Marginality and Subversion in Korea: The Hong Kyongnae Rebellion of 1812

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments It is often remarked that writing a book is a joint intellectual venture, and nothing could be truer of the present volume. I owe a great deal to many wonderful people who encouraged me, guided me, and assisted me in various ways. My advisor and mentor, James B. Palais, professor emeritus of the University of Washington, read at least three different drafts of the manuscript over the years. Each time, he wrote dozens of pages of comments. How then could I possibly claim that this book is the result solely of my own intellect and sweat? I am equally indebted to John B. Duncan of UCLA and Martina Deuchler, professor emeritus of the University of London, who reviewed earlier versions of the manuscript and made invaluable comments that enabled me to sharpen my presentation and avoid apparent errors. Elizabeth Perry also kindly read the whole manuscript and made helpful suggestions. Clark Sorensen, who assumed editorship of the publication series following James B. Palais’s retirement, also provided helpful suggestions for tightening my arguments from a social-science perspective. I have been immensely blessed with the good will of my colleagues in the field of Korean studies all over the world. Oh Soo-chang of Hallym University and Anders Karlsson of the University of London happened to engage in research on the same topic, the Hong KyQngnae Rebellion of 1812, around the same time I did. Although we arrived at different conclusions as to our understanding of the rebellion, their insights and comments ix    Acknowledgments inspired me in many ways and helped sharpen my focus. Yi T’aejin of Seoul National University and Yi HQnch’ang of Korea University took precious time to read an earlier draft of the manuscript and send a list of suggestions to me. Although the field of Korean history is relatively small, the intellectual vigor and generosity of those who are committed to it are unrivaled. And I have certainly been the beneficiary of such an intellectual environment. It is impossible to list all the people who have shown great interest in the progress of my work and given me unbounded encouragement. I would, however, like to recognize the following colleagues: Kyung Moon Hwang, Gari Ledyard, Eugene Park, Ken Robinson, Andre Schmid, Vipan Chandra, JaHyun Kim Haboush, Mark Peterson, Donald Baker, Ross King, Gi-wook Shin, and Hyaeweol Choi. I am grateful that my colleagues at Harvard University have provided a productive and dynamic environment over the last few years. Carter Eckert and David R. McCann have been the source of intellectual stimulation as well as comfort. Peter Bol in particular has been a wonderful supporter of my work and of Korean studies as a whole. Mikael Adolphson, Adam Kern, Wai-Yee Li, Philip Kuhn, Michael Puett, Hue-Tam Ho Tai, Wei-Ming Tu, and others have graciously shared their expertise, advice, and experiences, thus making my life much more meaningful and manageable. Members of the Korea Institute, Susan Lee Laurence, Myong-suk Chandra, Edward Baker, and Mrs. Namhi Kim Wagner, in particular, deserve my special thanks. I am also thankful for my graduate student assistants, Jungwon Kim, Aeri Shin, Joohang Cha, Joe Wicentowski, and Junghwan Lee, for their meticulous research work. A number of researchers and librarians in the United States and Korea helped me obtain copies of rare books and of the images that appear in the book. Yoon-whan Choe, former librarian at the University of Washington, not only helped me locate books and articles but also showered me with warm thoughts and support. Choongnam Yoon, former librarian at the Harvard-Yenching Library, has also been a strong supporter of mine. Seunghi Paek and Hyang Lee at the Harvard-Yenching Library did not hesitate a moment in fulfilling whatever requests I made. Jaeyong Chang, a librarian at the University of California at Berkeley, alerted me about and provided a copy of a rare manuscript that no one had yet used for the study of the 1812 rebellion. A number of researchers at the National Institute of Korean History (Kuksa p’yQnch’an wiwQnhoe) guided me to acquire copies of rare books preserved at the institute and of the images inserted in this Acknowledgments   xi book. I would also like to acknowledge the National Library of Korea (Kungnip chungang tosQgwan) and the Kyujanggak at Seoul National University for letting me use their collections. Fellowships and grants were indispensable to me in...