Kim Ho-gi, sociology professor at Yonsei University, published The Spirit of the Times and Intellectuals. In the preface, he states that the book attempts to examine “the spirit of the times that leading intellectuals in Korean history have studied, and how they struggled to uphold their work.” The book is a projection of the author’s self-consciousness to the core. Beyond a scholarly approach tracing the major Korean intellectuals, Kim’s book is rather an expansive essay on the readings of those influential intellectuals who lived true to their work.