Review by Booklist Review
Korea is an ancient land that has struggled against foreign domination for centuries. South Korea has emerged as an economic powerhouse with, it is hoped, democratic inclinations. North Korea, despite occasional signs of openness, remains a Stalinist backwater. Breen, a journalist who has covered Korea since 1982, has written a useful and often surprising survey of Korea's culture and efforts to integrate that culture with the outside world. He effectively illustrates the difficulties that a still "traditionalist" society encounters as it develops facets of an industrial and even a postindustrial economy. Breen probes such diverse topics as the status of civil liberties, generational social strains within families, and the massive corruption that permeates Korean society. He writes with a snappy, readable style that is appropriate to the frequent ironies inherent in many of the situations he describes. Those wishing to learn about an increasingly important civilization will find this a thoroughly enjoyable read. --Jay Freeman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A veteran British journalist examines the history, culture, and economy of North and (principally) South Korea, where he lives for half of each year. Realizing that most readers know Korea only because of the war (1950-53) or because of the communist North's nuclear potential and noisy aggressiveness, Breen limns with patience and perspicuity an engaging portrait of this least-known of the major Asian economic powers. He describes, for example, the ``fierce sense of identity'' among Koreans and concludes that in Korean society ``you are your DNA.' He examines Korean religions and educational systems, observing that the peninsula's undergraduate programs are inferior because students experience ``no pressure to perform as undergraduates.' In a rapid summary of Korean history, Breen notes that the Koreans ``have remained a distinct people'' for centuries, despite domination by China, Japan, and others. He has a powerful command of anecdote and detail, illustrated for example in his description of community-wide rock fights in the 19th century to settle public disputes and in the horrible image of the 100,000 pickled Korean noses the 16th-century Japanese warriors took to their country to certify their body counts. Breen credits the late South Korean president Park Chung-hee for providing the leadership that propelled his nation into the front ranks of economic powers, but he also presents a devastating analysis of the pervasive bribery and corruption in the Korean business, education, medical, and legal systems. In a clever though questionable analogy, Breen attempts to infer broad cultural truths from the ``lawless, selfish and rude'' behavior of South Korean drivers, asserting that ``traffic behaviour illustrates how society regulates itself.' In general, a splendid work of explication and analysis by one who admits to being both charmed and angered by his subjects.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
