Robert Neff and Cheong Sung-hwa; Pureun Yeoksa: 368 pp.; 16,000 won
This book depicts Westerners' lives during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) from the 1880s to 1930s, including stories such as that of an American cowboy who shot the topknot off a man's head.
Robert Neff, historian and long-time resident of Seoul, co-wrote the title with professor Cheong Sung-hwa and used many of his own personal photographs.
In the late Joseon period, foreigners of various nationalities lived in Korea largely isolated from the public.
The book, written in Korean, sheds light on the daily lives of missionaries, diplomats and their communities. Among their concerns were Seoul's high cost of living and living in a very different environment.
Unlike similar books, "Lives of Westerners in Joseon" offers vivid and realistic depictions of their lives to Korean readers.
-Chung Ah-young