BLURB
Cheryl Pallant is the author of Ginseng Tango, a memoir that recounts her transformative year as a Professor at Keimyung University navigating everyday life in Daegu, South Korea.
Mourning the end of her 15-year marriage to betrayal and infidelity, Pallant seized on an opportunity to get away -- 7,000 miles away. She accepted a job teaching English and American culture at a university she had never heard of in an unfamiliar city in a country she associated with Hyundai, Samsung, and the TV show M*A*S*H.
Pallant shares the challenges of figuring out how to operate a washing machine, shop for groceries, and communicate with gestures without offending anyone—and what to order in a restaurant (besides kimchi—a breakfast, lunch, and dinner staple. She shares her adventures in public bathing, her involvement in a tango community, shamanism,and her introductions to Korean protocols and customs. Through her experiences, both thrilling and frightening, she came to grasp South Korea’s contradictions and struggles, and grow in admiration and affection for its people.
Opening a window into a country caught between traditions and ideologies, GINSENG TANGO reveals:
- The patriarchies and hierarchies that dominate South Korea—socially and professionally.
- South Korea’s impoverished past and ongoing industrial revolution—and why the ability to speak and write English is an extremely valuable business asset.
- The tense relationship between the two Koreas—and why many South Koreans fear and loath North Korea.
As U.S. relations with North Korea remain headline news, Cheryl Pallant offers a timely, personal guide to understanding Korea’s challenges, complexities, and resilience.
