Which Three Kingdoms Leader Fits Modern Leadership — Liu Bei, Not Cao Cao?
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
A Korean columnist compares two Three Kingdoms leaders, Liu Bei (유비) and Cao Cao (조조), to modern leadership styles after watching Netflix’s cooking show and reflecting on historian Han Hyung-su’s decades-long analysis of Three Kingdoms figures. The article contrasts Liu Bei’s inclusive, trust-building “leader-as-people” approach—strong at attracting and keeping talent but sometimes overly guided by personal honor—with Cao Cao’s efficient, reform-minded, and ruthless policy-driven leadership. Using Jungian personality labels, Han classifies Liu Bei as an introverted feeling type (good at empathy and cohesion) and Cao Cao as an introverted thinking type (strategic, logical, but harsh and less persuasive). The piece argues that in the 21st century, Liu Bei’s relational, talent-nurturing leadership may be more needed than Cao Cao’s hard-edged efficiency. It also notes scholarly nuances: Liu Bei’s occasional personnel mistakes, and Cao Cao’s brutal consolidations, showing that both have strengths and flaws. (삼국지: the historical novel and records known as “Romance/Records of the Three Kingdoms”), (유비: Liu Bei), (조조: Cao Cao)
