Cambridge University Press recently published
Law and Custom in Korea: Comparative Legal History, by
Marie Seong-Hak Kim (St. Cloud State University). A description from the
Press:
This book sets forth the evolution of Korea's law and legal system from
the Chosǒn dynasty through the colonial and postcolonial modern periods.
This is the first book in English that comprehensively studies Korean
legal history in comparison with European legal history, with particular
emphasis on customary law. Korea's passage to Romano-German civil law
under Japanese rule marked a drastic departure from its indigenous legal
tradition. The transplantation of modern civil law in Korea was
facilitated by Japanese colonial jurists who themselves created a Korean
customary law; this constructed customary law served as an intermediary
regime between tradition and the demands of modern law. The
transformation of Korean law by the brisk forces of Westernization
points to new interpretations of colonial history and it presents an
intriguing case for investigating the spread of law on the global level.
In-depth discussions of French customary law and Japanese legal history
in this book provide a solid conceptual framework suitable for
comparing European and East Asian legal traditions.
And a few blurbs:
"At first look, the title of the book gives readers an expectation of
continuity in theme evolving in Korean customary law from premodern
times to the present. It is, however, a saga in which Kim tells us of
how the civil law tradition in France and Germany was transplanted to
Japan and only a few decades later to its colony Korea, as Japanese
rulers and judges saw that it fit the needs of efficient colonial
management and Western jurisprudence's requirements of customary law.
Kim's book provides us with sad but rich stories to explore from Korean
civil law history." – Dai-Kwon Choi (Seoul National
University)
"For too long, East Asia in general and Korea in particular has been
treated as a backwater in comparative legal studies. Marie Kim's
monumental contribution helps correct this state of affairs. With nuance
and rigor, she uses the lens of custom to situate modern Korean law in a
comparative context. A major advance not only for our understanding of
modern Korea but also of colonial and postcolonial legality more
broadly." – Tom Ginsburg (University of Chicago Law School)
Read on
here.
