Daniel Tudor is a journalist who has lived in and written about Korea for almost a decade. 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 huge social problems.

Includes index.

Introduction -- A brief history of Korea -- Part I: Foundations. Shamanism and the spirit world -- Buddhism -- Confucianism -- Christianity -- Capitalism with a Korean face -- Democracy: beyond Asian values -- Part II: Cultural codes. Jeong-the "invisible hug" -- Competition -- Chemyon, or face -- Han and Heung -- From clan to nuclear family -- Neophilia -- Part III: Hyun-shil: cold reality. North Korea: friend, for, or foreigner? -- Politics and the media -- Onward, industrial soldiers -- "More important than the business itself" -- Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Perfect -- English mania -- Part IV: In the hours not spent working. Living space: from Hanok to apartment houses and back again -- Four seasons at the dinner table -- Cinema: boom, bust, and brilliance -- More than K-pop -- Work all day, stay out all night -- Part V: More of "us", less of "them". Defensive nationalism -- Multicultural Korea? -- "It's our turn" -- "We are not aliens, from another cosmos" -- A woman's place is in the office -- Epilogue: where is the champagne?