A lot of information about Korean politics and culture. The writing is a bit stilted, but that could be the translator. Otherwise a really fascinating engaging story. I'm not sure the characters were 100 percent believable, but there were so many cultural differences that I'm not sure they aren't believable either. It is worth looking up the food references in particular because the food is also culturally relevant. Like eating rice cake soup on new year's is a tradition sort of like christmas it seemed when everyone is considered one year older and it is a time for family to come together. So it isn't just food, it's culture. I find the ending incredibly satisfying. Some of the events leading up to the ending were weird but not necessarily unbelievable. But the ending was just about perfect.