Korean Job Discussion Forums

[flutieflakes]

a book written by michael breen, an englishman..........a good read in an attempt to try and figure this place and how people think........written with a western twist i know but hits the nail on the head in many perspectives as seconded by my kyopo friend who spent his teen years here in the penninsula....................

[funplanet]

he also wrote a very good book about kim jong-il

[just because]

I bought this book last week and will read it this week.

Also read that adult animation novel Korea Unmasked, good reading.

[Universalis]

Breen's The Koreans and Korea Unmasked are two of the best books out there for understanding Korea and its people. HIghly recommended...

Brian

[Cymro]

I agree.
You really can't go wrong with it.
I think I'm right in saying an updated edition was released earlier this year.
I've read the first and would like to know if it's worth reading the updated one too?

[flutieflakes]

everything seemed to be going fine and dandy here (near equal rights for women etc.) until the damned chosun dynasty and confucian thought set in..............the one biggest thing that makes this place so "special" and holds it back.................

[chronicpride]

[Seoul Skye]

Both of Michael Breen's books on Korea are excellent reads. By the way, he will be a featured speaker at the Korea TESOL Int.'l Conference being held October 9-10 at Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul.

Check out http://www.kotesol.org/conference/2004/ for on-line pre-registration.

[Yaya]

I disagree about Breen's book The Koreans. I've gone through it and the writing is basically similar to what you'd read in a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. Better books on Korea are by Don Oberdorfer (The Two Koreas) and Don Kirk (Korea in the IMF Era).

Korea Unmasked is a GREAT primer on Korea.

[Honeybee]

Michael Breen is a bit of an enigma,

Apart from writing "the Koreans" and the Kim Jong Il book,
he is also responsible for a rather bizarre book about the cult leader Sun Myoung Moon, leader of the Moonies cult.

You can read the whole thing online...(according to amazon.com, its long out of print:
http://www.unification.org/ucbooks/earlyyears/

His Moonies book clearly shows him to be (at least at the time he wrote it) a rather devoted and completely brainwashed follower of Moon,
Not sure if he is still involved, I heard he divorced the Korean wife that Moon gave him.

A few ex-Members have suggested that Michael's time in North Korea was due to his Moon affiliation. And since Moon has been reported to have invested a ton of money in North Korea, it seems to be a reasonable conclusion to make. Its a little odd that the "following the Money" chapter on Kim Jong Il, makes no mention of Moon at all.

Thanks for the info about him appearing in October, I'd be interested in asking about him the Moonies book he wrote. it really is a great example of cult propaganda shxx.

[kylehawkins2000]

For Ya-Ya:

Do you think that The Koreans should really be compared to THe Two Koreas? They are very different. One is about the history of Korea and the other is mostly about the Korean culture and mindset.

[Yaya]

Yeah, well, I should've said Oberdorfer is a better writer on Korea than Breen, rather than compare books. I've skimmed through The Koreans and I still say it's not much better than a travel guide to Korea.