저자가 20여 년간 ‘통일된 새로운 나라’라는 화두를 가지고 연구소와 현장에서 얻은 고민과 경험의 결과물이다. 저자는 코리아가 이 천년간 강대국들의 이전투구의 장이었던 이 땅에서 살아남기 위해서는 한국 중심의 좁은 시야가 아니라, 패권국의 어깨 위에서 한반도의 역사를 바라봐야 한다고 제안한다.

저자는 패권국에 의해 좌우된 치욕의 악순환을 끊고, 코리아의 운명을 개척하기 위해 2천 년간 반복되어 온 역사의 메커니즘을 분석하고 있다. 코리아가 강력한 힘을 가진 동북아의 균형자 역할을 하기 위해서 통일이 반드시 필요하다고 역설하고 있으며, 이를 위해 확고한 중심을 가진 유연한 외교 정책의 원칙을 제시한다.

Preface

Chapter 1 Korea’s Place in the World
1. A Copernican Revolution
2. The Powers Surrounding Korea

Chapter 2 China's Continental Hegemony and Korea's Choice
1. The Birth of Chinese Civilization and the Korean Cultural Sphere
2. How Sinocentrism Worked
3. China and Korea Clash over Northeast Asia
4. China's Division and Koguryo's Small World Order
5. The Sino-Korean Hegemonic War in Northeast Asia
6. Japan's Splendor in Words, Isolation in Deed
7. Korea's Choice ― Caught Between Civilization and Barbarism
8. King Sejong the Great ― The Golden Age of Korean Civilization

Chapter 3 The Rivalry Between Continental and Maritime Powers and Korea's Turmoil
1. The Mongol Empire and the Emergence of Maritime Empires
2. Hideyoshi's Vision of Asian Hegemony ― Conquer China and India
3. The Seven-Year War Between Maritime and Continental Powers
4. Gwanghaegun's Capitulationism, Injo's Adventurism
5. Tokugawa's Isolationism ― Japanese Sinocentrism
6. The Challenge of Western Civilization and Asia's Response
7. The Daewongun ― The Tragedy of a Lack of Vision
8. The Enlightenment Faction ― Inexperience Leads to Crisis

Chapter 4 Korea's Integration into the British-Japanese Co-Hegemony
1. The Rise of Britain and the Fall of China
2. Korea's Strategic Fork in the Road
3. How Japan Beat China
4. Japan's Rise Hits a Russian Ceiling
5. Independence, Neutrality and the Great Han Empire
6. Russia Falls to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance
7. Was There No Way to Save Korea?

Chapter 5 The Soviet-American Hegemonic Rivalry and Korea's Division
1. America's 'Manifest Destiny' ― Toward the Pacific
2. Anglo-Saxons Decide Japan's Fate
3. The Four Powers as the Four Independence Movements
4. The Climax of the Vicious Cycle ― Division and War
5. Korea ― A Testing Ground of the Communist and Free World
6. The Korean War ― A Proxy World War III

Chapter 6 The Sino-American Hegemonic Structure and Korea's Crossroads
1. The Sino-Soviet Split and America's Resilience
2. Dismantling the Communist World ― A New World Order
3. American Hegemony and China's Challenge
4. China's Strategy ― Rising Peacefully
5. Japan's Fate ― Allying with America
6. Four Factors Deciding Korea's Fate

Chapter 7 Unified Korea's Fateful Choice
1. Korea's Vision
2. Korea's Strategy
3. Korea's Destiny

Notes