James Hoare - Korea: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Adapted from Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past.

ISBN 978 1 78702 888 3

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

First published in Great Britain

by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd

59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS

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Printed in Turkey

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JAMES HOARE spent over thirty years in the British Diplomatic Service, which included postings to Seoul and Beijing. As Charg dAffaires, he established the British Embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea. He has a Ph.D. in East Asian history and has written extensively on China, Japan, and the two Koreas. His books include Embassies in the East: The Story of the British and their Embassies in China, Japan and Korea from 1859 to the Present; Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Korea; Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; and with his wife, Susan Pares, Korea: An Introduction; Conflict in Korea: An Encyclopedia; and North Korea in the 21st Century: An Interpretative Guide.

Dr. Hoare is a regular guest on radio and television. He is an Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), and an Honorary Research Associate, Centre of Korean Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is a past president of the Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch, and of the British Association for Korean Studies.

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The twentieth century was not kind to the people of the Korean peninsula. In 1905 Japans defeat of Russia paved the way for the Japanese protectorate in Korea. Then in 1910, the Japanese annexed Korea as a full-scale colony. Liberation in 1945 brought not independence as all Koreans had hoped, but the division of the peninsula that has lasted until today. North Korea attempted to reunify Korea by force in 1950. Outside intervention saved both Korean states from extinction, but the war intensified the division.

Only after 1998 was there any significant and sustained move to heal the wounds of the past, and that only lasted ten years. Since 2018, there have been signs of a possible improvement in relations between the two Koreas but there is a long way to go. The issue is complicated by the very different conditions of the two Koreas. The North remains a dictatorship, and having once led in economic development and industrialization, is in economic decline. The South, by contrast, once viewed as an economic disaster ruled by authoritarians, built a modern economy in the 1960s and 1970s, weathered the financial storms of the 1990s, and seems well on the road to democracy. The two Koreas are now interacting as never before. Major issues remain, such as the role of outside powers and North Koreas pursuit of a nuclear weapons program. Yet the future again looks more positive than it has for years.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 2002 World Cup, shared with Japan, helped to increase knowledge about South Korea, but have not overcome widespread ignorance about the Korean people and their culture. Yet those who visit Korea, whether North or South, will find a place of great interest with much to offer. Koreans, when not constrained by politics or other considerations, are friendly and sociable. The peninsula has areas of outstanding natural beauty. The Souths cities, if not always beautiful, are vibrant and alive. The North, while very different, is well worth getting to know.

Culture Smart! Korea shows how Koreans think and act, the pitfalls to avoid, and introduces some of the delights of the peninsula. It is the product of an involvement that stretches back to the early 1970s, and of my residence in both North and South Korea. It derives partly from a little book called Simple Guide to Korea: Customs and Etiquette, which my wife and I wrote. The European Department of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to whom we gave a copy, told us that this had been made required reading for all the staff of the department, since it provided real insights into Korean thinking and behavior. I hope that Culture Smart! Korea will do the same for many other readers.