Changing Korea

In the last fifty years, Korea has transformed itself from an agrarian, Confucian-based culture into a global and technological powerhouse, and one of the most important political and economic forces in the world. Based on previous research and face-to-face interviews, the book shows how contemporary Koreans negotiate traditional Confucian values and Western capitalistic values in their everyday encounters – particularly in business and professional contexts. This is a useful companion book for courses in international business, intercultural communication, and Asian studies.

The Authors: T. Youn-ja Shim is the former Director of Global Entertainment Business in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Prior to that she served as Associate Director of the Center for Asian Business, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, where she developed and was the Director of the International MBA in the Media and taught intercultural communication theory. Earlier Shim worked as a vice president and branch manager in the banking industry. Min-Sun Kim is Professor in the Department of Speech at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has authored more than sixty articles and is author of Non-western Perspectives on Human Communication: Implications for Theory and Practice (2002). Her most recent work is in the area of cultural relativity of communication theories. She is the past Chair of the Intercultural Communication Division of the International Communication Association. Judith N. Martin is Professor of Intercultural Communication at Arizona State University. She has published numerous articles in the areas of ethnicity and communication, international sojourning, and cross-cultural training and has co-authored several intercultural communication textbooks. She served as the Jeanne T. Herberger Professor of Communication from 2001-2004 at Arizona State University.