[1] Daniel Tudor is one of the most influential foreign correspondents in South Korea—and one of the least known. As the reporter for *The Economist*, which doesn’t use bylines, most of his work is published anonymously. But Mr. Tudor’s profile is about to take a sharp rise with the publication of his new book, *Korea: The Impossible Country*.

[2] It’s the first English-language book to cover the whole waterfront of South Korean society—historical, cultural, economic, social, political—since one by another influential British expat, Michael Breen, with *The Koreans*, which was originally published in 1998 and revised in 2004. [Mr. Breen provided a recommendation on Mr. Tudor’s book jacket.] *Korea: The Impossible Country* is also likely to get added to the list of must-read books for anyone from outside of South Korea who wants to do business or live in the country.

[3] That’s a small canon, unfortunately. In addition to Mr. Breen’s book, the other indispensables are *Diamond Dilemma* by Tariq Hussain, *Korean Dynasty* by Donald Kirk, Tom Coyner’s guide to doing business in Korea, and Robert Koehler’s Seoul Selection guidebooks for places and sightseeing. Indeed, the list of must-read books about North Korea is far longer.

[4] Mr. Tudor pushes into new social and economic territory with his book, including the rising role of immigrants, multicultural families and even gay people in South Korea. He lays out some of the contradictory behaviour one finds in South Korea, such as the unending desire for new and trendy gadgets and fashion and yet the tunnel-like view of what constitutes a successful life. At the end, he asks the question that nearly every visitor has after spending some time in South Korea: why aren’t people happier with what they’ve done?