South Korea: The Price of Efficiency and Success

"[A]uthor Gonzalez, with co-author Lee, offers a searching reflection on the tension between South Korea's embrace of globalization and its ancient culture... Gonzalez astutely charts this tension, and overall, his appraisal of South Korea is impressively comprehensive, encompassing many aspects of its complex culture... [He] combines his rigorous research with a depth of personal experience, lucidly presented in this admiring but critical account. An edifying analysis that's exacting but fair." - Kirkus Reviews

Authors John Gonzalez and Young Lee combine their professional training and experience to look behind the public face of South Korea. They examine the conditions, behavioral patterns, and cultural values that helped propel the country from the ashes after the Korean War to the international stage as the 4th largest economy in Asia and 12th in the world. Their analysis includes 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. Through a blend of storytelling and hard evidence, the authors capture Koreans being themselves without the glamour and glitz of K-Pop, K-Beauty, and K-Drama.