The Phantom of Greatness is part of a four part series which encompasses the history of Korea from the 1940 invasion by Japan to the present. In the first volume, Mija, a Korean girl and Ichiro, a Japanese college student, accidentally fall in love. Although parents of both offspring order the two to avoid meeting, they disobey their parents and marry. Through this marriage, a variety of obstacles are created and we learn the intimate details of Korean culture, history, and manners. The conflict between Japan and Korea, symbolized in part by this unusual marriage, threatens to tear the fabric of such a union. Through the eyes of Ichiro, we learn much about South Korea, its strong work ethic, its ability to move onward against impossible odds.