Modern Korean Society

"This books strengths are many, but let me focus on three. First, the analysis contained in the chapters strikes an appropriate balance between detailing the unique aspects of ROK society and placing the ROK in comparative context with the West….Second, the book deals with a wide range of topics under the broad umbrella of "modern society"....Third, many chapters in this book introduce Korean terminology to more accurately describe contemporary ROK society."—Eun Mee Kim, Ewha Woman's University, The Journal of Asian Studies 68, no. 3 (August 2009): 1003–1005

"[This book] is foremost an excellent compilation of chapters that discuss the key issues of Korea's political, economic, and social development....Another definite merit of this book is that the contributing authors are must-read scholars who have established expertise in each area of Korean studies. With this edited volume, teachers and students who are engaged in understanding the complexities of modern Korea will benefit from the authors' comprehensive and theoretical exposition of diverse issues that have arisen along the contours of Korea's development."—Yoonkyung Lee, State University of New York–Binghamton, Korean Studies 32 (2008): 203–205

"Editors Kim and Song set out to 'introduce and explicate Korea's modernization process, from its development thus far to its future prospects'(vii). Theirs is indeed a handy single volume on the sociological contexts and contours of South Korean society. There is no question that Modern Korean Society is informed by the 1997 so-called IMF Crisis, which demanded both considerable economic restructuring (liberalization) as well as intellectual introspection as to the longstanding character of South Korean capitalism, and social organization more broadly. It is from this vantage point that many of the chapters interrogate particular South Korean features, setting them in their particular historical contexts, and in the idiom of co-editor Hyuk-Rae Kim, considering their 'viability.'" —Nancy Abelmann, University of Illinois, Urbana, Pacific Affairs 80, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 386–387