Korean Travel Narratives, 1100s-1930s

Knowledge about the world transformed over history: civilization, empire, East-West encounter, and postcolonial homelessness are frames that link identity and space. Reading travelogues by Koreans and about Korea, we will pursue two goals. We will analyze the epistemic coordinates of travelogue that produces knowledge about self and other. And we will note the changing historical contexts around Korea, which defined the modes of mobility for shipwreck survivors, prisoners of war, Christian missionaries, Japanese colonial officials, and communist guerilla fighters. Korea will provide us with a concrete vantage point upon the larger world.