Stealing Cinderella

I enjoyed reading this book, mostly I enjoyed the setting South Korea, a place where not many books are set. Just because of this the book became fascinating to me. It is a true story and there is an innocence to it. The year was 1993, so still a time I feel I could relate to. Mark an impoverished graduate from the US arrived in South Korea to teach English. At the school he worked in, he meet and fell in love with a local girl but this is no ordinary love story and there is nothing mushy about it.
For anyone who likes to read about relationships and social norms in a place that we don't know a lot about, this book is an eye opener and is at times both moving and gripping.
I would love to hear more about what happened after the conclusion of the book, although there is a resume at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this. This book was a wonderful insight into the Korean culture. Mark Dielh went to South Korea to teach English classes. There he met and fell in love with a second daughter from a wealthy family. (Which is absolutely forbidden.) Through the class discussions and the difficulties with seeing one another we learn how strict the culture can be. Eventually they flee the country for their love. In part an informative book this is also a sweet romance. I enjoyed the slow immersion into Korean lifestyle, the writing and tone allows the reader to learn without feeling like your reading a textbook.

In this fascinating memoir Mark Diehl describes his experience as an English teacher in a large South Korean city during the early 1990's. The cultural differences that he experienced to begin with were enormous, but then when he wanted to date a fellow teacher who happened to be Korean the obstacles seemed insurmountable. Jennifer, the young woman he fell in love with, was expected to follow every wish of her parents in order to promote their honor and status, and was indeed considered their property. The couple was treated with hostility by nearly everybody, and were in pretty continual danger. The true story of their efforts to escape from South Korea is exciting and suspenseful, every bit as much of a page turner as a fictional thriller.

Love conquers all. That is what I kept thinking as I read Stealing Cinderella, by Mark D. Diehl. This is the real life love story of Mark and Jennifer. Although, it reads as action movie! Mark and Jennifer met in South Korea while they were both teaching English. Jennifer, a native South Korean and Mark a recent college graduate from Iowa. Their connection was pure and true. But their cultures clashed. They couldn't be more different. Their desire to be together and to leave South Korea for the United States is the focal point of this memoir.

Although the book started slowly, it quickly picked up tempo as the Mr. Diehl described South Korea and how he fit in, or didn't fit in, to the area. When Jennifer entered his life, we learned more about South Korean culture and how Jennifer, being the middle child, felt ignored and abandoned. I learned about the need for obedience and hierarchy in South Korea. The danger for Mark to be seen with a South Korean woman was great, but it was more dangerous for Jennifer. And that danger never stopped until they made it to Iowa.

I thoroughly loved this book. I really could see it as a movie. There are so many exciting scenes, I found myself holding my breath a few times. There is a lot to be learned about culture and respect for culture from this book. But there is much to be learned about human respect. I know that a South Korean child needs to follow the directions given by the parent, from where to go to school, what to major in and what job they will get when completed, not to mention who they will marry. But is it humane to beat that child unconscious if they don't follow those directions. This memoir gives us much to consider.

I loved this book from start to finish. The author's detailed descriptions of Korean life and culture drew me in immediately. In the beginning, Diehl, and his wife, Jennifer, went through some harrowing experiences in order to be together as a couple. Despite Korean society's disdainful look upon Koren women dating American men, they met secretly while continuing their relationship. Diehl's outlook, humor, and never-give-up attitude helped both of them to finally get to the U.S., eventually telling their story.

As an international educator who never worked in South Korea, I enjoyed Mark's retelling of his time there and his many experiences with the administration, roommates, and other teachers. From his vivid descriptions, life in South Korea at that time was not altogether enjoyable, either. I always enjoy reading about other cultures and this book definitely delivered. I couldn't help wondering if South Korea is still like that today.

Stealing Cinderella is a ride worth taking. The ups and downs will keep you entertained to the very end and keep you wondering, did this really happen?

Thank you NetGalley, Mark Diehl, and publisher for granting me permission to read and review this book.

Fantastic book! It was a great combination of being an intriguing and, often, suspenseful personal memoir as well as an informative reflection on Korean society. I was drawn to this book because my son wanted to go to Asia to teach English, much like the author did. I had recommended he go to South Korea because I also thought it was an up and coming country, but he was intent of going to Japan instead and I'm so glad he did. I don't know whether it was the fact that it was 20 years later (he went in 2014) or whether the Korean culture and acceptance of foreigners and particularly of a relationship between a Asian woman and Western man is so different from the Japanese norms, but he encountered none of the frightening problems and married a lovely Japanese woman this year with the full blessing of her family, complete with the four changes of costume during the wedding ceremonies, and they continue to live happily in Japan. I would have been interested in information on whether what Mark Diehl encountered is still what would be expected today. The section on the experiences in Hong Kong were as compelling and informative as those in Korea, and I very much appreciated the epilogue and pictures since I felt quite invested in the couple and their long-term well-being. This is a book that will stay with me and that I will enthusiastically recommend to others, and I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance e-copy.