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Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles – Vivid True Stories Defining a Nation Through Its History, Geography, and People
In the late 1980s, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester set out on foot to discover the Republic of Korea -- from its southern tip to the North Korean border -- in order to set the record straight about this enigmatic and elusive land.
Fascinating for its vivid presentation of historical and geographic detail, Korea is that rare book that actually defines a nation and its people. Winchester's gift for capturing engaging characters in true, compelling stories provides us with a treasury of enchanting and informed insight on the culture, language, history, and politics of this little-known corner of Asia.
With a new introduction by the author, Korea is a beautiful journey through a mysterious country and a memorable addition to the many adventures of Simon Winchester.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1988
119 people are currently reading
1550 people want to read
About the author
Simon Winchester
90 books2,296 followersSimon Winchester, OBE, is a British writer, journalist and broadcaster who resides in the United States. Through his career at The Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal. As an author, Simon Winchester has written or contributed to over a dozen nonfiction books and authored one novel, and his articles appear in several travel publications including Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine, and National Geographic.
In 1969, Winchester joined The Guardian, first as regional correspondent based in Newcastle upon Tyne, but was later assigned to be the Northern Ireland Correspondent. Winchester's time in Northern Ireland placed him around several events of The Troubles, including the events of Bloody Sunday and the Belfast Hour of Terror.
After leaving Northern Ireland in 1972, Winchester was briefly assigned to Calcutta before becoming The Guardian's American correspondent in Washington, D.C., where Winchester covered news ranging from the end of Richard Nixon's administration to the start of Jimmy Carter's presidency. In 1982, while working as the Chief Foreign Feature Writer for The Sunday Times, Winchester was on location for the invasion of the Falklands Islands by Argentine forces. Suspected of being a spy, Winchester was held as a prisoner in Tierra del Fuego for three months.
Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber in 1975. The book drew heavily on his first-hand experiences during the turmoils in Ulster. In 1976, Winchester published his second book, American Heartbeat, which dealt with his personal travels through the American heartland. Winchester's third book, Prison Diary, was a recounting of his imprisonment at Tierra del Fuego during the Falklands War and, as noted by Dr Jules Smith, is responsible for his rise to prominence in the United Kingdom. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Winchester produced several travel books, most of which dealt with Asian and Pacific locations including Korea, Hong Kong, and the Yangtze River.
Winchester's first truly successful book was The Professor and the Madman (1998), published by Penguin UK as The Surgeon of Crowthorne. Telling the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the book was a New York Times Best Seller, and Mel Gibson optioned the rights to a film version, likely to be directed by John Boorman.
Though Winchester still writes travel books, he has repeated the narrative non-fiction form he used in The Professor and the Madman several times, many of which ended in books placed on best sellers lists. His 2001 book, The Map that Changed the World, focused on geologist William Smith and was Whichester's second New York Times best seller. The year 2003 saw Winchester release another book on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Meaning of Everything, as well as the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded. Winchester followed Krakatoa's volcano with San Francisco's 1906 earthquake in A Crack in the Edge of the World. The Man Who Loved China (2008) retells the life of eccentric Cambridge scholar Joseph Needham, who helped to expose China to the western world. Winchester's latest book, The Alice Behind Wonderland, was released March 11, 2011.
- source Wikipedia
In 1969, Winchester joined The Guardian, first as regional correspondent based in Newcastle upon Tyne, but was later assigned to be the Northern Ireland Correspondent. Winchester's time in Northern Ireland placed him around several events of The Troubles, including the events of Bloody Sunday and the Belfast Hour of Terror.
After leaving Northern Ireland in 1972, Winchester was briefly assigned to Calcutta before becoming The Guardian's American correspondent in Washington, D.C., where Winchester covered news ranging from the end of Richard Nixon's administration to the start of Jimmy Carter's presidency. In 1982, while working as the Chief Foreign Feature Writer for The Sunday Times, Winchester was on location for the invasion of the Falklands Islands by Argentine forces. Suspected of being a spy, Winchester was held as a prisoner in Tierra del Fuego for three months.
Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber in 1975. The book drew heavily on his first-hand experiences during the turmoils in Ulster. In 1976, Winchester published his second book, American Heartbeat, which dealt with his personal travels through the American heartland. Winchester's third book, Prison Diary, was a recounting of his imprisonment at Tierra del Fuego during the Falklands War and, as noted by Dr Jules Smith, is responsible for his rise to prominence in the United Kingdom. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Winchester produced several travel books, most of which dealt with Asian and Pacific locations including Korea, Hong Kong, and the Yangtze River.
Winchester's first truly successful book was The Professor and the Madman (1998), published by Penguin UK as The Surgeon of Crowthorne. Telling the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the book was a New York Times Best Seller, and Mel Gibson optioned the rights to a film version, likely to be directed by John Boorman.
Though Winchester still writes travel books, he has repeated the narrative non-fiction form he used in The Professor and the Madman several times, many of which ended in books placed on best sellers lists. His 2001 book, The Map that Changed the World, focused on geologist William Smith and was Whichester's second New York Times best seller. The year 2003 saw Winchester release another book on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Meaning of Everything, as well as the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded. Winchester followed Krakatoa's volcano with San Francisco's 1906 earthquake in A Crack in the Edge of the World. The Man Who Loved China (2008) retells the life of eccentric Cambridge scholar Joseph Needham, who helped to expose China to the western world. Winchester's latest book, The Alice Behind Wonderland, was released March 11, 2011.
- source Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
November 12, 2010
I'm glad I waited until I had been here a year to read this book. Simon Winchester writes about walking across South Korea over 20 years ago. Sometimes I glimpsed a Korea that no longer exists. South Korea is no longer under an authoritarian regime. There are not fences on all of the beaches. Jindo dogs are no longer confined to an island. A lot of what Simon saw, I see here today, which is a testament to Koreans' determination to hang onto their culture.
I have to say I was pretty offended at times. Simon gets uppity about America's imperialism without a hint of irony (Simon, you're British.) He loves all the pretty girls who giggle, rub his arms, and give him lap dances (and am I really supposed to believe you kept your pants on the whole time?) without once mentioning Korea's ass backwards gender politics. On an interesting side note, every foreigner he meets who professes an undying love for Korea is a man, himself included. Just sayin.
He admires Kim Il Sung, which is less shocking if you realize that South Korea was also being ruled by a dictator of sorts at the time. He has a simplistic view of the foreigners living in Korea: foreigners who stay forever are sages to be admired. People who are just stopping through are taking advantage and don't appreciate the culture.
That being said, this book does paint an accurate portrait of Korea, a country with much to love and much to throw your hands up at.
I have to say I was pretty offended at times. Simon gets uppity about America's imperialism without a hint of irony (Simon, you're British.) He loves all the pretty girls who giggle, rub his arms, and give him lap dances (and am I really supposed to believe you kept your pants on the whole time?) without once mentioning Korea's ass backwards gender politics. On an interesting side note, every foreigner he meets who professes an undying love for Korea is a man, himself included. Just sayin.
He admires Kim Il Sung, which is less shocking if you realize that South Korea was also being ruled by a dictator of sorts at the time. He has a simplistic view of the foreigners living in Korea: foreigners who stay forever are sages to be admired. People who are just stopping through are taking advantage and don't appreciate the culture.
That being said, this book does paint an accurate portrait of Korea, a country with much to love and much to throw your hands up at.
August 28, 2007
I liked Outposts and Fracture Zone; Korea, however, was the end of line for me. Winchester makes a repeated point of how popular he is among South Koreans by virtue of his being English; that was snotty enough by the third go-round. He managed to find one old soldier, fawningly pro-British, as though the U K had been the ones who saved South Korea. What did me in was the time he arrived at a U S base, browbeat them into letting him stay there (when they didn't have to), and then proceeded to trash just about every single U S military person he ran across after accepting their hospitality. He also had a penchant for running into anti-American Koreans; you'd think they were rife, along with all of the many prostitutes throwing themselves at him.
There's well-researched history here, although it didn't fully redeem the book for me.
There's well-researched history here, although it didn't fully redeem the book for me.
February 19, 2020
Korea: A walk through the land of miracles.
Perhaps I should have looked into more of Simon Winchester's writings. Perhaps I should have been more careful about the date the book was written. Perhaps I should have done more research on GR. But me being me I didn't do any of those things. Instead I jumped into this book without any forethought. I really wanted to know more about Korea (North and South) and a walking tour across the Southern country seemed ideal. I made a wrong choice.
Winchester is a good writer and can keep you reading even when you don't like most of the content. I will admit I learned a lot about the DMZ and a lot of the events leading to the split at the 38th parallel but it was more than I wanted to know. There's a lot of military info in the book as well as information on clubs and prostitutes. I was fed up with all of it by the end.
This is a somewhat male oriented and misogynistic book and really left me feeling sad. I found few miracles. Caveat Emptor.
Perhaps I should have looked into more of Simon Winchester's writings. Perhaps I should have been more careful about the date the book was written. Perhaps I should have done more research on GR. But me being me I didn't do any of those things. Instead I jumped into this book without any forethought. I really wanted to know more about Korea (North and South) and a walking tour across the Southern country seemed ideal. I made a wrong choice.
Winchester is a good writer and can keep you reading even when you don't like most of the content. I will admit I learned a lot about the DMZ and a lot of the events leading to the split at the 38th parallel but it was more than I wanted to know. There's a lot of military info in the book as well as information on clubs and prostitutes. I was fed up with all of it by the end.
This is a somewhat male oriented and misogynistic book and really left me feeling sad. I found few miracles. Caveat Emptor.
April 5, 2016
Simon Winchester is, as usual, a pleasure to read. The problem with the book is that it's about South Korea 30 years ago when he walked the length of the country. At that time, the "miracles" referred to in the subtitle had to do with economics, not government, which was a despotic military regime.
Even granting how long ago the book was written, it's striking how little Winchester comments on the desperate plight of women. He is, in fact, rather cavalier about the widespread prostitution he chronicles.
Oddly, Winchester ends the account with kind words for North Korea. His 2004 preface to the second edition continues this bizarrely benign appraisal of the North: "however grim and impoverished and unfree it may be, there is some credit for the fact that it has as yet not been entirely swallowed up by the globalized Coco-Cola culture of its neighbors." Sort of like, on the downside I'm being tortured to death, but on the upside at least I can't get a Coke.
Even granting how long ago the book was written, it's striking how little Winchester comments on the desperate plight of women. He is, in fact, rather cavalier about the widespread prostitution he chronicles.
Oddly, Winchester ends the account with kind words for North Korea. His 2004 preface to the second edition continues this bizarrely benign appraisal of the North: "however grim and impoverished and unfree it may be, there is some credit for the fact that it has as yet not been entirely swallowed up by the globalized Coco-Cola culture of its neighbors." Sort of like, on the downside I'm being tortured to death, but on the upside at least I can't get a Coke.
June 21, 2022
And, just like that, I'm immersed in all-things-Korea. Obsessions can be so random, yes?
This was helpful to get a sense of Korean culture, at least from a Brit's view. Evidently Koreans don't value solitude. Who knew? Korea has changed so much since 1988 when this was written. Sadly, no pictures were included in the Kindle edition. I want to come back soon and fill in the review.
[Caution: Approaching Rant] It simply should not be legal to publish a travel book without a map.
This was helpful to get a sense of Korean culture, at least from a Brit's view. Evidently Koreans don't value solitude. Who knew? Korea has changed so much since 1988 when this was written. Sadly, no pictures were included in the Kindle edition. I want to come back soon and fill in the review.
[Caution: Approaching Rant] It simply should not be legal to publish a travel book without a map.
December 30, 2015
I learned a fair amount about Korea that I didn't know, which is the positive thing I can say about this book. But the vaguely creepy paternalistic narration was extremely off-putting - it's very much a book written by a white man with a particular (and not appealing) perspective on what Korea "truly" is. The weird overuse of the word giggling is notable and telling. Extreme lack of self-examination when it comes to the author's encounters with Korean women.
August 13, 2008
Some interesting info about the country, but it was overshadowed for me by the author's tone when it came to speaking about women and describing some aspects of Korean culture. It would have been a good book if he had left his commentary out of it.
January 16, 2018
This book has a precious little to recommend for itself.
It reads more like a white man's fantasy - encountering hordes of natives fascinated by his 'foreignness' , Korean girls desperate to get a piece of him and the author's own offensive viewpoints on culture.
It reads more like a white man's fantasy - encountering hordes of natives fascinated by his 'foreignness' , Korean girls desperate to get a piece of him and the author's own offensive viewpoints on culture.
February 2, 2009
Once when I became very ill in the Peace Corps, the Medical Officer handed me Winchester's Krakatoa, and ever since I have been a huge fan of his writing. While living in Korea, I happened across this book about his walk from the South to the North in the 1980s. While it took some getting used to recognizing the old Romanization of names (he apologizes beforehand, and obviously it's not his fault), I learned so much about the peninsula's history- perhaps more so than I have learned living in the countryside for a year and a half! One complaint was that he seemed to spend a lot of time with other foreigners (although it seems as most of us expats do the same). Obviously it's just one man's experience and was seen through a filter and presented to him as a foreigner (he does mention that even parts of his books are sugar-coated due to the nature of the times).
One fact I noticed was that he mentioned Korea is the only country to celebrate its alphabet, which I know to be untrue! There is also an Alphabet Day to celebrate Cyrillic in Bulgaria (and an entirely separate day to celebrate its creators).
All in all, I recommend it to expats living here or people who are interested in Korea.
One fact I noticed was that he mentioned Korea is the only country to celebrate its alphabet, which I know to be untrue! There is also an Alphabet Day to celebrate Cyrillic in Bulgaria (and an entirely separate day to celebrate its creators).
All in all, I recommend it to expats living here or people who are interested in Korea.
May 19, 2009
Living in Korea has been great. Reading about Korea from the framework of someone who decided to walk across it was even better. I loved Winchester's use of his walk as a framework for going on all kinds of descriptive tangents about Korea: ginsing, barbershop/massage parlors, shipbuilding, food, North Korea, and most especially some of the complexity of the American Presence in Korea. It really made me want to walk across Korea, and I'm already starting to float that idea by my son. Great style, and great way of describing a country. Wish I could find a book like this on every country and state!
August 15, 2017
Simon Winchester has written about a wide range of historical subjects and has produced bestseller after bestseller. Some of his more famous works include The Professor and the Madman, Krakatoa, and The Map that Changed the World. So when I discovered recently that he wrote a book in 1988 about Korea, I thought it would be a good chance to learn a bit more about the country I’m researching.
But Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles isn’t a traditional history text. After a handful of trips to South Korea for other purposes, Winchester decided to learn more about the country simply because it fascinated him. He knew, however, that only visiting Seoul or driving through the country wouldn’t put him in contact with the kinds of interesting people he hoped to meet, so following (more or less) the path of a group of 17th-Century Dutch sailors who had shipwrecked on the Korean coast and had been taken north to the capital, Winchester decided to walk the length of Korea’s western coast from the southern island of Cheju-do to the 38th parallel–the Line of Demarcation between North and South Korea, a distance of a little more than 300 miles.
Each chapter opens with a passage from The Description of the Kingdom of Corea, written in 1668 by Hendrick Hamel, one of the Dutch sailors, and the first Western account of the “Hermit Kingdom.” In each chapter, Winchester describes his physical journey as well as the geography and atmosphere of his surroundings, but the bulk of each chapter grows into an account of the people he meets, and the reminders of Korea’s history he finds along the way.
So the book’s as much a travelogue as it is a history. But it’s really Winchester’s enthralling portrait of a country he finds simultaneously beautiful, mystifying, and inviting. His one regret is that he must stop at the border with North Korea. As much as he didn’t want his journey to end, I didn’t want his account to, either. I don’t know if South Koreans today have as antagonistic view of Americans as Winchester suggests they did in the 1980s. This concerns me for my own potential trip there next summer, but at the same time, his book makes me more eager than ever to see some of the country for myself.
But Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles isn’t a traditional history text. After a handful of trips to South Korea for other purposes, Winchester decided to learn more about the country simply because it fascinated him. He knew, however, that only visiting Seoul or driving through the country wouldn’t put him in contact with the kinds of interesting people he hoped to meet, so following (more or less) the path of a group of 17th-Century Dutch sailors who had shipwrecked on the Korean coast and had been taken north to the capital, Winchester decided to walk the length of Korea’s western coast from the southern island of Cheju-do to the 38th parallel–the Line of Demarcation between North and South Korea, a distance of a little more than 300 miles.
Each chapter opens with a passage from The Description of the Kingdom of Corea, written in 1668 by Hendrick Hamel, one of the Dutch sailors, and the first Western account of the “Hermit Kingdom.” In each chapter, Winchester describes his physical journey as well as the geography and atmosphere of his surroundings, but the bulk of each chapter grows into an account of the people he meets, and the reminders of Korea’s history he finds along the way.
So the book’s as much a travelogue as it is a history. But it’s really Winchester’s enthralling portrait of a country he finds simultaneously beautiful, mystifying, and inviting. His one regret is that he must stop at the border with North Korea. As much as he didn’t want his journey to end, I didn’t want his account to, either. I don’t know if South Koreans today have as antagonistic view of Americans as Winchester suggests they did in the 1980s. This concerns me for my own potential trip there next summer, but at the same time, his book makes me more eager than ever to see some of the country for myself.
May 20, 2018
Simon Winchester is a famous British journalist and travel writer. In this book, first published in 1988, he tells about walking the whole length of South Korea. There is a great deal of information about Korea, though some of it is now out of date. When Winchester went to South Korea, it was still a dictatorship.
He retraced the route taken by the first known Europeans to see Korea, seventeenth century Dutch seamen and merchants who had been shipwrecked and were virtual prisoners but who nevertheless left a written record.
Winchester loves Korea, and he writes well. There is a more recent foreword in which he talks of traveling to North Korea and of being fond of the people there, too, despite the regime. He seems a little too forgiving of that regime, and says nothing about starvation or prisoners, which of course he didn't see.
I did learn from this book, especially about the horrors of the 1980 massacre of thousands of young people in Kwangju by President Park Chung-hee after there were demonstrations. I also learned more than I had known previously about the Korean War. I didn't realize that the North had captured Seoul twice.
Winchester also spends a great deal of time talking about the people he met, from farmers to Buddhist monks and nuns, Irish Catholic priests, businessmen, and guides. His cheeky descriptions of interactions with women who he says offered themselves to him were hard for me to take.
He writes about the Korean "economic miracle" and sees Koreans as the hardest-working people in the world. He compares them to the Irish, and sees both peoples as cherishing their melancholy over their histories of occupation. Does he think those memories could be forgotten?
Nonetheless, I learned from this book. I hope I was able to understand all his biases and evaluate the book accurately.
He retraced the route taken by the first known Europeans to see Korea, seventeenth century Dutch seamen and merchants who had been shipwrecked and were virtual prisoners but who nevertheless left a written record.
Winchester loves Korea, and he writes well. There is a more recent foreword in which he talks of traveling to North Korea and of being fond of the people there, too, despite the regime. He seems a little too forgiving of that regime, and says nothing about starvation or prisoners, which of course he didn't see.
I did learn from this book, especially about the horrors of the 1980 massacre of thousands of young people in Kwangju by President Park Chung-hee after there were demonstrations. I also learned more than I had known previously about the Korean War. I didn't realize that the North had captured Seoul twice.
Winchester also spends a great deal of time talking about the people he met, from farmers to Buddhist monks and nuns, Irish Catholic priests, businessmen, and guides. His cheeky descriptions of interactions with women who he says offered themselves to him were hard for me to take.
He writes about the Korean "economic miracle" and sees Koreans as the hardest-working people in the world. He compares them to the Irish, and sees both peoples as cherishing their melancholy over their histories of occupation. Does he think those memories could be forgotten?
Nonetheless, I learned from this book. I hope I was able to understand all his biases and evaluate the book accurately.
October 11, 2025
I went to South Korea in 1992, a couple years after this book was published, describing a walk from the bottom to the top of South Korea. I may have carried this book with me, unopened. I like any description of long walks, or long bike rides across countries. You learn so much, and Winchester has a knack for doing the research and throwing in historical detail. With each new chapter he includes quotes from a traveler in the 1660s for perspective. In 1992 visiting Seoul, I was inspired by the artists showing their work on small streets. I bought ink drawings for approximately $1 each. I found the silk kimonos mesmerizing. There seemed to be a color for every age. The breakfasts had careful ceremony. And the historic palace was in Seoul, with beautiful craft wares from the past. And there was a certain kindness, easy-ness, intelligence, a willingness to listen to me, and tell me about a son who was in school in Minnesota. So, yes, I also like Winchester's male point of view, and his ability to gain access to the Daewoo shipbuilding peninsula (?) for instance. But I saw it with female eyes and consider Korea a beautiful place where I wish I could travel again. Winchester has written over 30 best-selling nonfiction books, while serving mainly as a journalist for the Guardian. Long may he write!
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December 23, 2024Winchester follows the approximate route on which Hendrick Hamel, the first Westerner to provide a written account of Korea in the 17th century, and his colleagues were taken after a shipwreck landed them on the island of Jeju. Winchester's account dates back to the 80's and, with the ever rushing speed of development of South Korea in modern days, an insight is given into another world. Having lived in Korea for close to a year now and having experienced similar hikes to the one Winchester takes on, it is remarkable to read what difference 30 years of development and growth has brought Korea.
Being written in the 80's, right at the time South Korea started the transition from a military led country into the well developed democracy it is now, Winchester keeps referring to the country as a dictatorship - which it was not - and to the Koreans as being communal, rather following the group than speaking their own voice. A misunderstanding of the Korean people that is still remarkably present in current days. In the book it is especially visible and painfully contradictory when Winchester describes the events in the city of Gwangju, where the people stood up against the existing power, protested and demonstrated, and were violently taken down, arrested and killed by the thousands. The amount of times people protest the streets of South Korea, resulting in impeachment or even imprisonment of the authorities in charge is far outnumbering the times this happens in the West, and still large groups of people are grouped together by generalising terms as ' the Asians' or 'because they are followers of confucianism'. Although not mentioned literally, the superiority of the Westerner is ever present. This has not changed much since times of colonisation by the west, the time in which Hendrick Hamel sailed to Japan for 'trading' but got shipwrecked short of arrival, indirectly causing Winchester to make this journey.
And on the other hand there are Winchester's beautiful descriptions of the diverse landscapes he walks through, the honest, sensitive and humorous descriptions of his encounters with Koreans, Americans, buddhists, prostitutes, and the vivid descriptions of the towns and cities he crosses. Two particular highlights are his time spent on the American army base in Gunsan and his time spent with buddhist monk Haedarng. The book provides a good picture of what South Korea looked like 30 years after the war, but needs to be read and filtered for stigma's carefully. One day I may take on the trails and walk the same route as Hamel and Winchester did, just to see how their accounts have aged.
Being written in the 80's, right at the time South Korea started the transition from a military led country into the well developed democracy it is now, Winchester keeps referring to the country as a dictatorship - which it was not - and to the Koreans as being communal, rather following the group than speaking their own voice. A misunderstanding of the Korean people that is still remarkably present in current days. In the book it is especially visible and painfully contradictory when Winchester describes the events in the city of Gwangju, where the people stood up against the existing power, protested and demonstrated, and were violently taken down, arrested and killed by the thousands. The amount of times people protest the streets of South Korea, resulting in impeachment or even imprisonment of the authorities in charge is far outnumbering the times this happens in the West, and still large groups of people are grouped together by generalising terms as ' the Asians' or 'because they are followers of confucianism'. Although not mentioned literally, the superiority of the Westerner is ever present. This has not changed much since times of colonisation by the west, the time in which Hendrick Hamel sailed to Japan for 'trading' but got shipwrecked short of arrival, indirectly causing Winchester to make this journey.
And on the other hand there are Winchester's beautiful descriptions of the diverse landscapes he walks through, the honest, sensitive and humorous descriptions of his encounters with Koreans, Americans, buddhists, prostitutes, and the vivid descriptions of the towns and cities he crosses. Two particular highlights are his time spent on the American army base in Gunsan and his time spent with buddhist monk Haedarng. The book provides a good picture of what South Korea looked like 30 years after the war, but needs to be read and filtered for stigma's carefully. One day I may take on the trails and walk the same route as Hamel and Winchester did, just to see how their accounts have aged.
May 30, 2016
I’ve spent just short of a year here in Korea and on a friend’s recommendation read this book. It provides an intriguing snapshot into 1980s Korea. A period of significant transformation for the country both politically (at the time it was still very authoritarian) and economically (the country was just beginning its impressive economic expansion). Its been interesting to see how much has changed since this book was published in 1988. The author walks the length of the country from Jeju Island in the south to the DMZ at Panmunjom. Along the way he highlights many of the cultural oddities of the Korean people (the role of marriage brokers in a country with fewer men due to the Korean War, the historical significance of Buddhism, the sadistic enjoyment Koreans take in recounting their history of constant invasions and oppression, and how social gatherings are structured to guarantee intoxication of all involved (his description of the Soju hangover is both comical and accurate).
He likewise delves into some more depressing fare as well (the plight of women, who seemed to prostitute themselves at just about every stop (which he didn’t seem to mind very much), the crude and demeaning behavior of American service members towards their Korean hosts (thankfully the behavior described has been nothing like my experience here this year), and the violent suppression of student uprisings in Gwangju at the hands of an authoritarian government (the fear of communist influence was no doubt a contributing factor to the government’s response though I’ve no doubt the threat was exaggerated to justify their actions)).
He repeatedly laments his belief that the Korean people seem to be losing some unnamed but essential quality of their Korean-ness as a result of their economic modernization. This leads to some oddly disturbing praise for the North Korean people near the end of the book, whom he thinks seem to remain more true to the Korean ideal because they are not faced with the challenges and changes that accompany economic prosperity. I understand his point however, I think every culture, not just the Korean, has faced dramatic changes as a result of economic prosperity and globalization. I believe it was simply his ability to experience that culture at a time of dramatic transition that made it more powerful in his imagination and thus more regrettable.
He likewise delves into some more depressing fare as well (the plight of women, who seemed to prostitute themselves at just about every stop (which he didn’t seem to mind very much), the crude and demeaning behavior of American service members towards their Korean hosts (thankfully the behavior described has been nothing like my experience here this year), and the violent suppression of student uprisings in Gwangju at the hands of an authoritarian government (the fear of communist influence was no doubt a contributing factor to the government’s response though I’ve no doubt the threat was exaggerated to justify their actions)).
He repeatedly laments his belief that the Korean people seem to be losing some unnamed but essential quality of their Korean-ness as a result of their economic modernization. This leads to some oddly disturbing praise for the North Korean people near the end of the book, whom he thinks seem to remain more true to the Korean ideal because they are not faced with the challenges and changes that accompany economic prosperity. I understand his point however, I think every culture, not just the Korean, has faced dramatic changes as a result of economic prosperity and globalization. I believe it was simply his ability to experience that culture at a time of dramatic transition that made it more powerful in his imagination and thus more regrettable.
May 11, 2011
Simon Winchester is awesome; this we know. In this book, in particular, he does a few awesome things. Among them: walking - yes, walking! - Korea from the southern coastal town of Mokpo to the DMZ, plus a Jeju stint to kick things off; calling out governments, often the South Korean government, on their mistakes; reporting the utter vulgarity of the behavior of the majority of the U.S. armed forces stationed in Korea/anywhere; paralleling his chapters with Hendrik Hamel's 1668 account of Korea, including quotes from that centuries old tale. That last in itself is SO interesting because it's a fascinating story nobody knows about Dutch sailor who shipwrecked in Korea and were held for 13 years before they escaped and wrote the first account of this mysterious kingdom for Western readers. All told, Simon Winchester has done a very good deed by writing this book, and as his preface to the second edition reports, he later visited North Korea when he got the chance. YAY HIM!
December 6, 2018
Although this book is quite dated (the author did his walk through South Korea in the late 80s), and I've been to South Korea in the last couple years and much has changed since this book was published, this was still an enjoyable read. Part travelogue, part history lesson, part social commentary, I thought it was an interesting chronicle of a journey on foot from the southernmost point in South Korea up to the North and South Korean DMZ. I didn't particularly like the author - he seemed a bit smug about his white-ness and how "exotic" that would be to the locals - nor do I really believe that he turned down so many opportunities to, let's say, get friendly with the local women - so that drops it a star for me. But otherwise, a good choice for those who enjoy hiking/trekking memoirs and a decent armchair adventure narrative.
September 19, 2021
This was an impulse purchase at a used bookstore, early in my first attempt at learning Korean. #koreanmarch seemed like an ideal time to finally pick it up and read it.
Listen. I had a LOT of feelings reading this book. Part of it was just what I wanted — an outsider's view of Korea. The landscape, the people, the different regions, a little history. BUT. The whole thing was shot through with SO MUCH colonialism and sexism and occasional exoticism that sometimes I wanted to strangle the author. Definitely not written for today's reader. I kept having to remind myself to READ THIS AS A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT, and even then I had to go rant to my husband every now and then to let off a little steam. I am glad that I read it, because I definitely learned some cultural aspects that had previously mystified me, but I am also still mad about it.
Listen. I had a LOT of feelings reading this book. Part of it was just what I wanted — an outsider's view of Korea. The landscape, the people, the different regions, a little history. BUT. The whole thing was shot through with SO MUCH colonialism and sexism and occasional exoticism that sometimes I wanted to strangle the author. Definitely not written for today's reader. I kept having to remind myself to READ THIS AS A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT, and even then I had to go rant to my husband every now and then to let off a little steam. I am glad that I read it, because I definitely learned some cultural aspects that had previously mystified me, but I am also still mad about it.
April 29, 2012
I just moved to South Korea and I found this book a reasonably good introduction to the country and it's culture.
A few caveats, the text was written in 1988 when South Korean's government was far more authoritarian. Thus, the contrast with the North wasn't near as striking as today. Winchester is a bit harsh at times on American imperialism (coming from a Brit, this is at times particularly rich) and seems to only encounter the most vulgar, most ignorant Americans he can find.
I also found Winchester's claim to be a sexual magnet to all Korean women coming into his presence a bit hard to take it times.
Overall, the book felt like it was written by say Paul Theroux's younger, less intelligent or insightful brother.
But it was still a good read nonetheless.
Recommend.
A few caveats, the text was written in 1988 when South Korean's government was far more authoritarian. Thus, the contrast with the North wasn't near as striking as today. Winchester is a bit harsh at times on American imperialism (coming from a Brit, this is at times particularly rich) and seems to only encounter the most vulgar, most ignorant Americans he can find.
I also found Winchester's claim to be a sexual magnet to all Korean women coming into his presence a bit hard to take it times.
Overall, the book felt like it was written by say Paul Theroux's younger, less intelligent or insightful brother.
But it was still a good read nonetheless.
Recommend.
September 18, 2022
After reading "The Man who loved China" by Winchester and "The professor and the Madmen" I was keen to read another book by this author.
I really like the amount of research and the depth of cultural experiences that are included in his work. I didn't get through this one as quickly as the others. The narrative is structured around his trek thru the country, with observations and some historical context of those places and people that left their mark. This book provided useful background information to other books that I've read about the country and its history.
I really like the amount of research and the depth of cultural experiences that are included in his work. I didn't get through this one as quickly as the others. The narrative is structured around his trek thru the country, with observations and some historical context of those places and people that left their mark. This book provided useful background information to other books that I've read about the country and its history.
June 15, 2024
It has been very disconcerting as I read this book to discover the depths of my ignorance about Korea, the history and the people. I am of the age where I have seen every episode of M*A*S*H probably 10 times. My best friend for almost 15 years was Korean. In my work I have access to the stories of military veterans who served during the Korean War and those who have served in Korea and at the DMZ over the 70 years since. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable on a general level about global events and global politics. And I found myself learning so much with every chapter of this book, even though the book was written over 30 years ago.
I had blithely assumed that since the Americans (and a few other people) had helped keep the Communists in North Korea, that South Korea was/became a democracy and all was right with the world. Stupidly naive. Immediately following the work it was a Fiat State that was allegedly headed for democracy until a series of revolutions and military governments took control. That only began to change in 1987 -- after the publication of this book. I knew about the issue of "Comfort Women" (kidnapped Korean women and girls as young as 10 who were taken by the Japanese and raped repeatedly for months, often until they died or were too physically broken to continue) during World War II. I did not realize the long history of animosity between the countries dating back to when the Japanese took over Korea as a colony for many years and tried to suppress all aspects of Korean identity. I knew that the Korean language is written very differently from Chinese or Japanese characters, but I did not know that it was invented or created by a monarch eager to restore the sense of Korean identity by uniting people around their native language and finding a way to represent it in written form. I did not fully grasp the strength of the fear/genuine nature of the anxiety about North Korean infiltration that dominated in South Korea (and likely still does) because for too long I had been influenced by Western media's portrayal of the North as a self-important laughingstock, albeit one with nuclear capabilities.
Reading this book made me very much want to discuss it with my best friend, Sandra, because I think it gave me an understanding of many things she knew but never explained to me about the levels of my ignorance. Sadly, she died of cancer in 2017. Many of the aspects of the general nature of Koreans which the author chooses to highlight in this book were things I appreciated about Sandra. The willingness to try anything once and the stubborn refusal to let herself be bested by circumstances -- such as climbing the circular staircase in a lighthouse despite having severe claustrophobia and a paralyzing fear of heights. Her willingness and skill in reinventing herself when her plans to a surprising and complete dead end. Also the mind-boggling amount of alcohol her father consumed regularly and her nonchalant acceptance of it -- apparently that is a very Korean thing particularly for Korean men -- the book implied that alcoholism is not a concept that was known there, and Sandra seemed to assume it was normal. Even something as small and insignificant as cobblers being well-paid in Korea because of the wear and tear from constantly donning and removing shoes explains why her father took that job after moving to the US (despite being trained as an architect) because he has never really learned English.
There were other aspects of this book which struck me. The beauty of the landscape as described by the author makes the idea of walking nearly 300 miles in a foreign country sound appealing. I would hope that at least some of the places he described as wild and remote and naturally beautiful are still preserved, particularly along the West Coast. The author referenced a strong resemblance between the West Coast in Korea and the Oregon Coast and it made me wonder if that was part of the reason so many Korean families had stayed in Oregon and Washington after immigrating. I was more than a little disgusted with the non-Korean men the author kept meeting particularly when it came to their attitude toward Korean women. The emphasis on sexual conquest/exploitation and the expectation of this as their right is not challenged by the author, aside from one observation that sex outside of marriage was frowned on for Korean women, which both he and his companion shrugged at. The author had no qualms about hiring women as companions for the evening or hanging out with sex workers and strongly hinted that the only thing which kept him from actual sex was fear of disease although he was likely a married man. And the slightly condescending British tone with which he speaks of Korean pride in their heritage and culture, comparing it to that of Americans, with the belief in their inherent superiority -- all the while, with the undercurrent that he clearly finds himself superior to both groups because he is British.
All in all, Winchester is a good writer and able to keep me interested in the book and the subject matter and even his own journey, even when I was disgusted with his multiple forms of chauvinism. Even though this book is dated in many ways (I wonder how much change has been wrought in the smaller towns he encountered by the coming of mobile phones and the internet), it is a good glimpse into the history and character of a country and a people about which most Westerners have but a superficial understanding.
I had blithely assumed that since the Americans (and a few other people) had helped keep the Communists in North Korea, that South Korea was/became a democracy and all was right with the world. Stupidly naive. Immediately following the work it was a Fiat State that was allegedly headed for democracy until a series of revolutions and military governments took control. That only began to change in 1987 -- after the publication of this book. I knew about the issue of "Comfort Women" (kidnapped Korean women and girls as young as 10 who were taken by the Japanese and raped repeatedly for months, often until they died or were too physically broken to continue) during World War II. I did not realize the long history of animosity between the countries dating back to when the Japanese took over Korea as a colony for many years and tried to suppress all aspects of Korean identity. I knew that the Korean language is written very differently from Chinese or Japanese characters, but I did not know that it was invented or created by a monarch eager to restore the sense of Korean identity by uniting people around their native language and finding a way to represent it in written form. I did not fully grasp the strength of the fear/genuine nature of the anxiety about North Korean infiltration that dominated in South Korea (and likely still does) because for too long I had been influenced by Western media's portrayal of the North as a self-important laughingstock, albeit one with nuclear capabilities.
Reading this book made me very much want to discuss it with my best friend, Sandra, because I think it gave me an understanding of many things she knew but never explained to me about the levels of my ignorance. Sadly, she died of cancer in 2017. Many of the aspects of the general nature of Koreans which the author chooses to highlight in this book were things I appreciated about Sandra. The willingness to try anything once and the stubborn refusal to let herself be bested by circumstances -- such as climbing the circular staircase in a lighthouse despite having severe claustrophobia and a paralyzing fear of heights. Her willingness and skill in reinventing herself when her plans to a surprising and complete dead end. Also the mind-boggling amount of alcohol her father consumed regularly and her nonchalant acceptance of it -- apparently that is a very Korean thing particularly for Korean men -- the book implied that alcoholism is not a concept that was known there, and Sandra seemed to assume it was normal. Even something as small and insignificant as cobblers being well-paid in Korea because of the wear and tear from constantly donning and removing shoes explains why her father took that job after moving to the US (despite being trained as an architect) because he has never really learned English.
There were other aspects of this book which struck me. The beauty of the landscape as described by the author makes the idea of walking nearly 300 miles in a foreign country sound appealing. I would hope that at least some of the places he described as wild and remote and naturally beautiful are still preserved, particularly along the West Coast. The author referenced a strong resemblance between the West Coast in Korea and the Oregon Coast and it made me wonder if that was part of the reason so many Korean families had stayed in Oregon and Washington after immigrating. I was more than a little disgusted with the non-Korean men the author kept meeting particularly when it came to their attitude toward Korean women. The emphasis on sexual conquest/exploitation and the expectation of this as their right is not challenged by the author, aside from one observation that sex outside of marriage was frowned on for Korean women, which both he and his companion shrugged at. The author had no qualms about hiring women as companions for the evening or hanging out with sex workers and strongly hinted that the only thing which kept him from actual sex was fear of disease although he was likely a married man. And the slightly condescending British tone with which he speaks of Korean pride in their heritage and culture, comparing it to that of Americans, with the belief in their inherent superiority -- all the while, with the undercurrent that he clearly finds himself superior to both groups because he is British.
All in all, Winchester is a good writer and able to keep me interested in the book and the subject matter and even his own journey, even when I was disgusted with his multiple forms of chauvinism. Even though this book is dated in many ways (I wonder how much change has been wrought in the smaller towns he encountered by the coming of mobile phones and the internet), it is a good glimpse into the history and character of a country and a people about which most Westerners have but a superficial understanding.
August 9, 2018
Not my favorite Winchester book. An interesting walk but with a heavy dose of the darker aspects of Korean history as he visits areas that more often than not were once scenes of particularly gruesome atrocities. We certainly heard about all those. In detail. And between atrocities thevillages and cities were often grim in appearance and melancholy places. Maybe someone should try the walk now. Would it all be rosier?
April 4, 2019
I love everything Simon Winchester writes. This is his journey walking from south to north in Korea. He chronicles everything he sees and relates it to the history of Korea. A very effective way to teach history. Obviously, he is stopped at the border and is not allowed into North Korea, so we don't get his vantage point of North Korea. A good read!
March 22, 2018
While doing some due diligence on the book before diving into it, I found in one review someone describe it as being similar to a long article in a periodical, lacking in that essential style that makes or breaks a piece of travel literature, it being concerned, principally in my mind, with the relation of the author to the place at hand, not with the place itself per se. I'd have to agree.
The premise: the author, principally a journalist (and oh, how it _shows_), is interested in Korea and decides, for whatever reason, to start in the south and travel northward, covering the ground of the Dutchmen who shipwrecked there centuries ago. They were confined to the peninsula by the king for reasons of national security and only after a decade of forced military service were some of them able to escape. One member wrote a book about their experiences, the first Western account of the place, a natural (if forced) source of inspiration and guidance for our author's own tour of the country.
This premise is really an overabundance of form. The author does not seem to really be interested in Korea in the traditional literary sense, but instead is interested in Korea as a geopolitical entity - concerned with those details that make their way into an Economist article the middlebrow can regurgitate with smug self-satisfaction. My gripes with the aesthetic style is nuanced to the point of being, admittedly, indefensible - but allow me to try.
Consider the following scene: a man, guidebook in hand, visits a country in search of its soul. He knows his companion text in and out, and throughout his walk is quick to bring up any factoid he recalls and connect it to the scene at hand. More likely, he to and from the places described in the book and, sizing up the entry before him, confirms with an absurd self-satisfaction that what he reads and what he sees (through the context of his book, like a crutch beside him) match.
Of course, our author does not do something so cliche, but my claim is that he, in his own way, approaches the spirit of the portrait above. Instead of a guidebook he has a more "literary" equivalent of a historical account of travels through the country. In exchange for mere facts, he has broad stroke opinions and views undifferentiated from the general Western perception of the country at the time to regurgitate with a pretense of introspection.
As such, if you are looking for a cursory view of a country, the likes of which a Wikipedia article or variety of Economist articles can impart, then this is a sufficient substitute. If you are looking for travel literature proper, then this is nothing of the sort.
There is no introspection here, nor romanticism, nor moments of delightful triviality. Chapter after chapter we get the details of his journey from one side to another. Sometimes it rains, and often his feet hurt. He meets a variety of "pretty" women who either serve him a drink, present him a room, or try to sell themselves to him, all of these things being quite incidental to his primary aim of doing his Important Walk. In fact, if the author weren't so insufferably literal, I'm convinced he would occlude these things entirely, he certainly doesn't have anything interesting to say about them, or really any thought about the people he meet at all. He is instead content to talk about how "Korea is a miracle" or, more concretely, various factoids that he presents in lieu of insights and observations of the country and people itself.
He brings up, multiple times, how he wish he could go all the way to North Korea, but you are left wondering what purpose could that possibly serve? You find that it is because he has misconstrued the _route_ for the _walk_. This confusion extends even to the preface of the second edition, where he mentions his visits to the dictatorship after the book has been published and how he felt it was vaguely more Korean than it's democratic counterpart. This fits in quite nicely with the manner of his writing and account, which is concerned primarily with the content of histories and factory floor pamphlets. The actuality of Korea and the Korean peoples must, necessarily, be far away from the true Korea, then, which in his mind is something that was written down once, like a national decree, and must be played on loud speakers across proverbial DMZs.
The premise: the author, principally a journalist (and oh, how it _shows_), is interested in Korea and decides, for whatever reason, to start in the south and travel northward, covering the ground of the Dutchmen who shipwrecked there centuries ago. They were confined to the peninsula by the king for reasons of national security and only after a decade of forced military service were some of them able to escape. One member wrote a book about their experiences, the first Western account of the place, a natural (if forced) source of inspiration and guidance for our author's own tour of the country.
This premise is really an overabundance of form. The author does not seem to really be interested in Korea in the traditional literary sense, but instead is interested in Korea as a geopolitical entity - concerned with those details that make their way into an Economist article the middlebrow can regurgitate with smug self-satisfaction. My gripes with the aesthetic style is nuanced to the point of being, admittedly, indefensible - but allow me to try.
Consider the following scene: a man, guidebook in hand, visits a country in search of its soul. He knows his companion text in and out, and throughout his walk is quick to bring up any factoid he recalls and connect it to the scene at hand. More likely, he to and from the places described in the book and, sizing up the entry before him, confirms with an absurd self-satisfaction that what he reads and what he sees (through the context of his book, like a crutch beside him) match.
Of course, our author does not do something so cliche, but my claim is that he, in his own way, approaches the spirit of the portrait above. Instead of a guidebook he has a more "literary" equivalent of a historical account of travels through the country. In exchange for mere facts, he has broad stroke opinions and views undifferentiated from the general Western perception of the country at the time to regurgitate with a pretense of introspection.
As such, if you are looking for a cursory view of a country, the likes of which a Wikipedia article or variety of Economist articles can impart, then this is a sufficient substitute. If you are looking for travel literature proper, then this is nothing of the sort.
There is no introspection here, nor romanticism, nor moments of delightful triviality. Chapter after chapter we get the details of his journey from one side to another. Sometimes it rains, and often his feet hurt. He meets a variety of "pretty" women who either serve him a drink, present him a room, or try to sell themselves to him, all of these things being quite incidental to his primary aim of doing his Important Walk. In fact, if the author weren't so insufferably literal, I'm convinced he would occlude these things entirely, he certainly doesn't have anything interesting to say about them, or really any thought about the people he meet at all. He is instead content to talk about how "Korea is a miracle" or, more concretely, various factoids that he presents in lieu of insights and observations of the country and people itself.
He brings up, multiple times, how he wish he could go all the way to North Korea, but you are left wondering what purpose could that possibly serve? You find that it is because he has misconstrued the _route_ for the _walk_. This confusion extends even to the preface of the second edition, where he mentions his visits to the dictatorship after the book has been published and how he felt it was vaguely more Korean than it's democratic counterpart. This fits in quite nicely with the manner of his writing and account, which is concerned primarily with the content of histories and factory floor pamphlets. The actuality of Korea and the Korean peoples must, necessarily, be far away from the true Korea, then, which in his mind is something that was written down once, like a national decree, and must be played on loud speakers across proverbial DMZs.
August 17, 2024
If you already live in Korea, have lived in Korea, or have the yearning to visit and truly learn about Korea and its culture, you'll likely find some value in reading this. I'm in the former category, and despite already knowing a decent amount about Korean culture, history and language, I still found this to be an enlightening read. The premise, from the start, is captivating; in that Winchester attempts to be a sort of 'fly on the wall' as he aims to journey from the southern tip of Jeju island, all the way to the edge of the Military Demarcation Line in the DMZ. As a set up, you can't help but feel curious as to what he'll encounter.
Despite being written in 1988/89, (and having a new preface being added in 2004) the book serves well as a sort of time capsule--a record of what (South) Korea had precisely been at a time, even though it has certainly progressed in many ways in the 35+ years since. There were a number of observations Winchester made that I recognized immediately, in terms of the common habits and interpersonal modes of Korean people. Yet, despite the enormous political changes Korea has undergone which has not accidentally made way for a enormous burst into the pop-cultural scene for Korean entertainment, at the end of the day, what always remains with Korean people at their core is a serious and entrenched sense of honor, work, and fortitude.
There is one word that Winchester never mentioned in the book which I think is significant is the concept of 'han' (한). If I understand 'han' correctly, it basically involves a sense of deep emotion,
a feeling of sadness because of the plight of the Korean people throughout history; a feeling that denotes the struggle that has been and is part of Korean identity. I think trying to understand this sense of 'han' explains a lot about how there is also a sense melancholy in the way Koreans interpret history, nature, and life. Sometimes, we try to put things into words, but words may not do justice to feelings; feelings that are not simply understood in a moment, but must be lived to be understood, somehow.
Overall, as a foreigner, being an open-minded observer and inquisitor, and journeying through Korea on foot in a relatively short period of time, I think Winchester provided a very fair and thorough representation of Korea and all of its salience. The only forewarning I would give is that it is somewhat dated, especially in terms of the political situation, certain working conditions, and the general state of infrastructure. But the majority of the book remains accurate enough. Hopefully, if you're like me, you may even be inspired enough to take a similar journey yourself. I for one, now feel motivated to climb Halla-san (on Jeju island) for the first time. I just have to pick the right weather; I don't want to get slammed in a downpour like Winchester did!
Despite being written in 1988/89, (and having a new preface being added in 2004) the book serves well as a sort of time capsule--a record of what (South) Korea had precisely been at a time, even though it has certainly progressed in many ways in the 35+ years since. There were a number of observations Winchester made that I recognized immediately, in terms of the common habits and interpersonal modes of Korean people. Yet, despite the enormous political changes Korea has undergone which has not accidentally made way for a enormous burst into the pop-cultural scene for Korean entertainment, at the end of the day, what always remains with Korean people at their core is a serious and entrenched sense of honor, work, and fortitude.
There is one word that Winchester never mentioned in the book which I think is significant is the concept of 'han' (한). If I understand 'han' correctly, it basically involves a sense of deep emotion,
a feeling of sadness because of the plight of the Korean people throughout history; a feeling that denotes the struggle that has been and is part of Korean identity. I think trying to understand this sense of 'han' explains a lot about how there is also a sense melancholy in the way Koreans interpret history, nature, and life. Sometimes, we try to put things into words, but words may not do justice to feelings; feelings that are not simply understood in a moment, but must be lived to be understood, somehow.
Overall, as a foreigner, being an open-minded observer and inquisitor, and journeying through Korea on foot in a relatively short period of time, I think Winchester provided a very fair and thorough representation of Korea and all of its salience. The only forewarning I would give is that it is somewhat dated, especially in terms of the political situation, certain working conditions, and the general state of infrastructure. But the majority of the book remains accurate enough. Hopefully, if you're like me, you may even be inspired enough to take a similar journey yourself. I for one, now feel motivated to climb Halla-san (on Jeju island) for the first time. I just have to pick the right weather; I don't want to get slammed in a downpour like Winchester did!
November 13, 2022
Like others, I read (and loved) "The Professor and the Madman", so when I saw the same author had written a book about Korea, I had to read it. Hmmmm.
Some interesting notes:
- There used to be fencing all along the East coast (was this still there when I was there? It definitely wasn't as popular as it is now)
- Apparently you couldn't keep maps you bought outside the country.
- The maps also didn't specify a border between North and South Korea (is this true??)
- Koreans weren't issued passports during the 1980s (?)
- I'd like to know more about the Catholic priests and nuns in Jejudo at the time.
- The story about Jeju's (possibly) communist uprising before the Korean war was fascinating.
- And at some point he says he mentions a Korean poet (brother of the buddhist monk he is hanging out with), called Hwang Chi-woo. Thanks to google, I can now confirm that it is probably this person: https://wordswithoutborders.org/contr...
- Also fascinating about the Chollipo arboretum.
Some others have commented on how critical he seems of US military personnel in Korea. While I find his general attitude very annoying, from what I remember from the 90s in Korea, some of that military personnel really wasn't the type you'd want to hang out with. Back then we would avoid Itaewon like the plague. Still, he constantly makes use of Americans and their facilities for places to stay, transportation, letting him go to the DMZ, etc., but feels the need to trash them at every turn, and loves to mention how much more he is respected as an Englishmen than an American would be.
While we're at it, his attitude toward Korean women is irritating to say the least. Apparently they all can't get enough of him and seem to throw themselves at him.
The most interesting part of the book is at the very end, when he mentions someone (whose name he isn't allowed to disclose), who apparently was allowed to go back and forth from South to North Korea and back freely. I assume, at this point, this person is retired and/or has passed away, but I can't seem to find any information on who it might be.
2.5 stars
Some interesting notes:
- There used to be fencing all along the East coast (was this still there when I was there? It definitely wasn't as popular as it is now)
- Apparently you couldn't keep maps you bought outside the country.
- The maps also didn't specify a border between North and South Korea (is this true??)
- Koreans weren't issued passports during the 1980s (?)
- I'd like to know more about the Catholic priests and nuns in Jejudo at the time.
- The story about Jeju's (possibly) communist uprising before the Korean war was fascinating.
- And at some point he says he mentions a Korean poet (brother of the buddhist monk he is hanging out with), called Hwang Chi-woo. Thanks to google, I can now confirm that it is probably this person: https://wordswithoutborders.org/contr...
- Also fascinating about the Chollipo arboretum.
Some others have commented on how critical he seems of US military personnel in Korea. While I find his general attitude very annoying, from what I remember from the 90s in Korea, some of that military personnel really wasn't the type you'd want to hang out with. Back then we would avoid Itaewon like the plague. Still, he constantly makes use of Americans and their facilities for places to stay, transportation, letting him go to the DMZ, etc., but feels the need to trash them at every turn, and loves to mention how much more he is respected as an Englishmen than an American would be.
While we're at it, his attitude toward Korean women is irritating to say the least. Apparently they all can't get enough of him and seem to throw themselves at him.
The most interesting part of the book is at the very end, when he mentions someone (whose name he isn't allowed to disclose), who apparently was allowed to go back and forth from South to North Korea and back freely. I assume, at this point, this person is retired and/or has passed away, but I can't seem to find any information on who it might be.
2.5 stars
May 20, 2025
Originally published in 1988, and recently republished in its second edition. However, there is little evidence that the book has been re-edited in any way, and so it was a very dated travel description of South Korea by an English writer, who spoke minimal Korean, and who reflected the sexism and anti-Americanism of the time.
The premise of the book is that Winchester decided to follow the path of Hendrick Hamel, the Dutch soldier who was shipwrecked on Jeju Island in 1653 on his way to Japan. He was prevented from leaving by the isolationist policies of the Josean emperor, and spent 13 years in what is now Korea, before escaping back to the Netherlands and writing the first western account of Korea. Winchester followed Hamel's route up into what is now North Korea, but he could not cross the Demilitarized Zone at that time (even though, as he tells us in the preface to the second edition, he did manage to visit later). His route takes him up from Jeju Island to the central and western side of South Korea, where he meets mainly with monks and US servicemen, as well as some 'ordinary' South Koreans.
I found the book very dated in its outlook, and I felt uncomfortable about his pontifications on South Korean life and national characteristics from such an Anglo-centric perspectives.
The premise of the book is that Winchester decided to follow the path of Hendrick Hamel, the Dutch soldier who was shipwrecked on Jeju Island in 1653 on his way to Japan. He was prevented from leaving by the isolationist policies of the Josean emperor, and spent 13 years in what is now Korea, before escaping back to the Netherlands and writing the first western account of Korea. Winchester followed Hamel's route up into what is now North Korea, but he could not cross the Demilitarized Zone at that time (even though, as he tells us in the preface to the second edition, he did manage to visit later). His route takes him up from Jeju Island to the central and western side of South Korea, where he meets mainly with monks and US servicemen, as well as some 'ordinary' South Koreans.
I found the book very dated in its outlook, and I felt uncomfortable about his pontifications on South Korean life and national characteristics from such an Anglo-centric perspectives.
November 18, 2023
I'll say this: "Korea" was an interesting read, but it would have been a lot better without Simon Winchester's commentary. Winchester can't stop talking about how fascinated people are by his "whiteness"—in particular, he keeps making a point about all of the Korean women he meets, who "giggle" and fawn over his hairy limbs (and honestly, it probably went a lot farther than this). There is even a scene where he is in a brothel and straight-up gropes a prostitute's nipples.
The book wasn't without substance, though. Winchester still had some commentary on his adventures, like when he traversed Halla-san in Jeju. I also learned a lot about Korean history and the events leading up to the civil war (interestingly, Winchester is a staunch supporter of Kim Il-Sung, another little factoid). However, I would have liked to see a bit more narrative, not so much documentation.
Overall, this is not the kind of book that I would recommend. It's quite misogynistic. Not really him trying to immerse himself in the Korean culture, but to instead emphasize his foreignness to attract pretty Korean girls. 2/5
The book wasn't without substance, though. Winchester still had some commentary on his adventures, like when he traversed Halla-san in Jeju. I also learned a lot about Korean history and the events leading up to the civil war (interestingly, Winchester is a staunch supporter of Kim Il-Sung, another little factoid). However, I would have liked to see a bit more narrative, not so much documentation.
Overall, this is not the kind of book that I would recommend. It's quite misogynistic. Not really him trying to immerse himself in the Korean culture, but to instead emphasize his foreignness to attract pretty Korean girls. 2/5
July 20, 2023
Summary: Somewhat dated but interesting
Written in 1988, this book tells of a walking trip Winchester took from southernmost Korea (the island of Cheju) to the border with the North. Winchester structured the trip to follow the route of a group of Dutch sailors shipwrecked there in the 17th century. Winchester was a newspaper reporter and this early book sounds like a long piece for the Guardian. He mixes personal observation, the historical record, informal encounters, and some formal interviews with business figures. The story is uneven: some really interesting stories and some long, dull sections. It is not the best intro to Winchester, who did much better books later. It is also quite dated, so not a good guide to modern Korea. Probably best as a picture of a particular time in S Korea when it was emerging from poverty. Interesting to see Hyundai and Samsung (Goldstar) before they became global powerhouses. Some nice stories about inns and temples he visited. Worth reading with a browser at hand to check on “what happened next” (democracy for one) and get pictures.
Written in 1988, this book tells of a walking trip Winchester took from southernmost Korea (the island of Cheju) to the border with the North. Winchester structured the trip to follow the route of a group of Dutch sailors shipwrecked there in the 17th century. Winchester was a newspaper reporter and this early book sounds like a long piece for the Guardian. He mixes personal observation, the historical record, informal encounters, and some formal interviews with business figures. The story is uneven: some really interesting stories and some long, dull sections. It is not the best intro to Winchester, who did much better books later. It is also quite dated, so not a good guide to modern Korea. Probably best as a picture of a particular time in S Korea when it was emerging from poverty. Interesting to see Hyundai and Samsung (Goldstar) before they became global powerhouses. Some nice stories about inns and temples he visited. Worth reading with a browser at hand to check on “what happened next” (democracy for one) and get pictures.
October 22, 2022
I can’t say I like the book but I also don’t completely dislike it. The writer is pissing me off constantly - the self-praise, the way he’s using the American army bases like hotels when he is so proud to tell Koreans he’s an Englishmen - am I missing something because it seems so fucking rude and - the preaching and the pretty girls talk - I’m sorry but it’s not relevant for the story at all how people look - and the descriptions of brothels or similar places he was in. I truly madly deeply don’t need to know about that. You know there is something called editing, right?
Despite these and many others annoyances, the book does paint some view of Korea in the 80s - albeit mostly from foreign or religious points of view. After reading other books from different time periods, it certainly adds to the full picture.
Not interested in reading anything by the author ever again though.
Despite these and many others annoyances, the book does paint some view of Korea in the 80s - albeit mostly from foreign or religious points of view. After reading other books from different time periods, it certainly adds to the full picture.
Not interested in reading anything by the author ever again though.
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