Korea and Her Neighbors: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Korea and Her Neighbors, credited to Isabella L. Bird, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Korea and Her Neighbors by Isabella L. Bird. Read in English by Availle. In this book, Isabella L. Bird, who had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society only 2 years prior, describes her travels through Korea from 1894 - 1897 in her well-known style. She went on lengthy trips through the interior of what is today both North- and South Korea and vividly depicts the landscapes, people and customs of the "Hermit Kingdom". Isabella's sojourn coincided with a time of great turmoil in Korea. Shortly after her arrival, the Japanese occupied the country, ostensibly to protect their expatriate community. But when relations worsend further, Isabella was forced to flee, first to Manchuria, and, after the outbreak of the first Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895), to Russia. She returned to Korea only days after the assassination of Queen Min in October 1895, and saw King Gojong reduced to a mere "salaried automaton" until he fled to the Russian Legation in 1896. Isabella, having had several audiences with the monarchs throughout her stay in Seoul, gives a first hand account of the political and governmental changes throughout this time. Altogether, this is a fascinating account of Korea at a time when the country was not only torn between tradition and modernisation, but also found herself a pawn of Japan, China, and Russia, all vying for control in the Far East. (Summary by Availle)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Korea and Her Neighbors
• Author credits: Isabella L. Bird
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 40
• Listed recording duration: 18:25:20

Catalogue topics

• history
• travel
• nonfiction
• memoir
• Asia
• Russia
• voyage
• korea

Opening tracks: first 24 of 40

1. 00 - Preface and Author's Prefatory Note — 15:45
2. 01 - Introductory Chapter — 30:07
3. 02 - I. First Impressions of Korea — 27:45
4. 03 - II. First Impressions of the Capital — 31:58
5. 04 - III. The Kur-dong — 25:04
6. 05 - IV. Seoul, the Korean Mecca — 16:48
7. 06 - V. The Sailing of the Sampan — 13:12
8. 07 - VI. On the River of Golden Sand — 26:15
9. 08 - VII. Views Afloat — 41:18
10. 09 - VIII. Natural Beauty - The Rapids — 40:05
11. 10 - IX. Korean Marriage Customs — 15:09
12. 11 - X. The Korean Pony - Korean Roads and Inns — 29:05
13. 12 - XI. Diamond Mountain Monasteries — 44:35
14. 13 - XII. Along the Coast - Part 1 — 35:39
15. 14 - XII. Along the Coast - Part 2 — 32:27
16. 15 - XIII. Impending War - Excitement at Chemulpo — 19:17
17. 16 - XIV. Deported to Manchuria — 17:37
18. 17 - XV. A Manchurian Deluge - A Passenger Cart - An Accident — 15:50
19. 18 - XVI. Mukden and its Missions — 17:35
20. 19 - XVII. Chinese Troops on the March — 15:04
21. 20 - XVIII. Nagasaki - Wladivostok — 24:38
22. 21 - XIX. Korean Settlers in Siberia — 38:02
23. 22 - XX. The Trans-Siberian Railroad — 14:51
24. 23 - XXI. The King's Oath - An Audience — 39:35

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.