Korea

The Impossible Country

By: Daniel Tudor

Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart

Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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 50 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 massive 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 prosperous 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 regarding human culture, democracy, and wealth?

©2012 Daniel Tudor (P)2018 Tantor

Top tier analysis of Korea

This book was amazingly insightful. As an expat in Korea, I was already familiar with much of the subject matter, but the book covered areas I had never considered. I have already recommended this book to others.

My only complaint was with the narration. The narrator was great except he could not pronounce the many Korean loan words correctly. I am disappointed that no one who knew any Korean was consulted.

Insightful, Balanced, Accessible Overview of Korean History and Culture

A pleasant performance and an excellent, detailed overview of Korean history and culture. Good balance of realism and optimism, and even coverage of political and religious perspectives.

Korea is amazing and complex!

This book is perfectly narrated, especially the traditional names of cities, events and cultural references! I feel like this is a perfect blend of all aspects and helps us see the positives as well as the negatives! In addition, I am very impressed by the cunning and strength of South Korea in bouncing back from almost nothing and becoming a wonder of the world! I encourage anyone that loves Korean culture to listen to this book to see the bright side and the gritty side of South Korea!

An Insightful book

having been to Korea I can attest to the insight of the offer and I feel that this book has enhanced my knowledge of that particular country

Narrator could be better

Interesting book, but the narrator’s pronunciation of Korean words is pretty terrible. If you don’t speak Korean, you won’t even notice.

A helpful tome

While I'm not informed enough about South Korea to evaluate the nuances of whether this is all correct or not, I didfind it fascinating since I'm very interested in and curious about the country.

While not the fault of the narrator, who seems sincere, I found his style over-the-top erudite and flowery, so found it very distracting. Please- while dated, this is such a unique book providing background on a country so many people are interested in-just re-record it already! That would also give the publisher and Audible a chance to be more respectful in terms of any mispronunciations, which other reviewers mention.

Amazing book

I learned a lot and am thoroughly impressed by the Korean people as they are depicted in this book. I found the content to be very inspiring and the things I have learned make me desire to participate and be involved in this society. I wish more content of this type was available in English, I am studying Korean and am sometimes feeling demotivated by the challenge, but this book really drove home that there's an amazing culture to discover on the other side of that gap, and that there's a great need for foreigners such as myself to participate in it. Thank you, Mr. Tudor, for taking the time to write this work.

Concise Korean History

Loved the book. The narration was okay, although the narrator mispronounced a few of the Korean words. That being said, it’s a lovely book for anyone looking for a brief history of Korea, its culture, and people. Well worth it.

a must hear if you love Korea

I am fascinated by the Korean culture and its people. there are very few audible books on the history of Korea. I spent many hours listening to this book and thus feel closer to the people of Korea and understand their culture and where it comes from. I plan to visit Korea for several months and I am learning the Korean language. I will probably listen to this audible one more time.

Very enlightening

Anyone interested in Korea, traveling or not. Very enlightening
There should be more books like this