In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

BOOK REVIEWS191 South Korea, concluding with an adroit discussion of indoctrination efforts in the South. In the North there was less dissent, not because of superior policies, but rather because most of the dissenters had fled south before and during the Korean War. Predictably Henderson is critical, but he also suggests that the future for the South is bright, since at the time of his writing there was a trend toward liberalization. One suspects that recent events in South Korea would not substantially revise his overall assessment. Ilpyong Kim's chapter on the role of the major powers begins with the assumption, somewhat overdrawn, that it is the four major powers (China, Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union) which will largely determine the success or failure of inter-Korea dialogue. His contribution is a relatively straightforward account organized around the "Northern Triangle" (North Korea, China, and the USSR) and the "Southern Triangle" (South Korea, the U.S., and Japan). The only real "revisionism" comes in his conclusion that the U.S. hard-line policy toward North Korea must change before peace and stability can be assured on the peninsula. The final chapter by Kyungmo Chung is subtitled "A Korean Perspective." This contribution stands out from the others not because it is not revisionist (it suggests a plot by Japan to keep Korea divided), but rather because problems of sources, misspellings, and various other infelicities reduce the utility of his writing. In sum, with the exception of the last chapter, this volume consists of wellcrafted and controversial perspectives on contemporary Korea that will furnish those who read it with a different and often refreshing alternative view of events and processes in Korea. Wayne Patterson St. Norbert College The Republic ofKorea: Economic Transformation and Social Change, by David I. Steinberg. Westview Profiles/Nations of Contemporary Asia. Boulder: Westview Press, 1989. xvi + 218 pp. Maps, photos, glossary, bibliography, index. Hardcover $34.50. Korea has attracted considerable attention in the 1980s. Newspaper articles, journals , and books have focused on Korea and its amazing economic performance over the last twenty-five years. David I. Steinberg, in The Republic of Korea: Economic Transformation and Social Change, offers another evaluation. Steinberg qualifies as an old Korea hand. He has lived off and on in Korea since the early 60s and has been an eyewitness to many of the dramatic events that have gripped that country. His personal insight into events has been nourished by those of his family and friends. The results is an up-to-date analysis of Korea's economic development which examines both U.S. and Korean roles on the peninsula . 192BOOK REVIEWS Edwin Reischauer, in his two widely read classics 77te U.S. and Japan and The Japanese, provided Americans with a highly readable introduction to Japanese society. Steinberg's The Republic of Korea tries to duplicate Reischauer's work for Korea. The book begins with a brief geographical description of the Korean peninsula. Three chapters (20 percent of the book) follow that provide a survey of Korea's nearly two thousand years of recorded history. These chapters constitute the background for the book's focus: contemporary South Korea, its economic growth, and the resulting social change. In looking at Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953, Steinberg has provided a sensible, objective analysis. He has carefully and concisely analyzed contemporary South Korea in terms of societal development, the role of the military , politics, and economic growth. Behind much of his inquiry is the goal of explaining the "economic miracle" and determining to what degree Korea's experience is applicable to other nations. He leaves the reader with the sense that Korea's case is special and probably cannot be repeated elsewhere; he claims, "the unique mix at the right international moment was Korea's special genius" (P- 157). Steinberg argues that Japanese investment and capital funds from involvement in the Vietnam War also prove insufficient to explain Korea's success. He further rejects the ever popular dependency theory, asserting that Korea's growth was accomplished by Korean conditions: homogeneity of the people, Confucian tradition, land reform, and a "new military government not beholden to any traditional elite...

pdf

Share