A great collection of essays on the Korean history, modernity, economics, politics and culture written from the 20 years old perspective of a Russian professor in Korea. Thorough and detail-rich, it is interesting to read and uncovers a lot of things an ordinary Korean would miss just because they were raised inside the culture and take them for granted. Possibly, a perspective of an American or German person would differ, but the context of the author does not distort the body of the book too much, giving enough pure information and observations. Definitely worth reading.