Village Life in Korea

Vivid and picturesque description of Korea in the dawn of the 20th century. Written by Rev. Jacob Robert Moose (1864-1928), an American missionary, who came to Korea in 1989 to serve the Korean mission fields for 25 years. Readers will be amused by the vitality of Korea depicted with love and affection a century ago.


Village Life in Korea


While one may find no less than a handful of books about Korea written in the turn of the century, Village Life in Korea written by Rev. Moose uniquely stands out for its empathetic storytelling of the commoners' life in Korean villages, drawn on the author's firsthand experience acquired among the people of Korea in the villages far removed from the outer world.


The book tells a story on Korea and its people in such a way that the author shares it with a company composed of men, women, and children who are anxious to learn more about the untold stories of the nation which had been often referred to as the Hermit Kingdom until the late 19th century.


After an insightful introduction to Korea in the opening chapters,


Geographical Sketch
Resources
Historical Sketch
The Capital



the book begins to unroll its story on the village life.


The Village
The Village Family
The Village Inn



The book, then, moves on to tell stories on the village people, so vividly that, while reading the next chapters, one may feel as if they were visiting the village back in time.


The Village Boy
The Village Gentleman
The Village Girl
The Village Woman
The Village School
The Village Farmer
The Village Mechanic
The Village Merchant
The Village Doctor
The Village Marriage
The Village Funeral
The Village Lawsuit



The last chapters of the book are dedicated to religion, and most of all, to the evangelization of Korea, the cause to which the whole life of Rev. Moose was devoted.


The Village Religion
The Village Church
Some Members of the Village Church
What Christianity is Doing for the Village



One may learn from the following excerpts from the final part of the book that Rev. Moose's belief in the evangelical enlightenment of Korea could be best attested by the miraculous development of Korea in the later part of the century.


The key to the future of Korea may be found in the power which Christianity is now instilling into the lives of the village people. ... Let the villages in Korea become completely Christianized, and the future of a happy and prosperous people will be assured, regardless of who may hold the reins of power in the political realm.


Virtuo Digital Edition


The Virtuo Digital Edition by Virtuosi brings the all time classics of the past back to life with carefully revised contents and formats tailored for today's readers.