Translator's Preface | Kang Seung-young

civil disobedience
Slaughtering pigs
Colors of Autumn
The death of a pine tree
Life in the Seasons
wild apple

On Thoreau and Civil Disobedience | Kang Eun-kyo
Henry David Thoreau Chronology
Map of Concord and its surrounding areas

The book that changed world history

There is an anecdote about Thoreau going to a village one day in 1846 and being caught by a policeman and imprisoned for a day because he had refused to pay the poll tax for six years.
It was to protest the U.S. government's continued toleration of black slavery and even the Mexican War.
This incident gave Thoreau an opportunity to deeply reflect on the meaning of state power as opposed to individual freedom.
Two years later, he gave a lecture on this topic at the Concord Cultural Center.
A year later, he revised the speech and published it in the journal Aesthetics as an article entitled "Resistance to Civil Government," which became more widely known after his death as "Civil Disobedience."


“I was not born into this world to be forced by anyone.

“I will breathe my own way and live my own way.”

This writing, like Thoreau's other works, was initially neglected, but was discovered by the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy in the late 19th century, and became a turning point in his political and social thought. It also greatly influenced Gandhi, who was leading the Indian independence movement in South Africa in the early 20th century.
It has also had a significant impact on world history, including British labor activists, resistance fighters under Nazi occupation, Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights movement in the 1960s, and the anti-war movement against the Vietnam War.
Western writer Robert B.
As Downs praised it as "a book that changed the course of history," this book is considered one of the most important essays that has encouraged and empowered countless people around the world who fight against unjust power.


In particular, the term 'civil disobedience' has become a widely used concept to mean passive resistance that refuses to obey the demands or orders of a government or occupying power without resorting to violence.
Thoreau's idea that citizens are morally responsible for actions required by law, even if they are unjust laws that benefit the oppressors, still influences us today, even after countless centuries have passed.
In Korea, the public interest and importance of this book are growing, intertwined with political realities.
It received favorable reviews from Professor Kang Jun-man, former lawmaker Yoo Si-min, and others.


Praise poured in for this book

“I have found in Thoreau a great teacher, and I have named my movement after him, Civil Disobedience.” - Mahatma Gandhi, Indian saint

“Why do you Americans listen only to the rich and the military, and not to Thoreau?” - Leo Tolstoy, Russian author

“Introducing ‘Civil Disobedience’ to the general public was the most important task.
Thoreau is truly a great man!" - Ham Seok-heon, Korean philosopher