为什么朝鲜有那么多姓金, 李和朴的人呢? 在几百年前的朝鲜人们的生活是什么样的? 朝鲜百姓有哪些社团? 他们是如何庆贺生日和节日的? 在空余时间他们进行些什么娱乐活动? 这些问题的答案都可以从本书中找到.

本书中,作者以现代和通俗的观点来诠释历史,让历史更易为人们所接近并和今天的读者有更多关联. 在对休闲活动论述的同时,作者带着大家追寻这些活动的起源, 并带来一些相关的趣闻轶事. 他考察了氏族属性和宗谱在传统朝鲜社会的重要性, 可以给当今朝鲜人对家庭的态度一些启示. 通过作者对农夫合作社, 互助团体, 各种典礼和仪式, 迷信和算命等的描绘, 读者最终会重建一个个遥远的古代朝鲜社区.

Why are there so many Gims (Kims), Yis (Lees) and Baks (Parks) in Korea? What was life like in Korea hundreds of years ago? What kinds of communities did the Korean people form? How did they celebrate their birthdays and holidays? What kinds of games did they play in their spare time? These are some of the questions Lee E-Wha answers in Korea’s Pastimes and Customs: A Social History.

In this book, Lee makes Korean history more accessible and relevant to today’s readers by bringing a contemporary and down-to-earth perspective to his historical interpretation. His discussion of Korean pastimes is laced with enlightening journeys into their origins and interesting episodes associated with them. His examination of the significance of clan affiliation and genealogy in traditional Korean society helps shed light on the general attitude modern-day Koreans have toward family. Through Lee’s rendering of farmers’ co-ops, mutual-aid societies, various ceremonies and rituals, superstitions and fortune telling, the reader can virtually reconstruct Korean communities of the distant past.