Brian M. Williams

Stranger in a Stranger Land: My Six Years in Korea Brian M. Williams

At his most immodest, Brian would like to believe Bill Bryson would be able to recognize his influence on this book. It's a humorous, informative and thoughtful exploration of modern Korean culture and expat life. The book is full of personal anecdotes, secondhand stories and interesting facts, which are all interlaced with his personal narrative. Brian discusses serious topics like Korea's deeply embedded racism, its 1950's style sexism, its demanding but unproductive work culture and its highly lauded but deeply flawed education system. He also talks about lighter subjects like K-pop, the expat and Korean dating scenes, its debaucherous drinking culture, and why he thinks Seoul should be considered the party capital of Asia. By time readers are done, they'll have an understanding of how a lot of expats view Korea, what some of its most significant and peculiar cultural differences are, and some of the problems it's currently facing. This is a must read for anyone thinking of moving there.