Chapter I First Impression of South Korea Vibrant South Korea, Dynamic Korea! Step 1 South Korea in the World Step 2 Symbols of Korea Step 3 Korean People and the Korean Alphabet
Chapter 2 Natural Environment and Administration There are many beauties in Korea because it has clean water! Step 1 Geography and Climate Step 2 Nature and Korean People Step 3 Administration District and Population
Chapter 3 Family and Manners Why do Korean people always ask people’s age when they meet for the first time? Step 1 Characteristics of Korean Families Step 2 Family Relations and Manners Step 3 Dol, Wedding Ceremony, Hoe Gap and Ancestral Rites
Chapter 4 Clothing Life and Han Bok Korean People who Say ‘The Tailor Makes the Man.’ Step 1 Korean People and Clothes Step 2 Han Bok Culture
Chapter 5 Dietary Life and Kimchi Kimchi, hot and mouth-watering! Step 1 Cooked Rice and Soup Step 2 Table Setting and Table Manners Step 3 Kimchi and Mak geol li
Chapter 6 Housing Lifestyle and On Dol You take off your shoes at home? Step 1 Traditional Han Ok Step 2 On Dol and Sedentary Lifestyle Step 3 Apartments and Modern Architecture
Chapter 7 History and Peoples Korean History which Has Bounced Back up Like a Roly Poly through Loyalty and Filial Piety Step 1 Overview of Korean history Step 2 People on Korean Currency
Chapter 8 Politics and Economy Do you know the division of South and North Korea and ‘Miracle on the Han River’? Step 1 Democracy and the Division of South and North Korea Step 2 New Village Movement and Miracle on the Han River Step 3 Today’s Korean Economy
Chapter 9 Education and Occupation Korean People Live to Learn, even if They Are Poor! A Country without Illiterate People Step 1 Education Fever and Education System Step 2 Study in South Korea Step 3 Career Path and Occupation
Chapter 10 Culture and the Korean Wave National Character of Loving to Sing and Dance Step 1 Traditional Culture and Heritage Step 2 Contemporary Pop Culture Step 3 Korean Wave and Korean Culture
Chapter 11 Sports and Tourism The 1998 Seoul olympics and Cheering Heat in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan Step 1 Taekwondo and Soccer Step 2 Sports and Leisure Culture Step 3 Traffic, Tourism and Shopping
Chapter 12 Tradition and Religion Lunar New Year’s Day, gift money, be happy! Step 1 Korean Festive Days Step 2 Religion
Some who live in Korea or those who are here learning the Korean language are often embarrassed by Koreans asking “How old are you?”at their first meeting, and cannot understand how Koreans share jige, a dish similar to western stew, from a common bowl without using individual plates. That explanation is not that easy.
There are hundreds of thousands of foreigners living in Korea. Some are here for study, some for work and some live here with their Korean husbands. There are, however, only a few books available that may satisfactorily give answers to such curiosity. The author kept this in mind before starting this book - to attend to foreigners living the Korean life with cultural shocks.
This book introduces Korea as a whole including clothes, food, houses, sports and trips with a main focus on natural environment and socio-cultural variations to enable readers easily understand Korea in general. As well structured as the book is, the content is not stiff, and it is in relation with everyday life to make it easily comprehensible.
“Korean Culture for curious new comers”is a book greatly introducing Korean cultures, which Hannah Park has been researching and teaching for years, at foreigners’level. This book will be very useful in aiding foreign college students and multicultural families to understand and adapt to Korean cultures in a short period of time.
한국에 살고 있거나 말을 배우는 외국인들은 이렇게 묻곤 한다. “왜 한국 사람들은 만나자마자 나이부터 물어봅니까?”, “왜 한국인들은 찌개 그릇에 숟가락을 함께 넣어서 떠먹나요?”그러나 그 질문에 얼른 대답하기란 쉽지 않다.
현재 한국 안에는 유학이나 취업 또는 다문화 가정을 이룬 사람들이 수십만에 이른다. 그에 따른 외국어로서 한국어교육도 무척 활발하다. 하지만 여전히 한국어가 담고 있는 한국문화의 본질을 설명해 줄 책이 많지 않다. 더욱이 한국문화를 소개하는 책들도 일방적으로 한국 문화를 나열하고 있는 것이 대부분이다. 따라서 이 책은‘왜’를 묻는 외국인들, 한국이 생활의 터전이 된 사람들의 가려운 곳을 긁어주기 위해 쓰인 책이다.
한국 전반을 쉽게 이해할 수 있도록 자연환경과 사회문화적 변수를 기준으로 세워놓고 한국의 의식주를 비롯한 스포츠, 여행까지 한국 전체를 통틀어 소개를 하고 있다. 체계적이면서도 내용이 딱딱하지 않고 실생활과 자연스럽게 연결시켜서 쉽게 이해가 된다.
‘통으로 읽는 한국문화’는 저자가 오랫동안 연구하고 강의해 왔던 한국문화를 일반인의 눈높이에 맞추어 흥미롭게 소개한 책이다. 외국의 대학생들은 물론 다문화 가족들에게 한국사회와 문화를 짧은 시간 안에 이해하고 적응하는 데 매우 유용할 것이다.
총 
바보 빅터
