Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cophan]

I am reading "Confucius Lives Next Door," and this is a must read for anyone living in Asia.

Any others?

[jdog2050]

[Hyeon Een]

This thread needs a kick:

Under the Loving Care of our Fatherly Leader (I forgot the author, look it up)
The Aquariums of Pyongyang (""""""")
Fox girl (""""""")
The Koreans (Michael Brean)
Korea's Place in the Sun (Bruce Cummings)
Cho-Sun, or Land of the Morning calm (find it at the guternburg project)
Korea Bug (King Baeksu on this board.. real name.. umm...)
The two Koreas ("""""")
[That book about dreaming of pigs.. i forget the name or title.. kinda interesting...]

Books to avoid:
Korea Unmasked - Because it's by an idiot and the book's pretty crappy. On the plus side, it's a comic, so if I you can't read you might learn something from the pictures.. maybe.

[cophan]

I agree ^

thanks for the bump up and the book selections. I am getting thirsty for reading again and after I finish the book I am reading now I will need a different one. My friend is sending me "Many Lives Many Masters," which is not a book about Korea, or Asia I don't believe, but still a good read I hear.

[ardis]

Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader is absolutely fantastic. It's quite large, but don't let the size intimidate you. Even though much of the information is centered on North Korea, you also get a healthy dosage of history on South Korea, Japan, China, and the US. It covers a wide range of topics and has really great interviews--definitely worth checking out. I learned a vast amount of information on Korean politics, culture, and general history.

[kat2]

I recently finished Rivertown by Peter Hessler. It's a memoir of his year teaching English for the Peacecorps at small town in central China in 1997-8. Really interesting in general, but especially as teachers in Asia. His comments on communism and how it affects everything in his life and his students are a nice read (and make me glad to be in Korea, not china). I don't usually like non-fiction, but this one kept my interest.

[cophan]

^ kat.....I love your avatar.

[cophan]

Confucius Lives Next Door

...about a man and his family living abroad in Japan, although relates to most Asian countries. He is well educated man, political, and funny. He does a great job keeping you interested and relating complicated issues to easy-to-understand experiences. It has really opened my eyes to why a lot of things happen in the workplace or just on the streets in Korea.

[butlerian]

The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently

[trubadour]

The Courage to Be, by Paul Tillich is essential reading anyway, but it has an interesting section where he compares and contrasts Eastern and Western understanding of being and the manifestation of this in political systems, social and personal self-understanding; all from an existential theological point of view..

[cophan]

any others?

[Craven Moorehead]

Gravity's Rainbow-Pynchon. Not much to do with Korea or Asian philosophy, but a great time killer.

[The Hammer]

[lostinseoul77777]

Native Speaker and A Gesture Life both by Chang Rae Lee. Although the books aren't about Korea per se, he's a very talented Korean American writer. Reading the books helps you understand somewhat about Koreans and Korean culture.

Enjoy!

[zappadelta]

Korean Style of Baduk 1