JaHyun Kim Haboush's edited anthology of letters from the Chosŏn dynasty is a fascinating and substantial contribution to the volume of literature on that age, opening a window onto social relations and affective ties among the country's literate classes. Covering such diverse forms as royal edicts, manifestos, and letters written on the eve of execution, in addition to personal letters written to friends and family, Epistolary Korea delves into a range of communications between the subjects of Chosŏn, and even includes exchanges with Chinese scholars by the renowned eighteenth-century literati Hong Taeyong and Pak Chega. Through its focus on the letter as a communicative device, the anthology thus lights up the somewhat dry social history that has dominated the English-language literature on Chosŏn with much welcome detail and nuance. One notable exception among these previous works has long been Haboush's fine translation of the eighteenth-century account of the murder of the Crown Prince Sado, The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996), but whereas that work rivets the reader's attention with its dramatic retelling of the unique murder of the king-in-waiting, with this anthology, Haboush's interests have moved to the more mundane realm of everyday communications, and she has marshaled the help of many scholars in the field of Chosŏn history in order to produce this comprehensive volume. Here, precisely, lies the strength and unique nature of Epistolary Korea.

The definition of epistolary genres adopted here is broad, as Haboush stresses in her introduction, where she glosses epistles as “writings in which the writer directly addresses the (intended) receiver” (p. 1). Haboush's interest lies less in the unique and revealing content of the individual epistle than in the space opened up by the myriad letter forms being exchanged within and between multiple levels of society. To this end, the anthology is organized into eight sections, moving from the most public realm of communications from and to the royal house to the more private sphere of familial relations at court and far beyond. The first section, titled “Public Letters,” includes royal edicts, memorials, and petitions, and is followed by “Letters to Colleagues and Friends,” “Social Letters,” “Family Letters,” “Letters Written away from Home,” “Deathbed Letters,” “Letters to the Dead” and “Fictional Letters.” These sections highlight both the quotidian quality of family relations throughout the dynasty, and more specific events that are likely to form important components of any course taught on Chosŏn Korea. “Letters written away from home” includes letters from exiles, notably the famous Sirhak scholar Chŏng Yagyŏng, alongside letters from Imjin War prisoners and royal hostages in Qing China, whereas some of the most eloquent letters written prior to execution were those by the Catholic martyrs of the early nineteenth century.

The highlight of the anthology, for this reader at least, is the introductory essays by the various contributors for each genre of letter, thirty-nine in all. Together, these essays provide more than context, elucidating various aspects of Chosŏn's dynastic policies, social life, and intellectual debates. They amount to a veritable history of the dynasty in a short, accessible format. At times, they even overwhelm the translated epistles, which are not all lengthy or sometimes even that memorable, but such is the not unpleasant result of a decision to map communicative space rather than choose only the most compelling of letters. This is not to say that the letters here do not hold the reader's interest; Kwŏn Sangil's letter to his dead wife is genuinely moving, and the pain of exile brought on by factional politics at court is memorably recorded in the famous calligrapher Kim Chŏnghŭi's letters from Cheju Island, the last one written to an ailing wife who, unbeknownst to him, had passed away the day before he wrote.

As can be guessed from even such a cursory description of this lengthy anthology, the letters translated here include pieces by famous kings, scholars, and artists, as well as pieces by unknown rural gentlemen and women. The anthology will be especially welcomed by all instructors struggling to find enough reading material to make the teaching of Chosŏn history in English more compelling to undergraduate students. The introductory essays to each chapter provide sufficient information and discussion to make ideal reading assignments for individual classes, and the material is presented in an accessible fashion so that one need not be an expert on Chosŏn Korea in order to teach with this book. For the casual reader, there is no need to read the book in order, but there is a certain delight to be found in picking it up and delving into individual chapters. All in all, a most welcome volume!