Korea: the Impossible Country : South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: the Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon (Revised and Expanded)

Acknowledgments, Caveats, and a Note on Names; Introduction; A Brief History of Korea; PART ONE Foundations; 1. Shamanism and the Spirit World; 2. Buddhism; 3. Confucianism; 4. Christianity; 5. Capitalism with a Korean Face; 6. Democracy: Beyond Asian Values; PART TWO Cultural Codes; 7. Jeong -- The Invisible Hug; 8. Competition; 9. Chemyon, or Face; 10. Han and Heung: The Deep Sadness and Pure Joy in the Korean Mind; 11. From Clan to Nuclear Family; 12. Neophilia; PART THREE Hyun-shil: Cold Reality; 13. North Korea: Friend, Foe, or Foreigner; 14. Politics and the Media.;[Long overshadowed by Japan and China, South Korea is a small country that happens to be one of the great national success stories of the postwar period. From a failed state with no democratic tradition, ruined and partitioned by war, and sapped by a half-century of colonial rule, South Korea transformed itself in just fifty years into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries. With no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule, Korea managed to accomplish a second Asian miracle. Daniel Tudor is a journalist who h.

South Korea's amazing rise from the ashes: the inside story of an economic, political, and cultural phenomenon

Long overshadowed by Japan and China, South Korea is a small country that happens to be one of the great national success stories of the postwar period. From a failed state with no democratic tradition, ruined and partitioned by war, and sapped by a half-century of colonial rule, South Korea transformed itself in just fifty years into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries. With no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule, Korea managed to accomplish a second Asian miracle.

Daniel Tudor is a journalist who has lived in and written about Korea for almost a decade. In Korea: The Impossible Country, Tudor examines Korea's cultural foundations; the Korean character; the public sphere in politics, business, and the workplace as well as the family, dating, and marriage. In doing so, he touches on topics as diverse as shamanism, clan-ism, the dilemma posed by North Korea, the myths about doing business in Korea, the Koreans' renowned hard-partying ethos, and why the infatuation with learning English is now causing huge social problems.

South Korea has undergone two miracles at once: economic development and complete democratization. The question now is, will it become as some see Japan, a rich yet aging society, devoid of energy and momentum? Or will the dynamism of Korean society and its willingness to change—as well as the opportunity it has now to welcome outsiders into its fold—enable it to experience a third miracle that will propel it into the ranks of the world's leading nations in terms of human culture, democracy, and wealth?

More than just one journalist's account, Korea: The Impossible Country also draws on interviews with many of the people who made South Korea what it is today. These include:

• Choi Min-sik, the star of "Old Boy"
• Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul
• Soyeon Yi, Korea's first astronaut Hong Myung-bo, legendary captain of Korea's 2002 FIFA World Cup team
• Shin Joong-hyun, the 'Godfather of Korean Rock'
• Ko Un, poet
• Hong Seok-cheon, restaurateur, and the first Korean celebrity to 'come out'

And many more, including a former advisor to President Park Chung-hee; a Shaman priestess ('mudang'); the boss of Korea's largest matchmaking agency; a 'room salon' hostess; an architect; as well as chefs, musicians, academics, entrepreneurs, homemakers, and chaebol conglomerate employees. South Korea was "the poorest, most impossible country on the planet" when it was founded, according to an advisor to its third president. Yet, in just fifty years it has transformed itself into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that can serve as a model for other countries. How was it able to do this, despite having been sapped by almost a half-century of colonial rule, ruined by war, partitioned and lacking a democratic tradition? Who are the Korean people, who achieved this second "Asian miracle"? And having accomplished it, what are their prospects now? Daniel Tudor is a journalist who has been living in and writing about Korea for almost a decade. He seeks the answers to these questions in Korean history, culture, and society and in interviews with experts, from business leaders to politicians, shamans, sports legends, poets, rock musicians, and academics. In five parts, he examines Korea's cultural foundations; the Korean character; the public sphere in politics, business, and the workplace as well as the family; life in the hours not spent working, including food, music, and cinema; and social issues that may be crucial to Korea's future, such as Koreans' interactions with outsiders. In doing so, he touches on topics as diverse as shamanism, clan-ism, the dilemma posed by North Korea (brother or enemy?), myths about doing business in Korea, and why the country's infatuation with learning English is causing huge social problems. South Korea has undergone two miracles at once: economic development and democratization. The question now is, will it become a rich yet aging society, devoid of momentum, as some see Japan? Or will the dynamism of Korean society and its willingness to change--as well as the opportunity it has now to welcome outsiders into its fold--enable it to experience a third miracle that will propel it into the ranks of the foremost countries in terms of human development, democracy, and wealth? South Korea's amazing transformation into an economic powerhouse and a thriving democracy within a generation now serves as a model for many other developing nations. How were Korean's able to achieve their "Asian miracle" despite half a century of colonial rule, a ruinous war, and no earlier democratic tradition? And having accomplished it, what comes next? Will Korea become a rich but aging society, stagnant and lacking momentum? Or will the dynamism of Korean society--and the opportunity to welcome outsiders--enable it to experience another miracle to propel it into the ranks of the leading countries of the world in terms of human development and wealth? Daniel Tudor is a journalist who has lived in Korea for a decade, and seeks the answers to these questions in interviews with scores of high-powered Korean business leaders, politicians, religious leaders, sports legends, poets, rock stars and academics. In this fascinating and uncoventional book he examines Korea's cultural foundations ; the Korean family character ; the public sphere in politics, business, the workplace ; the Korean family and how Koreans unwind including food, music, and cinema ; and social issues crucial to Korea's future--including their interactions with outsiders. In doing so, he touches on topics as diverse as shamanism, clan-ism, the dilemma posed by North Korea (brother or enemy?), myths about doing business in Korea, and why the country's infatuation with learning English is causing huge social problems. This new edition has been updated with additional materials on recent events including the Park impeachment and the Sewol ferry incident [Long overshadowed by Japan and China, South Korea is a small country that happens to be one of the great national success stories of the postwar period. From a failed state with no democratic tradition, ruined and partitioned by war, and sapped by a half-century of colonial rule, South Korea transformed itself in just fifty years into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries. With no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule, Korea managed to accomplish a second Asian miracle. Daniel Tudor is a journalist who has lived in and written about Korea for almost a decade. In Korea: The Impossible Country, Tudor examines Korea's cultural foundations; the Korean character; the public sphere in politics, business, and the workplace as well as the family, dating, and marriage. In doing so, he touches on topics as diverse as shamanism, clan-ism, the dilemma posed by North Korea, the myths about doing business in Korea, the Koreans' renowned hard-partying ethos, and why the infatuation with learning English is now causing huge social problems.] South Korea has undergone two miracles at once: economic development and complete democratization. The question now is, will it become as some see Japan, a rich yet aging society, devoid of energy and momentum? Or will the dynamism of Korean society and its willingness to change#x97;as well as the opportunity it has now to welcome outsiders into its fold#x97;enable it to experience a third miracle that will propel it into the ranks of the world's leading nations in terms of human culture, democracy, and wealth? "Daniel Tudor covers all the important issues, yet does not simply tell the more familiar stories, but looks deeper and wider to give the full story of Korea today." --Martin Uden, Former British Ambassador to South Korea

In just fifty years, South Korea has transformed itself from a failed state, ruined and partitioned by war and decades of colonial rule, into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries.

How was it able to achieve this with no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule? Who are the Koreans and how did they accomplish this second Asian miracle? Through a comprehensive exploration of Korean history, culture and society, and interviews with dozens of experts, celebrated journalist Daniel Tudor seeks answers to these and many other fascinating questions. In Korea: The Impossible Country, Tudor touches on topics as diverse as shamanism, clan-ism, the dilemma posed by North Korea, and the growing international appeal of South Korean pop culture.

This new edition has been updated with additional materials on recent events, including the impeachment of Park Geun-hye and the sinking of the Sewol Ferry. Although South Korea has long been overshadowed by Japan and China, Korea: The Impossible Country illuminates how this small country is one of the great success stories of the postwar period. Acknowledgments, Caveats, and a Note on Names Introduction A Brief History of Korea PART ONE Foundations 1. Shamanism and the Spirit World 2. Buddhism 3. Confucianism 4. Christianity 5. Capitalism with a Korean Face 6. Democracy: Beyond Asian Values PART TWO Cultural Codes 7. Jeong -- The Invisible Hug 8. Competition 9. Chemyon, or Face 10. Han and Heung: The Deep Sadness and Pure Joy in the Korean Mind 11. From Clan to Nuclear Family 12. Neophilia PART THREE Hyun-shil: Cold Reality 13. North Korea: Friend, Foe, or Foreigner 14. Politics and the Media. 15. Onward, Industrial Soldiers16. More Important Than the Business Itself -- 17. Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Perfect 18. English Mania PART FOUR In the Hours Not Spent Working 19. Living Space: From Hanok to Apartment Houses and Back Again 20. Four Seasons at the Dinner Table 21. Cinema: Boom, Bust, and Brilliance 22. More than K-Pop 23. Work All Day, Stay Out All Night PART FIVE More of Us, Less of Them -- 24. Defensive Nationalism 25. Multicultural Korea? 26. "It's Our Turn" 27. "We Are Not Aliens, From Another Cosmos" 28. A Woman's Place Is in the Office. "Mr. Tudor pushes into new social and economic territory with his book, including the rising role of immigrants, multicultural families and even gay people in South Korea. He lays out some of the contradictory behavior one finds in South Korea, such as the unending desire for new and trendy gadgets and fashion and yet the tunnel-like view of what constitutes a successful life. — Wall Street Journal "|ING_08 Review quote