"The Koreans"--a brief explanation

Well, I did find this book interesting but slightly outdated--the book is ten years old, so some of the political stuff is a little behind.
I find the information about the contracts enlightening but not surprising. I have discovered--very first-hand--that contracts are not easy. Not very forthright. Not very popular topics. I think I understand this.
The educational system, Koreans' history, and Koreans' self-concept are all a bit befuddling. Koreans are very confident and aware (I'm over-generalizing, of course), but generally do not have a perspective or analytical approach to education or history. Being analytical, I find this frustrating at times, especially as a teacher. This book has definitely helped to shed some light on this: these general tendencies have developed over thousands of years as survival techniques that have worked, both in the political world, in the economic framework of the past fifty years, and in the historical setting of this amazingly strong people.
And the whole thing about reunification and the North/South devision was very enlightening. "Reunification" has become a euphemism for destroying a side of themselves, their brothers. Theirs is not a real reunification because any compromise means abolishing one or the other way of life--democratic or communistic. Now, "reunification" is about making it easier for both countries to accept the dissolving of the country that has made up the less fortunate family members. Not the bad guys, just the misunderstood, destructive brother.
One last quote:
"The more popular bits of countryside are so assaulted by visitors that one gets dissuaded from taking to them for relaxation. You know when summer's arrived because every year at the right time the newspapers carry pictures of 'half a million' sunbathers sweltering on the sandy crescent of Haeundae Beach, on the edge of the city of Busan.
"But this mobbing of one or two resorts does not explain why the rest of the countryside seems to recede into irrelevance. I used to think it was psychological, that somehow because the peninsula was so militarized and latent with violence, it could not appear embracing and beautiful, as the Scottish Highlands do. I now think in my case it was because I was overtaken by the sheer impact of dealing with the Koreans themselves. Mountains don't come into your office without appointments and expect you to talk all afternoon. Nor do they ring you up at midnight and say, 'It's Kim.' Koreans do, all the time."
It's moments like this, I sort of nod. Most of the people around me are also sick of me smiling a little smugly and saying something about how happy I am that I haven't gotten a cell phone here. Trust me, I'm glad I haven't gotten a cell phone here. Really glad.