I am currently reading Korean Politics by Professor John Kie-Chiang Oh for my East Asian Politics class. Even though it’s more or less an ordinary history book, it leads you through the development of a culture and a nation that we are not so familiar with. While reading this book, I witnessed the transformation of an autocracy to a democracy, the maturation of a republic, and the emergence of an economic miracle. What makes Korean politics especially interesting is that it is a mixture of traditional far eastern culture and western influence. Studying this book also gives me a better insight into the current tensions between North and South Korea