The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia is a 2013 non-fiction book by Andrei Lankov about North Korea. It was published by Oxford University Press.
The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia is a 2013 non-fiction book by Andrei Lankov about North Korea. It was published by Oxford University Press.
The work has a total of six chapters. [1]
Max Fisher of The Washington Post argued the book is best for people who have existing background knowledge of North Korea, and described it as "an excellent primer on the experts’ understanding of North Korea and a fascinating series of insights". [2] Fisher criticised the book for having unnecessary words at times and a "less than electrifying" writing style. [2]
Donghyun Woo wrote that the work is "one of the most informative and useful guidelines" for academic and non-academic viewers, although he criticised "simplistic characterizations and teleological narratives that will likely reinforce unproductive received perceptions". [1]
Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, as one of "PW's Picks", and described it as "one of the best and most accessible recent accounts" of North Korea. [3]
Kirkus Reviews describes the book as "A well-reasoned survey". [4]
The politics of North Korea takes place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. Juche, which is a part of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, is the belief that only through self-reliance and a strong independent state, can true socialism be achieved.
Juche, officially the Juche idea, is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and first leader. Juche was originally regarded as a variant of Marxism–Leninism until Kim Jong Il, Kim Il Sung's son and successor, declared it a distinct ideology in the 1970s. Kim Jong Il further developed Juche in the 1980s and 1990s by making ideological breaks from Marxism–Leninism and increasing the importance of his father's ideas.
Cash-for-summit (대북송금사건) is the name of a political scandal that broke in South Korea in February 2003 and revolved around the secret payment by the Kim Dae-jung administration to North Korea of 500,000,000 dollars to secure the landmark June 2000 North–South summit between the two Koreas.
Andrei Nikolaevich Lankov is a Russian scholar of Asia and a specialist in Korean studies and Director of Korea Risk Group, the parent company of NK News and NK Pro.
Brian Reynolds Myers, usually cited as B. R. Myers, is an American professor of international studies at Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea, best known for his writings on North Korean propaganda. He is a contributing editor for The Atlantic and an opinion columnist for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Myers is the author of Han Sǒrya and North Korean Literature, A Reader's Manifesto, The Cleanest Race, and North Korea's Juche Myth.
The North Korean famine, also known as the Arduous March or the March of Suffering, was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defection from North Korea which peaked towards the end of the famine period.
Farming in North Korea is concentrated in the flatlands of the four west coast provinces, where a longer growing season, level land, adequate rainfall, and good irrigated soil permit the most intensive cultivation of crops. A narrow strip of similarly fertile land runs through the eastern seaboard Hamgyŏng provinces and Kangwŏn Province.
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is the oldest active party in Korea. It also controls the Korean People's Army, North Korea's armed forces. The WPK is the largest party represented in the Supreme People's Assembly and coexists with two other legal parties making up the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea. However, these minor parties are completely subservient to the WPK and must accept the WPK's "leading role" as a condition of their existence. The WPK is banned in the Republic of Korea under the National Security Act and is sanctioned by the United Nations, the European Union, Australia, and the United States.
Inminban is a neighbourhood watch-like form of cooperative local organization in North Korea. No North Korean person exists outside the inminban system; everyone is a member.
The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters is a 2010 book by Brian Reynolds Myers. Based on a study of the propaganda produced in North Korea for internal consumption, Myers argues that the guiding ideology of North Korea is a race-based far-right nationalism derived from Japanese fascism, rather than any form of communism. The book is based on author's study of the material in the Information Center on North Korea.
Media coverage of North Korea is hampered by an extreme lack of reliable information, coupled with an abundant number of sensationalist falsehoods. There are a number of reasons for this lack of information and incorrect stories.
Mass surveillance in North Korea is a routine practice employed throughout the country. North Korea "operates a vast network of informants who monitor and report to the authorities fellow citizens they suspect of criminal or subversive behavior." North Korea has been described as a "massive police state", and its people "under constant surveillance".
Terenty Fomich Shtykov was a Soviet general who supervised the liberation of North Korea, as the de facto head of its 1945–1948 military occupation and the first Soviet Ambassador to North Korea from 1948 until 1950. Shtykov's support for Kim Il Sung was crucial in his rise to power, and the two persuaded Stalin to allow the Korean War to begin in June 1950.
North Korea–Norway relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Norway and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. Neither country maintains an embassy in the other, although North Korea formerly had an embassy in the Norwegian capital Oslo. The Norwegian ambassador in Seoul is also accredited to North Korea, as is the North Korean one in Stockholm to Norway.
North Korea–Sweden relations are the bilateral relations between North Korea and Sweden. The countries have had diplomatic relations since 7 April 1973. Sweden has had a long-term commitment in North Korea and its relations with the country are exceptionally close among Western nations. Sweden is one of the major contributors of humanitarian aid to North Korea.
Pak Chong-ae, also known as Pak Den-ai, was a North Korean politician.
North Korea has at least ten major breweries and many microbreweries that supply a wide range of beer products. The top brand is the light lager Taedonggang by the state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company.
Visual depictions of Kim Il Sung have been commonplace in North Korea since the 1940s following the example of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union and Mao Zedong in China. The display of Kim Il Sung portraits was made mandatory at homes in the 1970s. In the past, they were mandatory in certain public places as well, such as factories, airports, railway stations, and rail and subway carriages. At present, they no longer appear in means of transport, not even in some new buildings. Portraits of Kim Jong Il have been hung next to Kim Il Sung since the late 1970s. A portrait of Kim Jong Un was displayed for the first time in public in 2018.
The Ponghwa Clinic and Hospital(봉화진료소) is a hospital located in Sinwŏn-dong, Potonggang-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea, and is believed to be one of the top hospitals in North Korea, treating members of the political elite. It is administered by the Ministry of Public Health.
This is a list of works important to the study of North Korea.
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