Recent Books
You Are What You Wear
Jennifer Baumgartner; Translated by Lee Hyun-jung from English to Korean; 280 pp., 14,000 won
People don’t wear clothes just for protecting the body from the outside environment anymore. They want to reveal their individualistic sense and taste through their choices of clothes. They often judge others based on what they wear.
This book reveals that fashion is closely related to the revelation of people’s desires and reflection of their psychological trauma. People’s choices on their clothes represent psychology and their personal styles can change their lives.
The author and psychologist deals with various symptoms resulting from excessive obsession to fashion and guides readers to learn how they can overcome such problems.
It introduces the cases in which the author helps people change their wardrobe collection by suggesting new styles and matching items. She said that they can overcome their internal struggles through the change of their fashion code in a positive way.
The book offers useful information and lessons in two fields ― fashion and psychology ― in a detailed exploration and analysis.
― Chung Ah-young
An Ally and Empire: Two Myths of South Korea-United States Relations, 1945-1980
Park Tae-gyun; Academy of Korean Studies Press; Translated by Ilsoo David Cho from Korean to English: 416 pp., 25,000 won
This book which was first published in 2006 in Korean has been translated into English to provide more content about the Korea-U.S. relations for an English-speaking audience.
The author revisits the Korea-U.S. relations based on the U.S. policy papers analyzing the major historical incidents from Korean liberation in 1945 to democratic movements in 1980s.
The book includes the evaluations by U.S. representative diplomatic experts such as G. Kenna, P. Nitze and W. Rostow about the relations between the two countries.
It argues that the U.S. policy on Korea was influenced by the South Korean government and society’s responses. Also, the U.S. evaluations on such responses of South Korea have significantly influenced the establishment of new policies on Korea.
The book says that the Korean government should look back at the past achievements and limitations of the U.S.-Korea relations to improve its stance in the relation.
2033, Atlas of the World’s Futures
Virginie Raisson; translated from English into Korean by Kwon Ji-hyun and Nam Yoon-ji; Humanist: 216 pp., 27,000 won
“The future is never anything but the present to be put in order. There is no need to foresee it, just to enable it,” said Antoine de-Exupery from “The Wisdom of the Sands.”
What will this planet look like in 2033? What will we lack in particular and how are we going to live without them?
The future of the world is yet to be determined. But the fact that the world is facing a crisis remains unchanged.
This future prospect of the world, written by Virginie Raisson, a French analyst and researcher on international relations, is designed to help understand the abrupt variations in the past and the present in order to predict the future. The book contains various statistic, graphics and maps showing what the world will look like in 20 years from now on. Each date resource is accompanied by an explanation.
The writer covers such topics as migration, water supply, scarcity of natural resources, alimentation, ecological footprints and demographics.
―Rachel Lee
I Am Mr. Park
Park Hee-tae; Gyagyasorang: 268pp., 13,000 won
A racehorse called Mr. Park that debuted in 2009 found sudden fame when it recorded 17 consecutive victories, the longest winning streak in Korea’s horseracing history. He retired last year due to an accident during a race. Due to a resulting torn ligament, which veterinarian surgeons could not reconnect, he was put to death, aged five.
Author Park Hee-tae, the deputy head of the services department at the Korea Racing Authority recounts the history of the star racehorse. He details Mr. Park’s record consecutive victories and other aspects of his five year lifespan. For people new to horse racing, this book also introduces the origins of the sport, racing rules and a survey of world class competitive steeds.
There have been many books that deal with horse racing in Korea, but they mostly describe how to place bets and pick winners. This book focuses on the racehorse itself so that readers can develop an interest in horse racing as a competitive sport, not just a gambling pursuit.
―Baek Byung-yeul