From Miracle to Mirage: The Making and Unmaking of the Korean Middle Class, 1960-2015

by Myungji Yang

Overview

Myungji Yang's From Miracle to Mirage is a critical account of the trajectory of state-sponsored middle-class formation in Korea in the second half of the twentieth century. Yang's book offers a compelling story of the reality behind the myth of middle-class formation. Capturing the emergence, reproduction, and fragmentation of the Korean middle class, From Miracle to Mirage traces the historical process through which the seemingly successful state project of building a middle-class society resulted in a mirage.

Yang argues that profitable speculation in skyrocketing prices for Seoul real estate led to mobility and material comforts for the new middle class. She also shows that the fragility inherent in such developments was embedded in the very formation of that socioeconomic group.

Taking exception to conventional views, Yang emphasizes the role of the state in producing patterns of class structure and social inequality. She demonstrates the speculative and exclusionary ways in which the middle class was formed. Domestic politics and state policies, she argues, have shaped the lived experiences and identities of the Korean middle class.

From Miracle to Mirage gives us a new interpretation of the reality behind the myth. Yang's analysis provides evidence of how in cultural and objective terms the country's rapid, compressed program of economic development created a deeply distorted distribution of wealth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501710735
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	03/15/2018
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Myungji Yang, a Brown alumna, is Assistant Professor in the political science department at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

What People are Saying About This

Yoonkyung Lee

From Miracle to Mirage makes an important contribution to our understanding of social class formation and contemporary Korean society by bringing together structural and socio-cultural analysis into the study of the middle class. Yang's book carefully traces the making and unmaking of the Korean middle class, a subject that has traditionally received less scholarly attention than the working class or large conglomerates in the field of Korean political economy.

Editorial Reviews

...I would encourage my readers to read From Miracle to Mirage. Yang writes clearly, the book's structure is sound, and fifteen pages of references indicate mastery of an extensive literature.

Pacific Affairs

While Yang's findings have great importance as an explanation for the making and unmaking of middle-class consciousness in Korea, they have even greater value as a diagnosis of Korea's pathologies today.

American Journal of Sociology

The study addresses a critical problem of housing among the Seoul middle class, and hopefully will draw others to examine the issue. It may be useful as a reference for graduate students and for researchers on urban topics.

American Historical Review

"From Miracle to Mirage makes an important contribution to our understanding of social class formation and contemporary Korean society by bringing together structural and socio-cultural analysis into the study of the middle class. Yang's book carefully traces the making and unmaking of the Korean middle class, a subject that has traditionally received less scholarly attention than the working class or large conglomerates in the field of Korean political economy."

Yoonkyung Lee