by Pyongchoon Hahm

size: A5, 250pages. publisher: Myongwhasa, 1995.


About this book

This is the third printing of a book which marked a milestone in Korean studies. It was the first of a new Monograph Series appearing under the auspices of the Royal Asiatic Society, written by an eminently qualified Korean academician.
Here is an insightful and vigorous study of a profound problem: how to apply cherished Western ideals of law to the Korean situation, where political values and institutions have been consciously modeled after those of ancient China.
What is the function of law and social justice in "late-developing" Asian countries? In view of Korea's socio-economic tradition, can these abstract Western principles find meaningful application in the practical sphere in such problems as abortion, usury, property rights, penitentiaries, and the treatment of the insane?
As David I. Steinberg observes in his foreword, the implications of this book are profound. It is the first analytical work, in any Western language, devoted to Korean law and legal history.
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"This volume is a welcome contribution to our knowledge of Korea. The author should be congratulated on his setting forth many important hypotheses concerning Korean legal history on the basis of Korean source materials which, although largely second ary, have not been well introduced into the Western scholarly world."
The Journal of Asian Studies of the Association for Asian Studies, Inc.