50 Famous People Who Helped Shape Korea

Though fairly "laymanish", the book was fascinating in so far as it provided interesting nuggets of information which would not have been found in respectable Korean history books. In other words, information bordering on "gossipy".

Such as - finding out that Syngman Rhee married Francesca (seen seated in centre in photo) when he was 59 years old! Which begs the questions, was he married before that? What happened to his earlier wife/wives? Or maybe he was single till then. But didn't think that was a possibility.

Also found out that Rhee had smallpox when he was 9 years old which blinded him. And though his family tried various traditional remedies, he was eventually cured by Horace Allen. Well, don't know how real this is.

In the chapter about Koryo statesman Chong Mong-ju (P'oun), it's interesting to read that the bridge where he was killed - the Sonjukkyo Bridge in Kaesong - has now become a monument, and "it is said that a stain of his blood is a brown spot on one of the stones which, to this day, reportedly turns red when it rains." Again, not sure how authentic this is. But "juicy" tales like these sometimes have the effect of encouraging me to read up more about the person/historical context in question.

I laughed when I read the chapter about composer and violinist Hong Nanp'a which spoke about Koreans' reaction to the violin, an instrument they found foreign and unfamiliar. The violin was described as "yang kkangkkang". "Yang" means western, while "kkangkkang" is the Korean rendition of the sound made by the violin.

But overall, the deepest sense I carried away with me is the extent of the Kuomingtang's involvement with Korean independence fighters in Shanghai, a slice of history that I previously had no clue about. Another sense is that in most historical instances, good and upright people who refused to bend with the prevailing wind, or who tried to be progressive, inevitably suffered from imprisonments, banishments, persecutions or even deaths and assassinations. Yet another is the sense that the Chinese saying "shi shi chu yingxiong" (roughly translates as "heroes are produced by the times, situations or circumstances") certainly rings true, loud and clear.

Much has changed, but much, such as the nature of men and politics, have remained unchanged. There is so much about history that we can never seem to learn enough from.