Provided by the Center for Korean Studies Materials in the Academy of Korean Studies, this webpage lists about 90 online resources on Korean history and culture. These resources are from 22 institutions in South Korea, particularly the Academy of Korean Studies, National Institute of Korean History, and Gyujianggak Archives at Seoul National University. Most, if not all, of the resources should be freely accessible on the web.

This is probably one of the most comprehensive list of online resources for Korean studies? What do you think of it? Does it miss anything important?

This collection stems from a research project conducted by Suzannah Linton, a law professor formerly at the University of Hong Kong (currently at Bangor University  in UK). Professor Linton collected 46 case files of war crimes trials held by the British military in Hong Kong after World War II that involved 123 accused persons, all Japanese nationals. Due to the copyright restrictions, the actual case files can only be accessed at a university in Hong Kong, but the website makes freely available other materials in the collection, including detailed case notes, photographs from the same period, personal accounts, and a bibliography.

This seems the first such collection that has been digitized. Does anyone know similar collections on the web?

Developed at the National Taiwan University, Taiwan History Digital Library (THDL) is a database of primary source collections in Taiwan history. It provides full-text search, metadata search, and other features. The database currently contains two collections: the Collection of Taiwan-related Documents in the Ming-Qing Imperial Archives and the Collection of Land Deeds in Taiwan, with a total of over 60,000 items in full-text. THDL also provides several online research tools.

Access to THDL is free, but researchers will need to apply for an account first.

The THDL website lists a number of related publications, including this English-language article:
Chen et al., (2007) On Building a Full-Text Digital Library of Historical Documents. Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Vol. 4822. [PDF link]

What do you think of THDL?

Starting this fall, I’ll turn my attention back to FOREASt and provide updates regularly. There are some interesting new resources, so stay tuned!

Best to all,

Tao

KORCIS is a union catalog of Korean rare books (and manuscripts), which includes records from 51 Korean institutions and 32 foreign institutions (as of March 2010). It has over 420 thousand bibliographic records and provides access to the full-text of over 36 thousand items. A presentation (PDF) by a librarian from the National Library of Korea in March 2010 provides background information about this resource.

What do you think of this resource?

Formerly known as eScholarship Editions, this resource “includes almost 2,000 books from academic presses on a range of topics, including art, science, history, music, religion, and fiction” (UC Press). Over 500 titles in the collection are open to the public while the other titles are limited to users at the University of California. Dozens of books in Asian studies are in the category of “public access books”.

What do you think of this resource?

This resource is part of Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project. The Archive “holds over 400 visual histories (more than 800 hours of recorded video interviews) and over 10,700 historic photos, documents, and newspapers. The archive is growing as Densho continues to record life histories and collect images and records. These primary sources document the Japanese American experience from immigration in the early 1900s through redress in the 1980s with a strong focus on the World War II mass incarceration” (Densho). To access the database, a user can either create a free account or use the Guest account provided by Densho.

What do you think of this resource?

American Geographical Society Library (AGSL) at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee provides online access to a large number of digitized photos and maps, including several thousands of items on China, Japan, Korea, and Tibet. The AGSL Digital Collections Portal serves as an integrated search engine to all of the AGSL digital collections.

What do you think of this resource?

This resource provides access to digital images of a significant portion of the Barry Rosensteel Japanese Print Collection, which was donated to the University of Pittsburgh in 2008. The Rosensteel Collection consists of a total of 126 woodblock prints.  ”While the earliest print dates to 1760, most of the prints were produced in the 1800s, while others were created in the 1900s. The work of over forty artists is represented in the collection. The images portray Japanese culture through detailed depictions of portraits, landscapes, wildlife and theatrical performances, taking into account some of Japan’s rich history.” (University of Pittsburgh Library System)

What do you think of this resource?

Based on the holdings in the Freer Gallery of Art, this resource consists of 85 extraordinary artworks from the Song and Yuan Dynasties (10th-14th century) – 82 paintings and 3 independent works of calligraphy. For the first time, most of the 85 works are being thoroughly published even though many of them have assumed near-iconic status in Western studies of Chinese brushwork. “This pioneering project enables web users around the globe to study these artworks in their entirety and, through the comprehensive documentation of all associated texts and accessories, gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for one of the world’s great artistic traditions.” (Smithsonian Institution)

What do you think of this resource?