Korean culture seen through Westerners' eyes

In order to find out how Westerners have viewed Korean society and culture, I have read ethnographies that cover form the nineteenth century to the present. In the earlier days, missionaries and explorers wrote about Korea. They shaped the image of Korea as a 'hermit kingdom' or a 'country of morning calm'. This image became the famous, symbolic expression, describing Korea. It is compelling to compare the earlier ethnographic descriptions with the very recent because of evidence of changes in Korean society as a whole. Most anthropological studies from the 1950s have been thoroughly studied on the basis of firsthand observation. The scholarly works helped the readers understand Korea. Until the 1970s, many anthropologists studied in rural villages or traditional villages. The village was seen as a community that was self-sufficient and autonomous. Since the 1980s the research subjects have been susceptible to the sensitive social issues existing in Korea, and large, with eloquence and sophistication, the ethnographies described the manifestation of cultural diversity and complexity. However, it may be hard for Western audience who are unfamiliar with Korean culture to grasp a broader picture of the country.