This photo book depicts Westerners' lives during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) from the 1880s to 1930s and includes stories such as that of an American cowboy who shot the topknot off a man's head. Robert Neff, historian and long-time resident of Seoul, co-wrote the title with Cheong Sung-hwa and used many of his own personal photographs.

In the late Joseon period, foreigners of various nationalities lived in Korea largely isolated from the public.The book, written in Korean, sheds light on the daily lives of missionaries, diplomats and their communities. Among their concerns were Seoul's high cost of living and living a very different environment. Unlike similar books, Lives of Westerners in Joseon was written by foreigners and offers vivid and realistic depictions to Korean readers.