In less than a century, South Korea has remarkably transformed its image from one of the world's poorest nations to a center of global influence. Not just one but a series of so-called modern miracles transformed the country into an exceptional case of national image-making and image-shifting. In contrast with the utilitarian focus of much existing scholarship on miracle secrets, best practices, and means of reproduction, Irina Lyan deconstructs the meaning of modern miracles and how they serve as catalysts of imagiNation—the process in which national images are constructed, resisted, reproduced, and projected. By retelling South Korea's modern miracles through Cinderella fairy-tale narratives, with their stark contrast between the unsatisfactory "before" and the idyllic "happily ever after," the book sheds light on the role modern miracles play in the process of imagining a nation.
Format: Paperback / softback
CONTRIBUTORS: Irina Lyan
EAN: 9780520429499
COUNTRY: United States
PAGES: 192
WEIGHT:
HEIGHT: 229 mm
PUBLISHED BY: University of California Press
DATE PUBLISHED: 2026-12-08
CITY:
GENRE: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Development / Economic Development, HISTORY / Asia / Korea, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Economy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Nationalism & Patriotism, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies
WIDTH: 152 mm
SPINE:
Book Themes:
Korea, South Korea, Cultural studies, Politics and government, Nationalism, Economic growth, Political economy, Asian history
Irina Lyan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian Studies and Head of the Korean Studies Program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.