Book 60: Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader

Here we have another installment in my North Korea series.



This covered virtually the entire history of North Korea as seen through Chinese and Soviet archives, propoganda anaysis, the author's three visits to the DPRK, and defector interviews. It was a more nuanced view of the country and Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il than some things I have read; some events and characters were portrayed in a positive light.

The book was written before the death of Kim Jong-il, so the discussion of his successor is interesting and gave additional insight about the Great Successor and also those who did not become the new supreme leader.

Stylistically, the book was a little jarring. Some of the information from defector interviews is presented in a narrative, while some is presented as transcripts of questions and answers. I found myself wondering why the author made this decision. The ending was very interesting as well, but also a bit strange.