Seoul Man: A Memoir of Cars, Culture, Crisis, and Unexpected Hilarity Inside a Korean Corporate Titan

When Frank Ahrens, a middle-aged bachelor and eighteen-year veteran at the Washington Post, fell in love with a diplomat, his life changed dramatically. Following his new bride to her first appointment in Seoul, South Korea, Frank traded the newsroom for a corporate suite, becoming director of global communications at Hyundai Motors. In a land whose population is 97 percent Korean, he was one of fewer than ten non-Koreans at a company headquarters of thousands of employees.

For the next three years, Frank traveled to auto shows and press conferences around the world, pitching Hyundai to former colleagues while trying to navigate cultural differences at home and at work. While his appreciation for absurdity enabled him to laugh his way through many awkward encounters, his job began to take a toll on his marriage and family. Eventually he became a vice president—the highest-ranking non-Korean at Hyundai headquarters.

Filled with unique insights and told in his engaging, humorous voice, Seoul Man sheds light on a culture few Westerners know, and is a delightfully funny and heartwarming adventure for anyone who has ever felt like a fish out of water—all of us.

What happens when a laid-back American journalist becomes the highest-ranking foreigner in a rigid Korean corporation?

• Korean Work Culture: From mandatory, soju-fueled team dinners (hoesik) to the subtle art of “reading the air” (noonchi), see how an American outsider learns to navigate the complexities of a top-down corporate hierarchy.
• A Fish-Out-of-Water Story: Follow Frank as he trades his Washington D.C. comfort zone for Seoul, a megacity where he’s the only non-Korean in a headquarters of thousands and even lunch is a cultural minefield.
• Cross-Cultural Communication: Laugh along with the hilarious (and sometimes painful) misunderstandings that arise when American bluntness meets Korean harmony, from disastrous jokes to the politics of karaoke.
• Expat Life in Korea: Experience the strange duality of living in an American bubble on a U.S. military base while working deep inside one of Korea’s most powerful corporations.