This course is designed to introduce students to the main aspects of contemporary Korean society, including those pertaining to the family, industrialization, gender, aging, labor, population, religion, and political system. The course will specifically focus on topics and issues that figure prominently in the lives of the Korean people, such as patriarchy, modernization, education frenzy, urbanization, authoritarianism, collectivism, and anti-Americanism. Each of these issues will be examined through sociological, historical, comparative, and balanced perspectives. The assigned readings that specifically deal with Korea will be supplemented by a reading from an introductory sociology textbook to enhance the students’ understanding of the workings of society and to help broaden their perspective to appreciate the social institutions of other countries. Because this is not a lecture course, your participation is extremely important and is a vital part of the course.