Kim Kyung-jin

1.4 billion. This is the population of India, which has now become the most populous country in the world. However, this figure—which surpassed China's in 2023—cannot be the sole starting point for understanding India. There is far too much hidden behind the numbers.

India has 22 official languages. While Hindi and English are used officially, protests erupt in the southern state of Tamil Nadu if signs are displayed in Hindi. Although Hinduism is practiced by 80% of the population, the Muslim population alone exceeds 200 million, making it the third largest in the world. The caste system has been constitutionally abolished, yet it remains an invisible force in marriage, employment, and elections. India is less a single country and more a continent. The common sense that applies in Delhi does not hold in Mumbai, and the business cultures of Bangalore and Kolkata are worlds apart.

This vast and complex nation is currently undergoing rapid transformation. It has risen to become the world's fourth-largest economy by GDP and is recording the fastest growth rate among major nations. UPI, the Unified Payments Interface, handled over 228 billion transactions in 2025 alone. Essentially, India processes half of the world's real-time digital payments. It is a country where a local street vendor accepts payments via QR code while a cow leisurely crosses the road just a few feet away. India is a place where these scenes coexist.

At the heart of this change stands one man: Narendra Modi. A boy who once sold chai on the platform of Vadnagar Station in Gujarat rose to become the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy, winning a third consecutive term in 2024. By following his journey, the core structures of modern India are revealed: caste, Hindu nationalism, economic liberalization, the digital revolution, and diplomatic strategy. The transformation of a nation is distilled within the trajectory of a single individual.

In Korea, the narrative surrounding India has always oscillated between two extremes: the optimism of a "massive market of 1.4 billion, the Next China," and the pessimism of a "land of power outages, bureaucracy, and labor disputes." Neither is entirely wrong, but both are dangerous in that they only capture a single facet of India. In India, it is often true that A and B are both correct at the same time. As the economy grows, inequality widens; as digital innovation advances, illiteracy remains high; as democracy functions, authoritarian tendencies strengthen. Understanding begins by accepting these contradictions not as paradoxes, but as the very identity of India.

This book does not paint Modi as a hero, nor does it cast him as a villain. It gives equal weight to the shadows of the Gujarat riots and the achievements of the Gujarat model, describing both the successes of the digital revolution and the concerns over democratic backsliding. A balanced perspective is the essential attitude required to understand such a complex nation.

As of 2025, the trade volume between Korea and India has reached $26.9 billion. Both governments have set a target to increase this to $50 billion by 2030. Samsung Electronics operates its largest smartphone factory in the world in Noida, and Hyundai Motor Company recorded the largest IPO in the history of the Indian stock market. Over 550 Korean companies are currently doing business in India. For the next 20 to 30 years, India will be one of Korea's most vital economic partners. However, there is one condition: Korea must truly understand India.

I hope this book serves as the starting point for that understanding. I hope it helps you view India a little more closely, more accurately, and with a greater sense of humility.

2025, Seoul