Korea (1906) PDF
download
Henry Davenport Northrop & John Russell Young, The
Flowery Kingdom and the Land of the Mikado, or China Japan and Corea
. . (1894) PDF
download
Arthur Loton Ridger, A
Wanderer's Trail: being a faithful record of travels in many lands
(1914) esp. chapters 12-14 about Korea. PDF
download
William Woodville Rockhill, Korea's
Intercourse
with
China (1905) PDF
download
John Ross, Corean
Primer (1877) PDF
download
James Scott, A
Korean Manual or Phrase Book (1893) PDF
download
Frederick Starr, Korean
Buddhism (1918) PDF
download
Anna M. Stoddart, The
life of Isabella Bishop (1906) PDF
download
Mark Napier Trollope, The
Church in Corea (1915) PDF
download
Horace Grant Underwood, The Call
of Korea: political, social, religious (1908) PDF
download
Lillias H. Underwood, With
Tommy Tompkins in Korea (1905) PDF
download
Lillias H. Underwood, Fifteen
Years among the Topknots or Life in Korea (1904) PDF
download
Lillias H. Underwood, Underwood
of Korea (1918) PDF
download
Peter Vay, Empires
and
Emperors
of
Russia,
China,
Korea
and
Japan (1906) PDF
download
Internet Archive Books in French
(mostly without PDF file)
Charles Dallet, Histoire
de
l'Eglise
de
Coree (1874) full
text
from
scan
Dictionnaire
coreen-francais (1880) PDF
download
(Félix Clair Ridel) : Grammaire
coréenne: précédée d'un introduction
sur le caractère de la langue coréenne, sa comparaison
avec le chinois, etc., suivie d'un appendice sur la division du temps,
les poids et mesures, la boussole, la généalogie, avec un
cours d'exercices gradués pour faciliter l'étude pratique
de la langue. 1881.
R. Villetard de Laguérie, La
Coree, independante, russe, ou japonaise: ouvrage contenant
cinquante illustrations d'apres des photographies 1898
Maurice Jametel, La
Corée avant les Traités: souvenirs de voyages. 1885
Georges Ducrocq, Pauvre
et Douce Corée. 1904 5eme edition.
Camille Auguste Jean Sainson trad., Les Origines
de la Corée: (extrait du Tong-kouo-thong-kienn), 1895
Fernand Scherzer trad, Journal
d’une Mission en Coréé par Kuei-ling (ambassadeur de
S.M. l’Empereur de la Chine, 1866) 1877
Maurice Courant, Bibliographie
Coréenne Tableau Littéraire De La Coree Contenant la
nomenclature des ouvrages publiés dans ce pays jusqu'en 1890
ainsi que la description et l'analyse détaillées des
principaux d'entre ces ouvrages.
Arthur Piacentini, Mgr Ridel,
évêque de Philippolis, vicaire apostolique de Corée
: d'après sa correspondance. 1890. PDF
download
Vie
de Michel Alexandre Petitnicolas : prêtre de la
Société des Missions-Étrangères
décapité pour la foi en Corée le 12 mars 1866 .
1891
M. Le Colonel Chaille-Long-Bey, La
Corée ou Tchösen (la terre du calme matinal)
1894. PDF
download
Jean-Baptiste Du Halde S.J., (1674-1743), Description
géographique, historique, chronologique, politique, et physique
de l'empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise, enrichie des cartes
générales et particulieres de ces pays, de la carte
générale et des cartes particulieres du Thibet, & de
la Corée; & ornée d'un grand nombre de figures &
de vignettes gravées en tailledouce (revised edition
1736) Volume 1
(Vol
1
PDF
dowload); Volume 2
(Vol
2
PDF
download); Volume 3
(Vol
3
PDF
download); Volume 4
(Vol
4
PDF
download)
[observations geographiques + historiques etc sur la Corée
à partir de page 529 – 560 du volume 4]
The University of Oregon
Digital Library
There are some titles listed here that are also to be found in the
Internet Archive
entries above. All the below are PDF files. The Library also has many
titles in other formats, requiring other readers, mostly the Microsoft
Reader.
It seems impossible to view a straight list of what is available, you
have to use Search functions. It includes:
Allen, Horace N. A
Chronological Index; Some of the Chief Events in the Foreign
Intercourse of Korea from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the
Twentieth Century. Seoul: N.n., 1901.
Attack
on
the
Top
Knot. The Korean Repository, Vol. III (July,
1896), pp. 263-272.
Avison, O.R. Cholera
in
Seoul. The Korean Repository, Vol. II (September, 1895),
pp 339-344.
Avison, O.R. Disease
in
Korea. The Korean Repository, Vol. IV (March, 1897), pp.
207-211
Boots, J.L. Korean
Musical
Instruments
and
An
Introduction
to
Korean Music.
Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol.
XXX, (1940), pp. 1-32.
Bowman, N.H. History
of
Korean
Medicine. Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal
Asiatic Society, Vol. VI, Part I (1915), pp. 1-34.
Carles, W.R. Life
in
Corea. New York: Macmillan, 1888.
Carles, W.R. Life
in
Corea. New York: MacMillan,1894.
Denny, O.N. China
and
Korea. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1888.
Gale, Jas. S. Korean
Coolie. The Korean Repository, Vol.III (December, 1896),
pp. 475-481.
Gale, Jas. S. Trip
Across
Northern
Korea. The Korean Repository, Vol.IV
(March,1897), pp. 81-89
Gale, Jas. S. Hanyang
(Seoul). Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society, Vol. II, Part II (1902), pp. 1-43.
Gale, James S. The
Vanguard:
A
Tale
of
Korea. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1904.
Gale, Jas. S. "The
Korean
Alphabet". Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal
Asiatic Society, Vol. IV, Part I (1912), pp. 13-61.
Gale, Jas. S. Selection
and
Divorce. Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal
Asiatic Society, Vol. IV, Part III (1913), pp. 17-22.
Im Bang and Yi Ryuk. Korean
Folk
Tales:
Imps,
Ghosts,
and
Fairies.
Trans. by James S. Gale.
London: Dent, 1913.
Gale, Jas. S. Shipwreck
(Korean)
in
1636
A.D.. ., Transactions of the Korea Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XV (1924), pp. 1-22.
Gifford, Daniel L. "Ancestral
Worship
as
Practiced
in
Korea". The Korean Repository, Vol.
I (June, 1892), pp. 169-176.
Goodrich, L.
Carrington. Sino-Korean
Relations
at
the
End
of
the
XIV Century. Transactions of the Korea
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XXX, (1940), pp. 33-46.
Griffis, William
Elliot. Corea:
the
Hermit
Nation. New York: Scribner's, 1894.
Griffis, William
Elliot. A
Modern
Pioneer
in
Korea:
the
Life
Story of Henry G. Appenzeller.
New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1912.
His
Majesty,
the
King
of
Korea. The Korean Repository, Vol. III
(November, 1896), pp. 424-431
Hodge, John W. Corean
Words
and
Phrase,
Being
a
Handbook
and Pocket Dictionary for Visitors
to Corea and New Arrivals in the Country. Seoul: The Seoul Press
--- Hodge & Co.,1902.
Hulbert, Homer B. Korean
Vocal
Music. The Korean Repository, Vol. III (February, 1896), pp.
45-53.
Hulbert, H.B. The
Geomancer. The Korean Repository, Vol.III (October, 1896),
pp. 387-391.
Hulbert, H.B. Itu.
The Korean Repository, Vol.V (February, 1898), pp.47-54.
Hulbert, H.B. The
History
of
Korea
[vol.
1]. Seoul: The Methodist Publishing House,
1905.
Hulbert, H.B. The
History
of
Korea
[vol.
2]. Seoul: The Methodist Publishing House,
1905.
Hulbert, H.B. Passing
of
Korea. New York: Doubleday, 1906.
Hulbert, Homer B. Japan
in
Korea. Journal of Race Development, Vol.10, No.3 (January,
1920), pp. 270-277.
Hunt, Charles. Some
Pictures
and
Painters
of
Corea. Transactions of the Korea Branch of
the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XIX (1930), pp. 1-34.
Jones, George Heber. The
Japanese
Invasion. The Korean Repository (January, 1892), pp.
10-16; (February, 1892), pp. 46-50: (April, 1892), pp. 116-121; (May,
1892), pp. 147-152; (June, 1892), pp. 182-188; (July, 1892), pp.
217-222; (October, 1892), pp. 308-311.
Jones, George Heber. Some
Aspects
of
Reform
in
Korea. The Journal of Race Development, Vol. 1
(July, 1910), pp. 18-35.
Junkin, William M. Tong
Hak. The Korean Repository, Vol. II (February, 1895), pp.
56-61.
Kiriyama Sainosuke. Chosen
of
To-day:
Illustrated. Keijo: Chikasawa Printing House, 1929
Koons, E.W. Afforestation
in
Korea. Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society, Vol. VI --- Part I (1915), pp. 35-42.
Korean
Ginseng. The Korean Repository, Vol. V (May, 1898), pp.
161-170.
Ladd, George Trumbull "Economic
and
Social
Change
in
Korea". The Journal of Race Development, Vol.
1 (July, 1910), pp. 248-253.
Landis, E.B. Geomancy
in
Korea. The Korean Repository, Vol.V (February, 1898),
pp.41-46.
Lay, Arthur Hyde. "Marriage
Customs
of
Korea". Transactions of the Korea Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. IV, Part III (1913), pp. 1-15.
Longford, Joseph H. The
Story
of
Korea. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1911.
Lowell, Percival. Choson:
The
Land
of
the
Morning
Calm. Boston: Tickner, 1886.
MacNair, Harley Farnsworth. Pilgrimage
to
the
Diamond
Mountains. China Journal of Science and Arts, Vol.
1, No. 6 (November, 1923), pp 573-579.
Miura, C. The
Problem
of
Korean
Assimilation. The Japan Magazine, Vol. XII,
no.I-III ( July-August, 1921) pp. 130-134.
Moffett, S.A. Suggestions
on
Travelling
in
Korea. The Korean Repository (November, 1892), pp.
325-330.
Noble, W. Arthur. Ewa:
a Tale of Korea. New York: Eaton & Mains, 1906.
Nocentini, Ludovico. "Names
of
the
Sovereigns
of
the
Old
Corean States, and Chronological Table of
the Present Dynasty". Journal of the China Branch of the Royal
Asiatic Society, Vol. XXII, New Series (1887), pp. 90-99.
Oppert, Ernest. A
Forbidden
Land
;
Voyages
to
the
Corea. London: Sampson, Low,
Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1880.
Paske, J. The
Corean
School
System. East of Asia Magazine, Vol. II (1903), pp.
24-30.
Pictorial
Chosen
and
Manchuria. Seoul: The Bank of Chosen, 1919.
Rufus, W. Carl. "The
Celestial
Planisphere
of
King
Yi
Tai-jo". Transactions of the
Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. IV, Part III
(1913), pp. 23-72.
Scherzer, F. "Corea".
Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,
Vol. XVIII, New Series (1883), pp. 25-36.
Seven
Months
Among
the
Tong
Haks. The Korean Repository, Vol. II
(June, 1895), pp. 201-208
Starr, Frederick. Korean
Buddhism. The Journal of Race Development, Vol. 11, No. 1
(July, 1918), pp. 71-84.
Trumbull, George. The
Development
of
Korea
in
Most
Recent
Times. The Journal of Race
Development, Vol. 8, No.4 (April, 1918), pp. 431-438.
Underwood, Horace H. Occidental
Literature
on
Korea. Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal
Asiatic Society, Vol. XX (1931), pp. 1-186,i-xvi.
Underwood, L. H. Fifteen
Years
Among
the
Top-Knots
or
Life
in Korea. Boston: American Tract
Society, 1904.
Van Buskirk, J.D. Some
Common
Korean
Foods. Transactions of the Korea Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XIV (1923), pp. 1-8.
Wagner, Ellasue
Canter. Kim
Su
Bang
and
Other
Stories
of
Korea. Nashville: M.E. Church, South,
1909.
Wilkinson, W.H. Korean
Chess. The Korean Repository, Vol. II (March,1895), pp.
88-95.
The Hathi Trust
A
number of texts about Korea can be viewed (not downloaded)
through this site, while many others can be searched but not viewed.
Among interesting things are:
The Korean
Repository Volume 1 (1892) NB The
Internet Archive offers The
Korean Repository Volume 3 (1896) with a
DejaVu
version for viewing or another,
simpler
clearer viewer
Chosön,
the
land
of
the
morning
calm; a sketch of Korea by Lowell,
Percival, 1855-1916. Published 1888
Korea
from its capital: with a chapter on missions by Gilmore, George
William, 1858-1933. Published 1892
Korean
tales; being a collection of stories translated from the Korean
folk lore, together with introductory chapters descriptive of Korea, by
Allen, Horace Newton, 1858-1932. Published 1889
The
truth about Korea by Kendall, Carlton Waldo. Published 1919