Korea Quotes

“An hour spent by a Korean on the study of Chinese or Japanese will yield greater progress than an hour spent on English, other things being equal.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“In some sectors of the economy at least, the traditional importance attached to age and hierarchy is beginning to break down.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Westernization is an often-used word in Korea, and can be applied to something considered cold, lacking in jeong, and going against traditional Korean values. To suggest that Korean households are now “Westernized,” whatever that may mean exactly, would be a gross oversimplification.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Fifty years ago, South Korea was an impoverished, war-torn country that lurched from brutal dictatorship to chaotic democracy and then dictatorship again. Few expected it to survive as a state, let alone graduate to becoming a prosperous and stable model for developing countries the world over-and one with an impressive list of achievements in popular culture, to boot. Quite simply, South Koreans have written the most unlikely and impressive story of nation building of the last century. For that reason alone, theirs deserves to be called "the impossible country."

South Korea is home to not one, but two miracles. The first is the often-referenced "Miracle on the Han River," the extraordinary economic growth that led the country out of poverty and on the road to wealth, in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. That South Korea had a GDP of less than US $100 per capita in 1960, precious few natural resources, and only the most basic (and war-ravaged) infrastructure seems scarcely believable looking around Seoul these days. The second miracle is just as precious, though. As recently as 1987, South Korea was a military dictatorship, but today, it has stable, democratic leadership. As other Asian nations like Singapore, and now China, promote a mix of authoritarianism and capitalism, South Korea stands out in the region as an example of a country that values not just wealth but also the rule of law and rights for its citizens.

There is another, more negative, source of inspiration for the subtitle, though. As we shall see, genuine contentment largely eludes the people of South Korea, despite all their material success and stability. This is a country that puts too much pressure on its citizens to conform to impossible standards of education, reputation, physical appearance, and career progress. Worldwide, South Korea is second only to Lithuania in terms of suicide per capita. The problem is getting worse, rather than better: between 1989 and 2009, the rate of suicide quintupled. South Korea therefore is "impossible" in its astonishing economic and political achievements but also in the way that it imposes unattainable targets on its people.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country

“Furthermore, a survey by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper in 2007 revealed that 65 percent of married Korean women have “secret funds” that their husbands are unaware of.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Cocktail soju, a mixture of the spirit with fruit juice or yoghurt drinks to give it a more pleasant taste, is the ultimate in deceptive drinking experiences. It tastes completely unalcoholic and convinces the drinker that he is not even tipsy—until he stands up and finds his legs unwilling to comply with his brain’s wishes.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Koreans have long been known for their capacity to imbibe: at a 2010 lecture to the Royal Asiatic Society, historian Robert Neff recounted that when Western sailors began to show up in Korea in the nineteenth century, Koreans were able to drink them under the table. However, many say that it was not until industrialization in the 1960s and 1970s that the practice of drinking oneself unconscious became commonplace.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“In a book entitled Sweatshop Warriors, Miriam Ching Yoon Louie states that the Park government even built up South Korea’s sex industry as a means of earning foreign exchange receipts from Japanese businessmen and American soldiers on leave from the Vietnam War—all “for the sake of the nation.” An article in the New York Times by Choe Sang-hun quotes one former prostitute as saying, “The government was one big pimp for the U.S. military.... They urged us to sell as much as possible to the GIs, praising us as ‘dollar-earning patriots.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“The Korean equivalent of “looking for a needle in a haystack” is “looking for Mr. Kim in Seoul.” Indeed, more than 21 percent of the population bears that family name. A further 15 percent bears the name Lee, and around 9 percent goes by Park.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“South Korea is a fully advanced country by all measures of economic development, except one: corruption.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“There are even entire chaebol cities: the city of Ulsan developed as a place for Hyundai employees to live and work, and now has a population of over a million.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“General Park offered eighteen leading entrepreneurs a deal they could not refuse: participate in his development plans or go to jail.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Korea is now the world’s second-largest exporter of missionaries after the United States.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Today Christianity edges out Buddhism as the most popular religion in Korea,”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“rather than follow one’s dreams and become an artist or a musician, for instance, one ought to select the most highly paid and stable job available in order to provide for one’s parents in their old age and create a secure environment in which to raise children—since there is also an imperative to continue the family line.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“The trading of benevolence in return for loyalty is still a factor in Korean offices: whistleblowing is rare, as it goes against the employee’s obligation to his superior. A typical Korean boss is also more paternalistic than one from a non-Confucian society. He will take greater interest in the personal lives of his staff, and feel the need to treat them to lunch or dinner with regularity.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“The all-round Korean will be a Confucian in society, a Buddhist when he philosophizes, and a spirit worshipper when he is in trouble.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Worldwide, South Korea is second only to Lithuania in terms of suicides per capita.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“English ability is a ticket to better employment opportunities as well as a badge of pride.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“It is also generally assumed that, despite this rancor, the ultimate reunification of North and South must be the dream of all Koreans. However, things are much more nuanced than that.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Common people rushed to trade in their “low-born” surnames (such as Pi) for a more respected Kim or Park. This explains why such family names are so common,”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Koreans always want to show their best image to other people,” he notes, but when that proves impossible, it can lead to a final “desertion” of the self and a desire to simply give up on life. Celebrity suicide is also common in South Korea.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“The lack of adequate breaks, holidays, and sleep takes a heavy toll on the amount of work that people can actually produce in a given time.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Suicide is the leading cause of death among Korean youths, and given the country’s educational culture and the pressure”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Korean children are among the worst in the world at social interaction (thirty-fifth out of thirty-six countries surveyed). In school, children are constantly tested and ranked, rather than taught to work with one another.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“With over a million members, Yoido Full Gospel Church is the largest in the world. Christianity is now the most popular religion in South Korea.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“jeong refers to “feelings of fondness, caring, bonding, and attachment that develop within interpersonal relationships.” It is not felt purely within the heart or mind of an individual but is a connection that exists “between” two or more people, with the psychiatrists likening it to a cord linking people to each other.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Nowadays, the level of illiteracy in Korea is virtually zero. Unlike many other places in the world, all people with an interest in politics have the ability to communicate their views.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Groups like Samsung, Hyundai, Lotte, and LG have so much money, political influence, and sway over the media that their power is still overwhelming”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

“Chaebol-style capitalism was, and to some extent still is, very different from the dictionary definition of capitalism. Not only was industry directed by the state, but the chaebol corporations were rigidly hierarchical and bureaucratic, influenced by Confucian culture. Firms were expected to treat workers as sons, and workers were expected to respond in kind by thinking of their chairmen as father figures and offering absolute loyalty.”
― Daniel Tudor, Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon