Assimilating Seoul

Todd A. Henry is Associate Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego.

"A major contribution to the study of the history of twentieth-century Korea." -- John Whittier Treat Korea Journal "A most welcome addition to the field of Korean studies." -- Alexis Dudden American Historical Review "[Assimilating Seoul] delivers an impressive contribution to the growing collection of research on Japanese imperial history in Korea, and the Japanese-Korean relationship in particular. ... It defies categorization as either a Japanese or Korean history to serve as a valuable artery of both during the time of Japan's colonial subjugation of the peninsula." -- Mark Caprio Reviews in History "The first in-depth study in the English language of the history of Seoul in the first half of the twentieth century ... entertaining and highly readable ... a welcome addition to the growing literature on Korea's colonial history and on urban history more generally." -- Janet Poole H-Net "A detailed study of Korean and Japanese identity and adaptability in the colonial setting... Assimilating Seoul will be required reading for anyone studying the Japanese colonial period in Korea, for scholars of colonialism in general, and for students wanting to look beyond purely nationalist narratives for understandings of the past." -- Donald N. Clark Pacific Affairs "A new and insightful perspective." -- Steven Denney Sino-NK "Henry does an excellent job ... Highly recommended." Choice "Assimilating Seoul provides a nuanced view of Japan's colonial endeavor in Korea... A respectable contribution." Japanese Studies "Bold and ambitious ... A timely and provocative study." The Journal of Asian Studies "Assimilating Seoul provides a wealth of information and brims with fresh insights... Henry's adept probe into the city's physical and conceptual ambits is remarkably perceptive." Journal of Japanese Studies "Beautifully written... The reader can feel the author's genuine passion for understanding the people of whom he writes. Assimilating Seoul is essential reading for all students of twentieth-century Korean society. Directed as much at engaging historians based in South Korea as those elsewhere, the book is bound to spur debate." Journal of Korean Studies "As a pioneering work on an important subject so far glaringly under-researched outside of South Korea and Japan, it enriches the scholarship on Korean history in English... Henry's book represents first-rate, pioneering scholarship." Monumenta Nipponica

• List of Illustrations Note on Place Names Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction. Assimilation and Space: Toward an Ethnography of Japanese Rule 1. Constructing Keijo: The Uneven Spaces of a Colonial Capital 2. Spiritual Assimilation: Namsan's Shinto Shrines and Their Festival Celebrations 3. Material Assimilation: Colonial Expositions on the Kyongbok Palace Grounds 4. Civic Assimilation: Sanitary Life in Neighborhood Keijo 5. Imperial Subjectification: The Collapsing Spaces of a Wartime City Epilogue. After Empire's Demise: The Postcolonial Remaking of Seoul's Public Spaces Notes Selected Bibliography Index