Koreans in Central Europe: To Yu-ho, Han Hŭng-su, and Others

Koreans in Central Europe: To Yu-ho, Han Hŭng-su, and Others is a multi-perspective compendium of evidence about two Korean archaeologists who spent formative but also troubled years in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. Decades before a Korean diaspora in Europe began to take shape, these two embodied unique facets of what can be called a Korean colonial modernity outside of the Japanese empire. Carefully researched, spotlighting numerous previously neglected or undiscovered sources, and richly illustrated, this volume is devoted to the examination of testimonies, writings and “traces” of very distinctive individuals. Special attention is given to how they negotiated European representations of East Asia — challenges to their Korean nationalist, yet nuanced, stances of self-assertion.