From very early on in his career, Lee revealed his interest in the harsh reality of Korean farming and fishing villages and the lives of rural people alienated by industrialization.
Stories like “This World of Woe” (Yi pungjin sesangeul) and “The Cow” (Amso) offer, for example, realistic slices of contemporary rural life and an insider's look at the humble dreams and daily frustrations of farmers in these villages.
Lee provides sketches of a vanishing ethos connected with the Korean countryside a way of life based on hospitality, reciprocity, and fundamental reverence for the living.
For these virtues, critics agree that The Ballad of Kalmori is a text worthy of being called the highest literary tribute to the lost world of traditional Korea.
Whereas The Ballad of Kalmori is somewhat an idealized attempt to recollect a past way of life in rural communities, Our Neighborhood discusses contemporary realities faced by Korean farmers.