Mark E. Byington

Koguryŏ Japan Silla language ethnicity

This review was originally intended to be a brief description and critique of the volume in question. After having read the first two chapters of the book, however, it became clear to me that certain of the author’s claims and interpretations of historical events demanded a more thorough treatment than a review in standard format would permit. With so little published scholarship on Koguryŏ in the English language, the majority of Western readers would be likely to approach the book without the specialized historical and archaeological background necessary to place the author’s claims in perspective. Since many of these claims are novel and the conclusions sweeping and provocative, a more careful and detailed critique is called for, lest some readers be tempted to accept the unchallenged book as the final word on the topic under consideration. I therefore offer the following extended review in the hope that it will serve to highlight some of the more problematic areas in the author’s work and, perhaps, stimulate academic debate as well.