Korea

“Cha and Pacheco Pardo have years of expertise in Korean international relations. . . . A crisp and balanced account.”—Christopher Harding, The Telegraph “Korea gives the answer to the lingering enigma of how two extremely different systems, one globally flying and the other falling to the bottom, have evolved from the same people – and where they will go from here. . . . A must-read.”—Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary General of the UN “A brisk, insightful narrative of the emergence of two Koreas, South and North, their diverging but intertwined paths over the past seventy-five plus years, and the prospects for reunification. . . . Foreign policy experts and K-pop fans alike will enjoy and benefit from this book.”—Kathleen Stephens, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2008–11) “A highly readable history of the Korean peninsula. . . . A must-read to understand how one ill-informed moment in history led to an ongoing human tragedy and geopolitical challenge.”—Anna Fifield, Asia-Pacific editor, Washington Post “Victor Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo have done the nearly impossible: They have managed to write a succinct and readable history of Korea over the past hundred years that does full justice to this complicated and fascinating story.”—Sue Mi Terry, director, Asia Program & Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy, Wilson Center “The authors begin their book by posing this question: ‘What circumstances led the same people to live in such starkly different conditions?’ This in fact is a question which often dogs casual Korea watchers. If you are one of them, this is one of the best books I can recommend to you. Among other things, it was written by two of the most qualified western observers of the two Koreas.”—Ahn Ho-young, Chair Professor of North Korean Studies, Kyungnam University, and ROK Ambassador to the United States (2013–17)