Five Essential Books for Understanding North Korea’s Cult of Personality
Anyone who reads the news or has logged onto social media is aware of the cult of personality around North Korea’s Kim dynasty. From afar, it’s almost cartoonish, with the bronze statues and the funny haircuts and the penchant for
These five books provide essential insight into the cult of personality surrounding North Korea's Kim dynasty. First, Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy recounts the devastating famine of the 1990s and how it interacted with the power of the Kim family. Next, Richard E. Kim's Lost Names offers a poignant look at life under Japanese colonial rule and the birth of nationalism that underpinned Kim Il Sung's rise.
Richard E. Kim's The Martyred presents the moral complexities of captured church ministers turned into martyrs by South Korean forces. Masaji Ishikawa's A River in Darkness, though harrowing, details the moral dilemma faced by Koreans who accepted Pyongyang's repatriation campaign after discovering the grim reality of Kim Il Sung's socialist paradise.
Collectively, these works shed light on the intensity, durability, and even religious aspects of the North Korean personality cult.
Written by urgent.news from Literary Hub's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
