The Passenger: South Korea - by VV Aa (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Fully-illustrated, The Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, art and reportage from around the world.

IN THIS VOLUME: Hell Joseon by Elisa Shua Dusapin - The View from the North by Lee Hyeonseo - Lessons in Democracy by Jiyoung Choi - plus: the Samsung Republic and the most militarized border in the world, the real reason why Korean women don't have children, democracy and K-pop, baseball, esports, and shamanism, and much more...

From kimchi to TV series, from Oscar-winning films to K-pop, from webtoons to cosmetics, in recent years Korea has captured the global imagination, one viral trend at a time. In this volume, The Passenger sets out in search of the world's coolest nation.

Eighty years ago, at the end of a devastating civil war, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world, under constant threat from the Communist regime north of the 38th parallel and completely dependent on the United States for its security and prosperity. Today, it is the world's tenth-largest economy, a dynamic and innovative country with a per capita GDP similar to that of Western Europe, a lively and participatory democracy that stands up to its larger, more powerful neighbors. And above all, the country is the origin of the hallyu--the Korean wave--which has reached every corner of the world and taken the global entertainment, food, and culture industries by storm.

This extremely rapid and astonishing transformation has inevitably brought ruptures and contradictions. If the global youth looks to Korea as previous generations looked to Hollywood and New York, young Koreans instead talk about Hell Joseon: a country that is rapidly aging, an economic system dominated by powerful chaebols (family-controlled conglomerates), a fiercely competitive educational system, a generational gap in outlook and behavior and, at the center of it all, the role of women-- one of the keys that The Passenger has chosen to try to decipher a complex, fascinating country, central to the dynamics of today's world, and that is often exoticized and idealized to the same extent.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Passenger

"These books are so rich and engrossing that it is rewarding to read them even when one is stuck at home."--The Times Literary Supplement

"The Passenger readers will find none of the typical travel guide sections on where to eat or what sights to see. Consider the books, rather, more like a literary vacation--the kind you can take without braving a long flight in the time of Covid-19."--Publishers Weekly

"A wonderful publication and a beautiful object. The Passenger is a pleasure to read, to hold, and to look at."--La Repubblica

"A must-read. Much more than a travel guide, The Passenger is indispensable for any reader who is curious about the world."--Il Venerdì

"Fresh and diverting, informative and topical without being slight or ephemeral [ . . . ] This supremely well-edited combination of current affairs, journalism, commentary, and fun facts is perfect for our pause-button moment."--Australian Financial Review, Best Books of the Year

"When you hold it your hands, The Passenger takes you back to another time, one when travel literature had a scent, and texture."--El País

"[The Passenger] has a strong focus on storytelling, with pages given over to a mix of essays, playlists and sideways glances at subcultures and thorny urban issues."--MONOCLE

"Half-magazine, half-book... think of [The Passenger] as an erudite and literary travel equivalent to National Geographic, with stunning photography and illustration and fascinating writing about place."--Independent.ie (Best series of the year, 2021)