The book "Becoming Intercultural: An Integrative Theory of Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation" by Young Yun Kim presents a comprehensive and interdisciplinary theory of cross-cultural adaptation. The theory integrates various disciplinary perspectives to form a more general and descriptive system, focusing on the uniformity and regularity in individual experiences of cross-cultural adaptation. Key concepts include "strangers," "cross-cultural adaptation," "acculturation," "psychological adjustment," "assimilation," and "integration." The theory is grounded in three assumptions about human adaptation: cross-cultural adaptation is a fundamental life activity, communication drives this adaptation, and it leads to qualitative transformation. The process is characterized by a stress-adaptation-growth dynamic, balancing engagement and disengagement, acculturation and deculturation. The theory is structured around six dimensions, including personal communication, host social communication, ethnic social communication, environmental factors, the stranger's predisposition, and intercultural transformation. The book provides empirical indicators for each construct and discusses research considerations, emphasizing the need for longitudinal studies and methodological integration. It offers practical insights and is highly stimulating for researchers and students, challenging them to further explore and interpret results within Kim's framework. Kim's idealistic view of cross-cultural adaptation as an evolutionary process of creating new constructs is particularly noteworthy, emphasizing the gradual process of freeing one's mind from parochial viewpoints to attain a greater perspective.The book "Becoming Intercultural: An Integrative Theory of Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation" by Young Yun Kim presents a comprehensive and interdisciplinary theory of cross-cultural adaptation. The theory integrates various disciplinary perspectives to form a more general and descriptive system, focusing on the uniformity and regularity in individual experiences of cross-cultural adaptation. Key concepts include "strangers," "cross-cultural adaptation," "acculturation," "psychological adjustment," "assimilation," and "integration." The theory is grounded in three assumptions about human adaptation: cross-cultural adaptation is a fundamental life activity, communication drives this adaptation, and it leads to qualitative transformation. The process is characterized by a stress-adaptation-growth dynamic, balancing engagement and disengagement, acculturation and deculturation. The theory is structured around six dimensions, including personal communication, host social communication, ethnic social communication, environmental factors, the stranger's predisposition, and intercultural transformation. The book provides empirical indicators for each construct and discusses research considerations, emphasizing the need for longitudinal studies and methodological integration. It offers practical insights and is highly stimulating for researchers and students, challenging them to further explore and interpret results within Kim's framework. Kim's idealistic view of cross-cultural adaptation as an evolutionary process of creating new constructs is particularly noteworthy, emphasizing the gradual process of freeing one's mind from parochial viewpoints to attain a greater perspective.