Contents

Acknowledgments, Caveats, and a Note on Names   7

Introduction   9

A Brief History of Korea   12

 

Part I: Foundations

Chapter 1   Shamanism and the Spirit World   24

Chapter 2   Buddhism    34

Chapter 3    Confucianism    42

Chapter 4    Christianity    54

Chapter 5   Capitalism with a Korean Face   66

Chapter 6   Democracy: Beyond Asian Values   78

 

Part II: Cultural Codes

Chapter 7   Jeong—The “Invisible Hug”    92

Chapter 8   Competition   101

Chapter 9    Chemyon, or Face   112

Chapter 10   Han and Heung   120

Chapter 11   From Clan to Nuclear Family    128

Chapter 12   Neophilia   139

 

Part III: Hyun-shil: Cold Reality

Chapter 13   North Korea: Friend, Foe, or Foreigner?   148

Chapter 14   Politics and the Media    158

Chapter 15   Onward, Industrial Soldiers   170

Chapter 16   “More Important than the Business Itself”   182

Chapter 17   Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Perfect   192

Chapter 18   English Mania   202      

 

Part IV: In the Hours Not Spent Working

Chapter 19   Living Space: From Hanok to Apartment Houses and Back Again   212

Chapter 20   Four Seasons at the Dinner Table   220

Chapter 21   Cinema: Boom, Bust, and Brilliance   229

Chapter 22   More Than K-Pop   240

Chapter 23    Work All Day, Stay Out All Night   250

 

Part V: More of “Us,” Less of “Them”

Chapter 24   Defensive Nationalism    260

Chapter 25   Multicultural Korea?   271

Chapter 26   “It’s Our Turn”   279

Chapter 27   “We Are Not Aliens, From Another Cosmos”   291

Chapter 28   A Woman’s Place Is in the Office   298

 

Epilogue: Where Is the Champagne?   309

Index      313