Recent Books
Seoul to Wall Street
Lee Young-ju Nielson; Adbooks: 288pp., 15,000 won
New York City’s Wall Street generally reminds people of the extravagant life of traders who live in palatial residences and enjoy luxuries.
This Korean woman Lee Young-ju Nielson, who currently works as a partner at a New York hedge fund, talks about the reality of the financial district. She says in the book that unlike what everyone thinks, bankers and traders working in Wall Street spend every day of their career with passion and endeavor.
After she graduated from Yonsei University in Korea, the author left for the United States to study her master’s and Ph.D. degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and University of Pittsburgh.
Lee worked at Bear Sterns as managing director, and until the first half of 2012, she worked as executive director at Citi Group and JP Morgan investment bank. The book comprises of 12 chapters covering such topics as the collapse of Bear Sterns, Wall Street jobs, professional investment strategies and Koreans on Wall Street. The writer also suggests future directions for readers in the last chapter.
— Rachel Lee
Magic Korean 1
Kwack Sang-heun; Haneon Publishing: 333 pp., 19,000 won
This book is written for those who want to learn Korean in a short period of time. Just spending 30 minutes a day for 31 days, beginners can acquire the basic grammar, additional vocabulary and cultural tips.
It is also good for preparing the beginners’ level of the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK).
From Han Gongju, Myomyo, Marie, Hiro and Pierre to Baht, various characters created for this book offer fun and reflect the diversity of nationalities of the learners. These characters are used for the conversations to portray various situations.
It contains the expertise and know-how of an author with 25 years of educational experience which can help learners study themselves.
Particularly, cultural tips to important aspects of Korean culture are useful for foreigners to understand Korea along with detailed illustrations.
The teaching methods used in this book were developed for and tried out by foreign students at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
— Chung Ah-Young
Would I Be Able to Enjoy Bach?
By Lee Chul-jae; Erang Publishing: 284 pp.,12,600 won
This book serves as a good introduction for people who wish to learn more about classical music.
It is divided into three sections — composers, singers and instrumentalists.
Recounting his own experiences, the writer explains the history of some of the most important masterpieces in classical music, such as Bach’s “Mass in B minor” and Faure’s “Requiem.”
He also writes about renowned instrumentalists, such as the Korean violin virtuoso Chung Kyung-wha and sopranos Maria Callas and Hong Hye-kyung, first Korean singer at the Metropolitan Opera. The book also introduces some of the key recordings of these artists.
The writer is a lawyer by profession, but has been deeply involved in classical music most of his life as an amateur violinist. He makes CD recommendations for new listeners, including “Con Amore,” a Decca recording of Chung made in the 1980s consisting of popular encore pieces for violin and piano.
— Do Je-Hae
Turtle Goes to New York
By Park Bum-jin; Mentor Press: 219 pp.,14,000 won
University student Park Bum-jin took part in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s WEST (Work, English, Study, and Travel) Program, living in New York for 13 months.
This self essay describes the many difficulties he went through in searching for a job because of his poor command of English, equipped with a positive attitude, his sole strong point.
It tells how it was tough to be accepted into the WEST Program and how he didn’t give up hope, focusing on him eventually earning 5 million won ($5,000) a month working for Asiana Airlines and the U.S. Census Bureau, sleeping only 4 hours a day.
It also gives witty descriptions of the first time Park arrived at JFK Airport, described as a safari where hungry beasts wait for their prey, and his failure in getting a part-time job at a restaurant due to his poor English.
This book also provides valuable information for Korean university students who want to participate in the WEST Program because it contains five other short essays by undergraduates who took part in it.
— Baek Byung-Yeul