Korea the Impossible Country by Daniel Tudor
South Korea has long been overshadowed by Japan and China, but this small country is one of the great national success stories of the postwar period. From a failed tradition, ruined and partitioned by war, and sapped by half-century of colonial rule, South Korea transformed itself in just fifty years into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves a model for other countries. How is it able to achieve this, with no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule? Who are the Koreans - and did they accomplish this second Asian miracle? Having accomplished it, what will they do now?
Here's the latest review of Korea: The Impossible Country in Oxford University magazine