Download or read book Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader written by Bradley K. Martin and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 880 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader offers in-depth portraits of North Korea's two ruthless and bizarrely Orwellian leaders, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. Lifting North Korea's curtain of self-imposed isolation, this book will take readers inside a society, that to a Westerner, will appear to be from another planet. Subsisting on a diet short on food grains and long on lies, North Koreans have been indoctrinated from birth to follow unquestioningly a father-son team of megalomaniacs. To North Koreans, the Kims are more than just leaders. Kim Il-Sung is the country's leading novelist, philosopher, historian, educator, designer, literary critic, architect, general, farmer, and ping-pong trainer. Radios are made so they can only be tuned to the official state frequency. "Newspapers" are filled with endless columns of Kim speeches and propaganda. And instead of Christmas, North Koreans celebrate Kim's birthday--and he presents each child a present, just like Santa. The regime that the Kim Dynasty has built remains technically at war with the United States nearly a half century after the armistice that halted actual fighting in the Korean War. This fascinating and complete history takes full advantage of a great deal of source material that has only recently become available (some from archives in Moscow and Beijing), and brings the reader up to the tensions of the current day. For as this book will explain, North Korea appears more and more to be the greatest threat among the Axis of Evil countries--with some defector testimony warning that Kim Jong-Il has enough chemical weapons to wipe out the entire population of South Korea.
Download or read book The Kim Dynasty of North Korea written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-12-13 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading "We are of a single nation, of the same blood, but forcibly divided." - attributed to Kim Il-sung North Korea has long been the butt of jokes, and it has been a longstanding target of international criticism, but the startling satellite image was anything but amusing, for it demonstrated the truly catastrophic conditions North Koreans find themselves in. Statistics show that the average South Korean uses up to 10,162 kilowatt hours of power per year, whereas their neighbors in the north consume only 739. This is only one amongst a slew of stumbling blocks affecting the state, impeding it from proper progress. The mismatching network of sprawling, yet lifeless cities and squalid, poverty-stricken provinces stands eerily silent next to the bustling metropolises on either side of it. North Korea is trapped in an impenetrable, soundproof bubble, the entire state frozen in time. Notwithstanding a fractional sliver of the capital, where the Supreme Commander and the North Korean elites resided, the faded Pyongyang skyline and its blocky, monotone buildings - while a vast improvement from the rest of the state - seemed to be lifted straight out of the '70s at best. So why is North Korea so starkly different from its neighbors when nothing more but mere borders separate them? A tyrannical lineage secured by nepotism. An entire nation indoctrinated by chilling, mindboggling propaganda, molded by fear and forced ignorance. Mass purges doled out seemingly on whims, without fair trials. Unparalleled paranoia and cold-blooded assassinations left and right, seemingly around every curve and corner. An impoverished sphere of barren wastelands inhabited by malnourished masses, orbiting a world glittering with the gross opulence and superfluous riches of the elite. These sound like the elements of a particularly perilous period of autocracy enforced by some mad monarch of a bygone era, or perhaps a generic blurb for a far-fetched thriller set in a dystopian future. Alas, the description matches the modern state of North Korea almost flawlessly. To say that the so-called "Supreme Commanders" of North Korea have been sticklers for submission would trivialize the more-than-troubling state of affairs that has plagued this precarious place for decades. The fearsome Kim regime, though relatively fresh in comparison to powerful dynasties that lasted for centuries, has become one of history's most controversial bloodlines, and not without cause. After his father, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il was the second of the despotic Kims that have terrorized North Korea for decades. While lampooned widely across the West, Kim Jong-il, a fan of cinema, all but mastered the art of propaganda in North Korea to heighten his image. A clip from a quirky North Korean children's show that has recently emerged went so far as to depict his supernatural birth in question. A bespectacled man sporting a Mister Rogers-esque mustard sweater and a wispy, peppered beard can be seen surrounded by a group of kindergarteners who appear to be captivated by the eccentric narrator's every word. He tells them about the "Great General from Heaven," who was born on what the locals call the "sacred Mount Paektu," the tallest cluster of mountain ranges on the entire Korean peninsula with its staggering height of 9,000 ft. After his father's death in 2011, Kim Jong-un, the baby-faced 30-something with the bizarre flat-top seated at the throne today, became an object of fascination. The world watched with bated breath as the keys to the sinking ship were passed down to the young Kim, hoping for the state's long-awaited metamorphosis. It would not take long for these same wishful thinkers to realize that this young man could be far more erratic, blinkered, and inflexible than those who came before him.
Download or read book The Hermit King written by Chung Min Lee and published by All Points Books. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: North Korea is poised at the crossroads of history. Which direction will its leader take? Throughout the world, oppressive regimes are being uprooted and replaced by budding democracies, but one exception remains: The People's Republic of North Korea. The Kim family has clung to power for three generations by silencing dissidents, ruling with an iron fist, and holding its neighbors hostage with threats of war. Under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, North Korea has come closer than ever to creating a viable nuclear arsenal, but widespread famine and growing resistance are weakening his regime's stability. In The Hermit King, Asian geopolitical expert Chung Min Lee tells the story of the rise of the Kim Dynasty and its atrocities, motivations, and diplomatic goals. He also discusses the possible outcomes of its aggressive standoff with the world superpowers. Kim Jong Un is not a crazed "Rocket Man" or a bumbling despot; he has been groomed since birth to take control of his country and stay in power at all costs. He is now at a fateful crossroads. Will he make good on decades of threats, liberalize North Korea and gain international legitimacy, or watch his regime crumble around him? Lee analyzes the likelihood and consequences of each of these possibilities, cautioning that in the end, a humanitarian crisis in the region is all but unavoidable. The Hermit King is a thoughtful and compelling look at the most complicated diplomatic situation on Earth.
Download or read book The Education of Kim Jong Un written by Jung H. Pak and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: North Korea's opaqueness combined with its military capabilities make the country and its leader dangerous wild cards in the international community. Brookings Senior Fellow Jung H. Pak, who led the U.S. intelligence community's analysis on Korean issues, tells the story of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's upbringing, provides insight on his decision-making, and makes recommendations on how to thwart Kim's ambitions. In her deep analysis of the personality of the North Korean leader, Pak makes clearer the reasoning behind the way he governs and conducts his foreign affairs.
Download or read book Living the Juche Lie North Korea s Kim Dynasty written by James G. Zumwalt and published by Fortis Publishing. This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a writer who has made ten trips to North Korea and seen things first hand... The author takes a complex situation; one that factors greatly in US geopolitical decision and policy making and turns it into an understandable and easy read. It is an insightful analysis of the current situation in North Korea and how the past has led to the present and has significant impact on the future. The Evolution of Power to Yet Another Generation of Kims - And the Conditions Giving Rise To It. James Zumwalt is an internationally acclaimed best-selling author, speaker and business executive, he also currently heads a security consulting firm named after his father-Admiral Zumwalt & Consultants, Inc. He writes extensively on foreign policy and defense issues, having written hundreds of articles for various newspapers and magazines, including: USA Today The Washington Post The New York Times The Washington Times The LA Times The Chicago Tribune The San Diego Union Parade magazine and others. His articles have covered issues of major importance, oftentimes providing readers with unique perspectives that have never appeared elsewhere. This has resulted, on several occasions, in his work being cited by members of Congress and entered into the US Congressional Record. -- Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Kim Il Sung written by Dae-Sook Suh and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1988 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the rule of the Korean dictator who was premier, and then president, of North Korea until his death.
Download or read book North Korea written by Heonik Kwon and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely, pathbreaking study of North Korea’s political history and culture sheds invaluable light on the country’s unique leadership continuity and succession. Leading scholars Heonik Kwon and Byung-Ho Chung begin by tracing Kim Il Sung’s rise to power during the Cold War. They show how his successor, his eldest son, Kim Jong Il, sponsored the production of revolutionary art to unleash a public political culture that would consolidate Kim’s charismatic power and his own hereditary authority. The result was the birth of a powerful modern theater state that sustains North Korean leaders’ sovereignty now to a third generation. In defiance of the instability to which so many revolutionary states eventually succumb, the durability of charismatic politics in North Korea defines its exceptional place in modern history. Kwon and Chung make an innovative contribution to comparative socialism and postsocialism as well as to the anthropology of the state. Their pioneering work is essential for all readers interested in understanding North Korea’s past and future, the destiny of charismatic power in modern politics, the role of art in enabling this power.
Download or read book North Korea under Kim Chong il written by Ken E. Gause and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-08-17 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This much-needed study draws on fresh material and firsthand observation to provide an understanding of North Korea as it exists today. North Korea under Kim Chong-il: Power, Politics, and Prospects for Change delves deeply into what we know—and what we think we know—about the current North Korean system. This incisive book probes the dynamics that inform the nation's domestic and foreign policies, examining key leadership institutions and personalities, as well as prospects for the next regime. In outlining the major events behind Kim Chong-il's assumption of power, Ken E. Gause illuminates the environment that shaped Chong-il's worldview and his concept of the regime and his role in it. The book focuses on regime politics since 1994. Among other critical topics, the book examines the evolution of North Korean decision-making with regard to its internal and external affairs and how both are intermingled. The prospects for a third hereditary succession and the prospective stability of the next regime are also considered.
Download or read book The Real North Korea written by Andrei Lankov and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Real North Korea, Lankov substitutes cold, clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque police state. Based on vast expertise, this book reveals how average North Koreans live, how their leaders rule, and how both survive
Download or read book Becoming Kim Jong Un written by Jung H. Pak and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking account of the rise of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un—from his nuclear ambitions to his summits with President Donald J. Trump—by a leading American expert “Shrewdly sheds light on the world’s most recognizable mysterious leader, his life and what’s really going on behind the curtain.”—Newsweek When Kim Jong Un became the leader of North Korea following his father's death in 2011, predictions about his imminent fall were rife. North Korea was isolated, poor, unable to feed its people, and clinging to its nuclear program for legitimacy. Surely this twentysomething with a bizarre haircut and no leadership experience would soon be usurped by his elders. Instead, the opposite happened. Now in his midthirties, Kim Jong Un has solidified his grip on his country and brought the United States and the region to the brink of war. Still, we know so little about him—or how he rules. Enter former CIA analyst Jung Pak, whose brilliant Brookings Institution essay “The Education of Kim Jong Un” cemented her status as the go-to authority on the calculating young leader. From the beginning of Kim’s reign, Pak has been at the forefront of shaping U.S. policy on North Korea and providing strategic assessments for leadership at the highest levels in the government. Now, in this masterly book, she traces and explains Kim’s ascent on the world stage, from his brutal power-consolidating purges to his abrupt pivot toward diplomatic engagement that led to his historic—and still poorly understood—summits with President Trump. She also sheds light on how a top intelligence analyst assesses thorny national security problems: avoiding biases, questioning assumptions, and identifying risks as well as opportunities. In piecing together Kim’s wholly unique life, Pak argues that his personality, perceptions, and preferences are underestimated by Washington policy wonks, who assume he sees the world as they do. As the North Korean nuclear threat grows, Becoming Kim Jong Un gives readers the first authoritative, behind-the-scenes look at Kim’s character and motivations, creating an insightful biography of the enigmatic man who could rule the hermit kingdom for decades—and has already left an indelible imprint on world history.
Download or read book Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader written by Bradley K. Martin and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Subsisting on a diet short on food grains and long on lies, North Koreans have been indoctrinated from infancy to follow fanatically the despots Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader lifts North Korea's curtain of self-imposed isolation to offer in-depth portraits of its Orwellian leaders, taking readers inside a society that might seem to be from another planet. This book is already being hailed as an Asian studies classic, rigorously researched and spellbinding in its storytelling. The chief U.S. envoy was photographed carrying his personal copy as he prepared to negotiate an end to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. Now revised and expanded for the paperback, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader for many years to come will define a Spartan, stubbornly enigmatic society. Book jacket.
Download or read book The Great Successor written by Anna Fifield and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The behind-the-scenes story of the rise and reign of the world's strangest and most elusive tyrant, Kim Jong Un, by the journalist with the best connections and insights into the bizarrely dangerous world of North Korea. Since his birth in 1984, Kim Jong Un has been swaddled in myth and propaganda, from the plainly silly -- he could supposedly drive a car at the age of three -- to the grimly bloody stories of family members who perished at his command. Anna Fifield reconstructs Kim's past and present with exclusive access to sources near him and brings her unique understanding to explain the dynastic mission of the Kim family in North Korea. The archaic notion of despotic family rule matches the almost medieval hardship the country has suffered under the Kims. Few people thought that a young, untested, unhealthy, Swiss-educated basketball fanatic could hold together a country that should have fallen apart years ago. But Kim Jong Un has not just survived, he has thrived, abetted by the approval of Donald Trump and diplomacy's weirdest bromance. Skeptical yet insightful, Fifield creates a captivating portrait of the oddest and most secretive political regime in the world -- one that is isolated yet internationally relevant, bankrupt yet in possession of nuclear weapons -- and its ruler, the self-proclaimed Beloved and Respected Leader, Kim Jong Un.
Download or read book North Korea s Supreme Leaders written by The New York Times Editorial Staff and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2018-12-15 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2018 summit meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un brought renewed international attention to North Korea and its leading dynasty. Ruled by three successive generations of the Kim family, North Korea is one of the most authoritarian states in the world. This collection of articles covers the history of their dynasty, including Kim Il-sung's assumption of power in the wake of World War II, the intense cult of personality surrounding him that followed, and the twice-over handoff of power from father to son, first to Kim Jong-il and later to Kim Jong-un. This in-depth coverage presents a tale of human rights abuses, famine, and nuclearization at the hands of three eccentric, unpredictable, and fiercely nationalistic dictators.
Download or read book The Impossible State written by Victor Cha and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Impossible State, seasoned international-policy expert and lauded scholar Victor Cha pulls back the curtain on provocative, isolationist North Korea, providing our best look yet at its history and the rise of the Kim family dynasty and the obsessive personality cult that empowers them. Cha illuminates the repressive regime’s complex economy and culture, its appalling record of human rights abuses, and its belligerent relationship with the United States, and analyzes the regime’s major security issues—from the seemingly endless war with its southern neighbor to its frightening nuclear ambitions—all in light of the destabilizing effects of Kim Jong-il’s death and the transition of power to his unpredictable heir. Ultimately, this engagingly written, authoritative, and highly accessible history warns of a regime that might be closer to its end than many might think—a political collapse for which America and its allies may be woefully unprepared.
Download or read book Inside North Korea s Theocracy written by Ra Jong-yil and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2019-05-01 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in Korean in 2016, Inside North Korea's Theocracy offers a fascinating and rare look at the lives of several of the regime's key leaders. Its primary focus is Jang Song-thaek, a talented and reform-minded member of the political ruling class who was executed in 2013. Jang was the son-in-law of North Korean founder, Kim Il-sung; brother-in-law of its second leader, Kim Jong-il; and uncle to its current leader, Kim Jong-un. The author traces Jang's life from his youth as a brilliant student in Pyongyang to his eventual marriage to Kim Kyong-hui and his rising power as a businessman to, ultimately, his untimely death. In addition to biographical sketches of Jang, his wife, and brother-in-law, Ra Jong-yil provides first-hand impressions of life in North Korea and illuminates the inner workings of its government.
Download or read book A Kim Jong Il Production written by Paul Fischer and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of Kim Jong-Il's 1978 kidnapping of the golden couple of South Korean cinema, Choi Eun-Hee (Madame Choi) and Shin Sang-Ok, the propaganda movies, they were forced to make, and their daring escape eight years later
Download or read book Dear Reader written by Michael Malice and published by Michael Malice. This book was released on 2014-01-25 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No country is as misunderstood as North Korea, and no modern tyrant has remained more mysterious than the Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il. Now, celebrity ghostwriter Michael Malice pulls back the curtain to expose the life story of the "Incarnation of Love and Morality." Taken directly from books spirited out of Pyongyang, DEAR READER is a carefully reconstructed first-person account of the man behind the mythology. From his miraculous rainbow-filled birth during the fiery conflict of World War II, Kim Jong Il watched as his beloved Korea finally earned its freedom from the cursed Japanese. Mere years later, the wicked US imperialists took their chance at conquering the liberated nation—with devastating results. But that's only the beginning of the Dear Leader's story. In DEAR READER, Kim Jong Il explains: *How he can shrink time *Why he despises the Mona Lisa *How he recreated the arts in Korea *Why the Juche idea is the greatest concept ever discovered by man *How he handled the crippling famine *Why Kim Jong Un was chosen as successor over his elder brothers With nothing left uncovered, drawing straight from dozens of books, hundreds of articles and thousands of years of Korean history, DEAR READER is both the definitive account of Kim Jong Il's life and the complete stranger-than-fiction history of the world's most unique country.
