Korea Yearbook 2008—Politics, Economy and Society

Frank (East Asian economy and society, U. of Vienna, Austria), Hoare (Far Eastern history, U. of London, UK), Kollner (Institute of Asian Studies, German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Germany), and Pares (a former British diplomat) present the 2008 volume of the Korea Handbook, which begins with standard reviews of domestic political and economic developments for 2007-2008 in both North Korea and South Korea, relations between the two Koreas, and the foreign relations of the two countries (chronologies for these same matters are also included). It also includes eight topical essays discussing reform of the South Korean political system, historical memory and post-war South Korea-Japan relations, the realist-liberal pendulum in South Korea's engagement and security policies towards North Korea, higher education reform in South Korea, recent South Korean film representations of the Kwangju uprising of 1980 (brutally suppressed by South Korea's military government of the time), the US-North Korea 1994 Agreed Framework and US POW/MIA concerns, benchmarks of economic reform in North Korea, and trends and prospects of inter-Korean economic cooperation. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Rudiger Frank, Ph.D. (2001) in Economics, University of Duisburg, is Professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the University of Vienna. He has published on North and South Korean political economy. His current research is on North Korea's development and its East Asian context.James E. Hoare, Ph.D. (1971) in Far Eastern History, University of London, was in the British Diplomatic Service from 1969 to 2003. He is a writer and broadcaster on East Asia as well as a Research Associate at both the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London and the Department of International Politics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth.Patrick Kollner, Ph.D. (1998), Humboldt University of Berlin and Habilitation (2005), University of Trier in Political Science is currently Acting Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg. From 1996 to 2006 he edited the German-language edition of the Korea Yearbook.Susan Pares, was in the British Diplomatic Service from 1965 to 1987. She is a writer and editor on East Asian affairs.