Gyeongju, now a mid-sized modern city in the Republic of Korea (South Korea), was 1,400 years ago the capital of the Silla Kingdom. From 57 BCE to 935 CE, Gyeongju was the cultural, religious and administrative capital of a unified Korean state and the first true capital of Korea up to that time. In that ancient period, Gyeongju was three to five times larger than it is today. Filled with palaces, Buddhist temples and monuments, only a few remnants remain of the Silla Kingdom today. Nevertheless, those few historic sites are an impressive window into what the Silla era was like. The author visited these beautiful places to understand something about this part of Korean history. This work examines the five significant places in Gyeongju that bespeak of this city’s rich cultural and historic past as the former capital of ancient Korea.

For some Americans, when they think of the Republic of Korea (popularly called South Korea), they think of the Korean War fought so long ago. Many younger Americans, when they think of South Korea, think of K-pop, the big corporations Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Kia, and the cars these corporations have produced over the decades. But this is only one small aspect of a country with a rich history and culture few Americans know. Many Americans have not heard of, for example, the ancient City of Gyeongju with its surviving relics and monuments that were part of a once great kingdom. Then there is the Korean alphabet known as hangul, which was an invention to help facilitate all Koreans to be able to read and write in their language. My book is an exploration of some of these palaces, temples, churches and famous places in South Korea. More than that, my photographic memoir also looks at the things that make Korea what it is, and the dynamism behind the Korean people who have in their own way greatly contributed to our world.

Written for a young audience, this intense memoir explores the harsh realities of life on the streets in contemporary North Korea. Every Falling Star is the memoir of Sungju Lee, who at the age of twelve was forced to live on the streets of North Korea and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly recreates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, “his brothers,” to daily be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.

Mukho Memories Don Haffner was a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Korea from 1972 through 1975. He taught ESL (English as a Second Language) to first-year middle school students in the town of Mukho, Gangwon Province. In the summer of 1975, Don also served as a Volunteer TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Instructor for the K-35 (Peace Corps/Korea’s 35th) training program. Mukho Memories is the humorous and entertaining story of Don Haffner’s Peace Corps Service. Peace Corps/Korea Peace Corps volunteers served in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) from 1966 through 1981. The majority of volunteers who served in Korea during this fifteen-year period taught English as a Second Language. Others served in various health programs. By 1981 South Korea was rapidly developing into the modern capitalist and democratic nation that it is today, and Peace Corps ended all its programs in the country.

Discover the untold story of Hak Ja Han Moon, the North Korean village girl who is now known to millions as the Mother of Peace. Her heart-wrenching story reveals details of a war-torn childhood and trials of faith as she and her late husband, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, built a vast and still-growing international movement capable of fulfilling God's will for peace in the 21st century.A major milestone of her life, described in never-told-before detail, was her marriage in 1960, at age 17, to the charismatic Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon. For the next 52 years, she joined him in the daunting task of building a global interfaith movement to fulfill God's will for peace in the 21st century.Mother Moon's journey as a religious woman leader is breathtaking: Born in Japanese-occupied Korea in 1943, she spent her early life in nature so she could commune with God. War forced her to flee south with her mother and grandmother; they crossed the Han River Bridge minutes before it was blown up. Later, she walked and worked side-by-side with Father Moon, one of history's most energetic and visionary men. They visited every corner of the earth and, despite relentless persecution, met with world leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev and Kim Il Sung, to bring God's message for them.During this time, she bore 14 children and buried four. She stood with Father Moon for hours as they officiated at Marriage Blessing Ceremonies for hundreds of thousands of couples. Together, they launched hundreds of organizations and businesses to serve youth, family and peacemaking.Since Father Moon's passing in 2012, Mother Moon has shouldered the leadership of their still-growing movement. She has led "Peace Starts With Me" rallies in six continents and plans to bring Blessing Ceremonies to all people.

In this comprehensive yet compact book, Michael J. Seth surveys Korean history from Neolithic times to the present. He explores the origins and development of Korean society, politics, and still little-known cultural heritage, showing how this ancient, culturally and ethnically homogeneous society was wrenched into the modern world, ultimately to be arbitrarily divided into two opposed halves after World War II. Tracing the six decades since, Seth explains how the two Koreas, with their deeply different political and social systems and geopolitical orientations, evolved into sharply contrasting societies. Throughout, he adds a rich dimension by placing Korean history into broader global perspective and by including primary readings from each era. All readers looking for a balanced, knowledgeable history will be richly rewarded with this clear and concise book.

Gena and Finn would have never met but for their mutual love for the popular show Up Below. Regardless of their differences—Gena is a recent high school graduate whose social life largely takes place online, while Finn is in her early twenties, job hunting and contemplating marriage with her longtime boyfriend—the two girls realize that the bond between them transcends fanfiction. When disaster strikes and Gena's world turns upside down, only Finn can save her, and that, too, comes with a price. Told through emails, text messages, journal entries, and blog posts, Gena/Finn is a story of friendship and love in the digital age.