{"product_id":"2940170491261","title":"Korea: The Impossible Country","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSouth Korea's amazing rise from the ashes: The inside story of an economic, political, and cultural phenomenon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLong overshadowed by Japan and China, South Korea is a small country that happens to be one of the great national success stories of the postwar period. From a failed state with no democratic tradition, ruined and partitioned by war, and sapped by a half-century of colonial rule, South Korea transformed itself in just 50 years into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries. With no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule, Korea managed to accomplish a second Asian miracle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDaniel Tudor is a journalist who has lived in and written about Korea for almost a decade. In \u003ci\u003eKorea: The Impossible Country\u003c\/i\u003e, 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 massive social problems.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSouth Korea has undergone two miracles at once: economic development and complete democratization. The question now is, will it become as some see Japan, a prosperous yet aging society, devoid of energy and momentum? Or will the dynamism of Korean society and its willingness to change amp;mdash; as well as the opportunity it has now to welcome outsiders into its fold amp;mdash; enable it to experience a third miracle that will propel it into the ranks of the world's leading nations regarding human culture, democracy, and wealth?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tantor Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47104985170160,"sku":"2940170491261","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170491261_p0.jpg?v=1763710761","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170491261","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}