The New Koreans: The Story of a Nation byMichael Breen

 

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The New Koreans: The Story of a Nation
byMichael Breen
Format: Kindle Edition|Change
Price:$14.99

Editorial Reviews

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"In an age where everyone is sharply critical of everyone else, The New Koreans is a delightful change of pace, pungent observations of Koreans as they see themselves and as outsiders see them, part history, part story telling, all pieces of a beautiful, frustrating, endearing puzzle fit together in a superb way as only a keen, veteran observer as Michael Breen can do."
―James Church, author of A Corpse in the Koryo

“If someone is going to live in Korea or do business with the Koreans, this is certainly the book to read. It gives informative and deep introduction to this fascinating (and not well-known) country, and, in addition, it is an engaging read.”
―Andrei Lankov, author of The Dawn of Modern Korea

"Breen is back, and better than ever. This is a broad and deep exposition of South Korean history, politics, economy and society that will have even the oldest Korea hands going 'I never knew that'. Top drawer stuff."
―Daniel Tudor, author of Korea: The Impossible Country

"As Alexis de Tocqueville did with Americans of the 1830s, Michael Breen probes 21st century Koreans to the very core of their being. Never hesitating to skewer their fascinating idiosyncrasies, he paints a loving and, overall, admiring portrait highlighting strengths that in rapid-fire order have made the Republic of Korea an economic powerhouse and, now, a cultural exemplar. Not only is The New Koreans magnificent in its sweep and depth; as a bonus, it's way too much fun to read."
―Bradley K. Martin, author of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader

About the Author
MICHAEL BREEN is a writer and consultant who first went to Korea as a correspondent in 1982. He covered North and South Korea for several newspapers, including the Guardian (UK), the Times (UK), and the Washington Times. He lives in Seoul.
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5.0 out of 5 starsBest book to understand today's South Korea in a more-than-superficial way
ByAmazon Customeron June 12, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

All in all a great book.

Reading this book gave me a much more nuanced view of the last 150 years of Korean history and development than any other book or source. I have even read some similar books in Korean, but none were nearly as in-depth, detailed, nuanced/unbiased, and interspersed with interesting vignettes and examples. Highly recommended.

Despite being married to a Korean, working with Koreans, and talking with Korean friends and family over the last several years I did not know many of the important details or explanations that this book gives for major historical events and trends. Mr. Breen also gives a good overview of the controversial Japanese colonial period in the least biased way I have ever seen (and no, he's certainly not "pro-Japanese").

A couple interesting bits:

- Laws still remain in place preventing farms from consolidating, thus hampering agricultural efficiency and yields.

- In the (majority of) city districts where garbage bags are just left on the street, the bureaucrats know this is not a very sanitary or pleasant practice but want to conserve the employment of the elderly garbagemen/women.

- "The head of the sewage disposal department at my local district office said there was no reason to worry about toilet paper in the bowl because it is designed to disintegrate quickly...a plumber concurred."

But the issue with throwing toilet paper into the toilet is actually related to the SEPTIC TANKS (정화조 or sometimes 정화 탱크) and not the pipes or toilets. The septic tanks are emptied too often by the government - toilet paper cannot fully decompose in 6-12 months - and they are too small and lack the multi-stage compartments that developed-world septic tanks feature.

And those 3 tidbits, all PRIMARY REPORTING by Mr. Breen, are just in the first 10% of the book! It's well worth the read as the book continues pretty strongly until the end (I already knew most of the "current-day" stuff from the last chapter though, so it was slightly less interesting. But still only one chapter out of, like, 28).
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5.0 out of 5 starsInformative and Insightful
ByA. Walruson August 13, 2017
Format: Hardcover|Verified Purchase
I have had the opportunity over the years to read many books about Korea and Koreans and believe this is one of the best. Breen clearly loves and admires the Korean people, but not to the extent that he is willing to overlook their failures and shortcomings. As a former longtime resident of Korea myself I find much to value in this informative and insightful book and would especially recommend it to anyone who plans to visit the country or relocate there for any length of time. It will definitely provide some useful guidance for interacting with this fascinating country and its people.
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4.0 out of 5 starsA fine book about a remarkable people
BySteve Kohnon June 5, 2017
Format: Hardcover
If ever stationed in Korea or have a Korean wife or friends or, especially, if fought in the Korean War, this book should be of much interest.

Korea was absolutely devastated in their civil war of the early 1950s. To have then risen in just two generations from (literally) ashes to become one of the world's leaders in smartphones, TVs, kitchen appliances, cars, cargo ships, Olympic medals, golf champions...is inexplicable.

"The New Koreans" tries but doesn't quite succeed in filling in that puzzle for me. Maybe it needs to be better spelled out for this dummy, as in A then B then C therefore D.

Written by a Brit who's lived in Korea since 1982 and is married to a Korean woman, this book does get us closer to understanding how so much economic progress was possible, and into the Korean psyche ("the Irish of the Orient"). I'd have preferred most of the pages on Korea's ancient history had instead been devoted to Korea's recent years, starting with the Japanese occupation.

Still, a fine introduction, a pleasure to read, and made more enjoyable by the author's too infrequent dry wit.

[Not germane to the book, but want to add that on both of my unaccompanied one-year tours there, in 1984 and 1989, I sometimes enjoyed spending a day wandering through Seoul. I'd buy a handful of inexpensive bus tokens, get on with no idea where the bus was going, get off when I'd see something interesting. An old market, some new construction, a modern department store, etc. After exploring a while, I'd hop back on another bus, again with no idea where it was going. A city map with landmarks always gave me some idea of where I was, and never in over a half dozen such "hikes" did I ever need a taxi to get me back to Yongsan at the end of the day. Also never did I perceive the slightest recognition of existence by the Koreans - exactly what I wanted, of course. No one asked, seeing me study my map, if I was lost, but also no one ever barked at me, held me up, assaulted me. I'd eat a simple lunch in a noodle shop, pointing at what looked good at another table, and never got sick afterwards. It was as if I were invisible in an endlessly fascinating city. These are memories I'll always look back on with fondness.]
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Korean History Must-Read!
ByJeffrey Milleron August 16, 2017
Format: Hardcover|Verified Purchase
When it comes to writing about Korea—its people, culture, and history—there is no one better up to that onerous task than Michael Breen who has devoted most of his life observing and writing about the country.

However, this is more than just an outsider’s take on Korea. To be sure, Breen with journalistic flair and cultural sensitivity offers an in-depth look at modern Korea that is unrestrained and honest. This is more than a history of modern Korea, however. Breen endeavors throughout this impressive tome to help readers understand who the Koreans really are through anecdotal musings and historical evidence.

Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the opening chapter which talks about the Sewol tragedy when a ferry sank off the southern coast of the peninsula in the spring of 2014. This was a rather bold on the part of Breen to lead off with this tragedy, but this chapter and his delicate, cultural understanding set the tone for the rest of the book when he tries to make sense of why something like the tragedy and its aftermath could happen. I remembered when this tragedy happened and immediately on Facebook, foreigners in Korea started to chime in about “their take” on the accident and the “culture” that allowed it to happen. Breen, though, the acute observer of Korea that he is, can analyze something critically without being shackled by his deep appreciation for the country. In the process, he helps the reader understand the Korean psyche and character without running the risk of being bias.

One of the things that I liked most about the book were all of his anecdotes and his loving attention to detail. Even for this old Korean hat who has lived and worked in South since 1990, I learned some new things about my adopted home. Whether it’s talking about why there’s a wastepaper basket next to a toilet in a public restroom or the manner in which Koreans number and name their streets (one of the first things I learned when I came to Korea and took a taxi—in the days before GPS—was always to make sure I could tell the taxi driver a landmark to help with navigations) Breen’s observations and analyses make for some very enjoyable and insightful reading.

Another thing I liked about the book was how he divided the sections and named the chapters, which helps readers develop a better understanding of Korean than by saying this happened, and then this happened because something else happened. We want to know why it took Korea as long as it did to finally rise from the ashes of the Korean War and become the nation that it is today. We want to know why the Chaebol continue to have a stranglehold on the Korean economy and culture. We want to know why men like Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae-jung played pivotal roles in South Korean politics and their legacies that remain until today. We want someone to explain why K-Pop has become an international phenomenon. And yes, we want to know why something like the Sewol incident could happen.

If there was one book that I would recommend to anyone thinking about coming to Korea to work, study, or simply visit, I would recommend Breen’s book hands down. There’s no one writing about Korea these days more knowledgeable and understanding of Korea than Michael Breen.

Jeffrey Miller,
Bureau 39
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5.0 out of 5 starsOut of Backwardness and Foreign Domination -
ByLoyd EskildsonHALL OF FAMEon April 27, 2017
Format: Hardcover
I spent a bit over a year in South Korea in the early 1960s - everyone I met and everything I saw left a positive impression on me. Hard-working, intelligent. However, I had to see Panmunjom while there, and it was more than a bit scary, so were the unit history books I leafed through in a few Army libraries, and especially the written accounts of the Korean War.

Now once again, Korea is in the news - big time, and of course I'm interested in keeping up to date with what has occurred since I left. However, Breen's preface quickly struck me as ignorant - 'The North Koreans are blowhards. Their defiance never took them anywhere.' Hopefully, nobody could be as ignorant of the Korean War, its beginnings, and today's reality as that statement implies. Breen somewhat quickly redeems himself by focusing on its extraordinary economic development since I left.

Korea's transformation began with government prepared five-year plans.

About 25 million live in the Seoul area. It's 'South Gate' (Namdaemun) was originally built in 1398, then burned down by a disgruntled citizen around 2010, rebuilt in 2013. About two-thirds of the land is now forested - an effort than began in the 1960s and involved planting 11 billion trees by 2008.

At the end of WWII, only 10% of the farmers owned their land, 20% was still owned by Japanese. By 1961, 70% owned their own small plots. There then were still 'no rice' days near harvest time when the prior year's harvest ran out. A new strain of rice was developed in 1971, and by 1976 75% of the rice crop used this new strain - ending hunger.

Korea is the world's third-most densely populated country, except for city-states. Almost two-thirds live in apartments. Population density in Seoul is about 27,000/square-mile.

As of 2005, about half follow no religion, 23% Buddhist, 18% Protestant, and 11% Catholic. By 2011 it was estimated that 54% followed no religion. Many Koreans admire Jews for their hard work and pursuit of education. Fortune-telling has become hugely popular.
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4.0 out of 5 starsA worthy update to the original
Bydittyesqon April 17, 2017
Format: Hardcover
I was looking for some insight into Korea, and this book provided it. Breen gives a good overview of where the country came from, where it is today, and some hints as to where it will be going in the next 10, 100, or 200 years. Good insight into the Korean psychology, and plenty of first-person anecdotes to leaven the tale.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe best english language book on South Korea
ByUsnion April 19, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Michael Breen is a keen observer with a clear fondness for the land called South Korea without letting it affect his ability to analyze it critically This is a book on contemporary South Korea, a dynamic nation that clawed out of both poverty and dictatorship that is unfortunately overshadowed by its troublesome northern doppelganger and almost as poorly understood. Reading his book I was struck by the detail and well as some of the more mundane aspects that most writers do not cover such as the way South Koreans put a wastebasket next to a toilet (to dispose of the used tissue) to the byzantine nature of street naming. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and I think the Koreans are incredibly lucky to have a writer like Michael Breen to write about them.
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5.0 out of 5 starsFor better future
Byhaksoo kimon June 2, 2017
Format: Hardcover|Verified Purchase
I am a Korean American spent last fourth years in America. My Korean history knowledge, especially the last 40 years, is fuzzy and partially biased at best. Mr. Green made me open my eyes and view with his unbiased view(except his love of Korean). Strongly recommend to every young Korean to learn what makes prosperous democratic society.
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4.0 out of 5 starsI really enjoyed this book
ByPat Non July 27, 2017
Format: Hardcover|Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. It helped me understand some things I was puzzled about. The author's humor helps lighten the tone, which could have been heavy and academic but isn't.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe best book you can know about Korea
ByLee Changsupon September 5, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
The best book you can know about Korea.
But I think part of content may embarrass
South Koreans.
Interpretation is Wetern-oriented.
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