Getting Married in Korea: Of Gender, Morality, and Modernity

Rating:
Summary: Learn about Korean society
Review: An at times funny read of the intersection of two cultures. One is the modern consumerist culture, that has taken firm hold in South Korea since the 1980s. The other is a traditional Confucian morality steeped in centuries of lore.

Kendall studies this through the ingenious choice of marriages. Here, the Confucian traditions often appear in the form of arranged marriages. Yet she shows how young couples persistently try to sidestep this format.

Along the way, a non-Korean reader is also rewarded by many insights into Korean society. Things that an outsider who does not speak the language would simply miss.

Rating:
Summary: interesting case study in sociology, not Korean culture
Review: Getting Married in Korea was one of the 3 books my Cultural Antro professor mandated us to read. The book is excruciatingly boring. Unlike his other reading assignments, I couldnt see myself pass the first chapter (or even the first page!). Fortunately, I finished the book in a month. (woohooo). The content was in detail and the book with only few graphics. i thought it could have been better if the author stuck more pictures in their to at least entertain the reader while reading!

Rating:
Summary: the most boring book i read in a really interesting class
Review: Getting Married in Korea was one of the 3 books my Cultural Antro professor mandated us to read. The book is excruciatingly boring. Unlike his other reading assignments, I couldnt see myself pass the first chapter (or even the first page!). Fortunately, I finished the book in a month. (woohooo). The content was in detail and the book with only few graphics. i thought it could have been better if the author stuck more pictures in their to at least entertain the reader while reading!

Rating:
Summary: interesting case study in sociology, not Korean culture
Review: this book is not for someone who would be interested into a systematic and quick introduction to Korean wedding customs.

The elements presented are of the case study type, showing the evolutions over time of a Korean family sampled for a PhD thesis. interesting for another scholarly work, it isn't so much for someone interested in understanding Korean marriage customs. Bits and pieces can be collected and summarised by oneself. This book is about "sociology", not "culture" per se.