Korea: The Impossible Country

Little bit pricy but writing is good staying neutral and not favouring any party.

Many leaps of faith as to what is responsible for the Korean developmental miracle. Poor association of Buddhism to self-development contrasting it against Hinduism which apparently does not focus on this. This is poor analysis of religion by itself and of how it links to development. The reasons for India's lag is complex- it's a far larger, far more diverse country with a far longer period of subjugation and colonial loot, by author's country no less. There haven't been any financial reparations unlike in Korea's case. This fundamental analytical flaw makes me question the credibility of the rest of the book as well. The narration is nasal and extremely annoying. Efforts to get Korean pronunciations correct are minimal and patchy.

Excelente libro que se remonta hasta el origen de la civilización coreana antes de que la conocieramos como tal. Aborda los temas de su religión, historia, pasando por su política y costumbres, hasta hablarnos sobre el fenómeno de la cultura pop coreana en la actualidad. Gracias a este libro me me interesó escuchar el kpop. Si quieres conocer más sobre este país lo recomiendo ampliamente.

Ótima forma de se ter informações históricas, sociais e econômicas sobre o país. Muito boa abordagem geral sobre o período de superação da pobreza e transformação desta nação (o que estava buscando ao adquirir o livro).

Full of data and lively description of Korean history and modern life, the reader gets insights into recent developments, struggles, successes, problems and perspectives of this rapidly modernising society still little known to the outside world.

The author succeeds in delivering a comprehensive fact-filled yet entertaining account of South Korea. He gives concise overviews by topic ranging from cultural, historical and social to political subjects interspersed with personal experience in a very readable manner. For those who are about to travel there or are merely curious due to K-Pop etc, this is a great place to start.

testo di facile lettura e interessante, ma molto generalista. utile per chi sia a digiuno di corea e voglia conoscerne degli aspetti generali