The Koguryo Annals of the Samguk Sagi

Korea s oldest extant histories date from the Kory period (918-1392), and of those histories, the Samguk sagi (The History of the Three Kingdoms) is the oldest. The Academy of Korean Studies just published the Koguryo Annals translated by Edward J. Shultz and Hugh H.W. Kang with Daniel C. Kane Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms) is a history book of 50 volumes of which Bongi, or Main Texts, is regarded as particularly important because it contains records of main historical events arranged in a chronological order including the myths around the foundation, rise and fall of the three early Korean kingdoms, Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, and the succession of their rulers. The book was compiled by a Goryeo scholar-statesman Kim Bu-sik in 1154, and is regarded as one of the most important source material for the study of the ancient Korean history. As Korea's earliest remaining history book compiled under the patronage of the state, the book had set a good example for the history books that followed it. The Main Texts consist of the history of Silla from 57 BCE to 936, which is the longest and most complex part of the book, Goguryeo from 37 BCE to 668 and Baekje 18 BCE to 660, which is the shortest of the three texts. Translation of the Samguk Sagi into English, or in fact any foreign language, has long been regarded as a daunting work because translator(s) would require systematic knowledge of Korean history and culture in addition to expert command of English, Korean and Chinese. That is why we are so pleased to see the publication of The Kogury Annals of the Samguk Sagi following the translation by Professor Edward J. Shult in The University of Hawaii who is widely admired as a specialist in the ancient Korean history. He expects the book to give readers a closer, clearer look at the history of Goguryeo that played a key role in the historical development of Korea. Read more