South Korea

The Price of Efficiency and Success

By: John Gonzalez, Young Lee

Narrated by: Steve Marvel

South Korea's extraordinary economic and technological transformation after the Korean War (1950-1953) is often referred to by observers and historians as the "Miracle on the Han River." The nation underwent an astonishing makeover from being one of the poorest countries to become the 12th largest economy in the world and 4th in Asia. South Korea also became one of the most technologically advanced countries in a short span.

As in other capitalist economies and despite South Korea’s undeniable success, some people have benefited from the economic and technological attainments, while others have been left out regardless of their effort to overcome the challenges of a playing field that favors the affluent. While other capitalist economies have experienced a similar widening divide between the haves and have-nots, the social inequality in South Korea appears to be exacerbated by cultural and behavior patterns that are deeply rooted in a society that values education, efficiency, hard work, individual and collective sacrifice, youth, beauty, and materialism. Some of the most impacted are low-income people, the elderly, the young, and middle-aged individuals.

The authors look behind the public face of South Korea through personal observations and their cultural lenses, extensive research, and careful analysis, to identify both the factors that contributed to the country’s remarkable trajectory and the price that Koreans have had to pay for the nation’s astounding accomplishments. The authors blend storytelling with hard evidence to show how the cultural and behavioral attitudes of Koreans contributed to the nation’s incredible achievements as well as its current challenges. They share their experiences through storytelling and capture Koreans being themselves without the glamour and glitz of K-Pop, K-Beauty, and K-Drama.

©2019 John Gonzalez and Young Lee (P)2020 John Gonzalez and Young Lee

Having been to Korea many times..

I thought the book was legitimate in the pros and cons of Korean society in a way that many times and outsider can only see. I’ve been to South Korea over 15 times. I’ve also dealt with Koreans who have gone to boarding schools in New England the pressure on the mothers to get their sons into a good school is pretty unbearable and the group think that is driven by society has its down sides. That being said, the explosion of really good movies and music of all genres and is super positive if the country evolves. They’re drive as a People is outstanding, but they need to look for new outlets as they move up the value chain and GDP rankings.

Fascinating Book on a Model Country

I wish i got my hands on this before setting out to ROK. This has been such an enlightening and thought provoking read on the cultural values and norms of Korea and how they affect the various functions of its society. This book helped to me understand Koreans (based on my interactions). I can't wait to see what the future country and its systems will look like. Thankyou 작가님 Gonzalez and 작가님 이 for a well written book.

South Korean educational insights for a non-native

I wish there had been a book like this when I moved to South Korea in 2016. I lived there until 2019 and enjoyed immensely the people, the cuisine, and many other things, but could have used this book to avoid experiencing faux pas. As a native of the USA, I sometimes felt completely in the dark socially with respect to South Korean customs. This book gives me a greater understanding of the South Korean people and the culture. Further, it went into detail about the professional and educational aspirations of South Koreans. Understanding this for me takes on added importance because my reason for being there for 3 years was to work as a school counselor with South Korean high school students wishing to apply to American universities. The detail in this book should also be of great value to the parents of these South Korean students, as it provides detail about how these students who earn their degree in the United States can expect to use it, and not use it, if they return to South Korea to look for work after graduating.

Good book overall. Usa incorrect info

Good book. Beats around the bush, wrong about usa politics. Very left leaning the info about korea is awesome then drops off into him.resaying the same shit. Overall worth buying has some leftist bull in it too.