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The Hermit King: The Dangerous Game of Kim Jong Un
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 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.
298 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2019
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140 people want to read
About the author
Chung Min Lee
8 books1 followerChung Min Lee is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and chairman of the international advisory council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is an expert on Korean and East Asian security affairs with more than 30 years of experience in leading think tanks and universities in South Korea, the U.S., Japan, and Singapore. Lee served as Ambassador for National Security Affairs (2013-2016) and is the author of Fault Lines in a Rising Asia.
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February 2, 2020
NOTE: Kelley inspired me to revise my review.
How could the influential Carnegie Endowment’s Lee Chung-min, one of the most articulate Korean scholars I have ever met, write such a bad book? This is not a biography. “The Hermit King” is a rambling rant against Donald Trump and the South Korean left. It is also a plea for the North Korean people to rise up--someday. Lee appears to favor a policy of malign neglect.
For starters, the book’s title is wildly inaccurate. Kim Jong-un has been anything but a “hermit.” As Lee himself awkwardly proclaims, “Since early 2018, Kim has entered the world at a furious pace” (p. 7). Moreover, all Koreans should bristle at a title that refers to the backwardness trope used to justify Korea’s subjugation to Japan more than a century ago.
Lee frequently uses Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” and Goethe’s “Faust” to describe the reform dilemma facing Kim Jong-un and the compromises he has made to grow the economy, including allowing an incipient capitalism. Lee refers to these would-be capitalists (“donju”) as a “dissident class” (p.41). If only!
Lee’s writing style brings to mind Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road.” Unfortunately, stream of consciousness narratives don’t work for me. There is no coherent framework for “The Hermit King” and individual chapters jump around from one topic, time period and lengthy quoted source to another. Lee also adopts a reverse chronology style in later chapters. His Tourett’s Syndrome-like attacks on the South Korean left pepper each chapter.
Buried in this slapdash mishmash of a book is a useful nuclear program timeline. There are also org charts for the key pol-mil institutions in the North, but no explanation of how they operate or interact with one another. Nor is there a table showing the military balance on the Peninsula. And best of luck understanding “North Korea’s Five Concentric Circles” (p. 57). The outer ring is “Gulags,” followed by “Big Brother,” then “Three Classes,” and then “KWP/KPA Elites.” At the center is “The Kim Dynasty/Office 39.”
Lee acknowledges writing “Hermit King” soon after Anna Fifield’s book with a similar title. When I prepared reports for the International Crisis Group, I surveyed the field, established a benchmark and decided to only write a report if my team and I could do better. Unlike Fifield, Lee conducted few interviews and unlike Joel Wit’s masterful “Going Critical” had no documents declassified. “Hermit King” contains no new information or insights.
Lee is conspicuously silent when it comes to the North Korea policy of the president he recently served and her equally conservative predecessor. There are no lessons learned. This period (2008-17) can best be described as a “lost decade” when it comes to North-South relations. Even worse, deterrence failed--the North launched its most violent attacks since the Korean War.
Surprisingly, Lee has a few kind words for Kim Jong-un, describing him at the outset as “ruthless and sharp” (p. viii). Lee has no such praise in his more than 100 mentions of Donald Trump and South Korea’s liberal President Moon Jae-in. Lee’s incessant attacks on Moon and the Korean left will be lost on his American audience. During my 12 years in Seoul I proudly served as an advisor to both conservative and liberal Korean presidents. I never had a dog in Korea’s political fights.
Lee sees both the Korean left and Trump playing into Kim Jong-un’s hands. Lee even calls Trump a “godsend” for Kim (p. 235). At the same time, Trump “has done more political damage to the alliance between the United States and South Korea than any other American president” (p. 237). Finally, we agree!
What makes “Hermit King” especially awful to the point of being morally reprehensible is Lee’s implicit support for a policy of malign neglect toward North Korea. What happened to Saint Ronald Regan’s “A hungry child knows no politics”? How can we increase information flows to the North? Radio? USBs? If donju are the key to change as Lee posits, shouldn’t we be supporting programs like Chosun Exchange? How can we prevent the North from becoming Nukes R Us? Lee briefly concedes that “sanctions and political pressures were also unsuccessful” (p. 185). You will not find answers to any of these questions in “Hermit King.”
Lee concludes with his greatest contradiction: Kim Jong-un is at the “apex” of power and will “rule North Korea for the foreseeable future” but someday will face a “tipping point” (p. 244-5). And for the second time he cites the dubious example of “the hero who stood in front of the column of tanks in Tienanmen Square in June 1989.” How has that worked out? Brave protesters in Hong Kong notwithstanding, technology is allowing Beijing--the government that will most shape North Korea’s political and economic future--to be more Orwellian than ever. Sadly, Lee Chung-min appears to be “Waiting for Godot.”
How could the influential Carnegie Endowment’s Lee Chung-min, one of the most articulate Korean scholars I have ever met, write such a bad book? This is not a biography. “The Hermit King” is a rambling rant against Donald Trump and the South Korean left. It is also a plea for the North Korean people to rise up--someday. Lee appears to favor a policy of malign neglect.
For starters, the book’s title is wildly inaccurate. Kim Jong-un has been anything but a “hermit.” As Lee himself awkwardly proclaims, “Since early 2018, Kim has entered the world at a furious pace” (p. 7). Moreover, all Koreans should bristle at a title that refers to the backwardness trope used to justify Korea’s subjugation to Japan more than a century ago.
Lee frequently uses Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” and Goethe’s “Faust” to describe the reform dilemma facing Kim Jong-un and the compromises he has made to grow the economy, including allowing an incipient capitalism. Lee refers to these would-be capitalists (“donju”) as a “dissident class” (p.41). If only!
Lee’s writing style brings to mind Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road.” Unfortunately, stream of consciousness narratives don’t work for me. There is no coherent framework for “The Hermit King” and individual chapters jump around from one topic, time period and lengthy quoted source to another. Lee also adopts a reverse chronology style in later chapters. His Tourett’s Syndrome-like attacks on the South Korean left pepper each chapter.
Buried in this slapdash mishmash of a book is a useful nuclear program timeline. There are also org charts for the key pol-mil institutions in the North, but no explanation of how they operate or interact with one another. Nor is there a table showing the military balance on the Peninsula. And best of luck understanding “North Korea’s Five Concentric Circles” (p. 57). The outer ring is “Gulags,” followed by “Big Brother,” then “Three Classes,” and then “KWP/KPA Elites.” At the center is “The Kim Dynasty/Office 39.”
Lee acknowledges writing “Hermit King” soon after Anna Fifield’s book with a similar title. When I prepared reports for the International Crisis Group, I surveyed the field, established a benchmark and decided to only write a report if my team and I could do better. Unlike Fifield, Lee conducted few interviews and unlike Joel Wit’s masterful “Going Critical” had no documents declassified. “Hermit King” contains no new information or insights.
Lee is conspicuously silent when it comes to the North Korea policy of the president he recently served and her equally conservative predecessor. There are no lessons learned. This period (2008-17) can best be described as a “lost decade” when it comes to North-South relations. Even worse, deterrence failed--the North launched its most violent attacks since the Korean War.
Surprisingly, Lee has a few kind words for Kim Jong-un, describing him at the outset as “ruthless and sharp” (p. viii). Lee has no such praise in his more than 100 mentions of Donald Trump and South Korea’s liberal President Moon Jae-in. Lee’s incessant attacks on Moon and the Korean left will be lost on his American audience. During my 12 years in Seoul I proudly served as an advisor to both conservative and liberal Korean presidents. I never had a dog in Korea’s political fights.
Lee sees both the Korean left and Trump playing into Kim Jong-un’s hands. Lee even calls Trump a “godsend” for Kim (p. 235). At the same time, Trump “has done more political damage to the alliance between the United States and South Korea than any other American president” (p. 237). Finally, we agree!
What makes “Hermit King” especially awful to the point of being morally reprehensible is Lee’s implicit support for a policy of malign neglect toward North Korea. What happened to Saint Ronald Regan’s “A hungry child knows no politics”? How can we increase information flows to the North? Radio? USBs? If donju are the key to change as Lee posits, shouldn’t we be supporting programs like Chosun Exchange? How can we prevent the North from becoming Nukes R Us? Lee briefly concedes that “sanctions and political pressures were also unsuccessful” (p. 185). You will not find answers to any of these questions in “Hermit King.”
Lee concludes with his greatest contradiction: Kim Jong-un is at the “apex” of power and will “rule North Korea for the foreseeable future” but someday will face a “tipping point” (p. 244-5). And for the second time he cites the dubious example of “the hero who stood in front of the column of tanks in Tienanmen Square in June 1989.” How has that worked out? Brave protesters in Hong Kong notwithstanding, technology is allowing Beijing--the government that will most shape North Korea’s political and economic future--to be more Orwellian than ever. Sadly, Lee Chung-min appears to be “Waiting for Godot.”
March 4, 2020
This is a short book packed with information. It provides enough background such that it can be read as an introduction along with commentary and detail for those who know the history. The author has a point of view and he shows why he feels as he does.
Chung Min Lee points out that Kim, through strategic assassinations, has stifled any internal power plays virtually guaranteeing that he will be in power well beyond all other world leaders. His goal remains unifying the Korean peninsula with North Korea (backed by China and Russia) in a superior position. To this end, he will never give up his nuclear weapons.
Recent situations have allowed Kim Jung Il to present himself favorably beyond North Korea. The Olympics being in South Korea and an American president naive to the ramifications his overtures to Kim were opportunities to burnish his image. They do not represent a change in his goals or his commitment to the nuclear program.
Besides the examples of the brutality of the “juche” system, the book has encyclopedic value. There are histories of the Kim family how alliances with China and Russia have evolved. Along with a history of on North Korea’s antagonisms with South Korea and Japan there is information the diplomacy that surrounds the number of troops in the region and military spending.
There is
- a detailed family tree of the Kim’s and a diagram of the country's “caste” system.
- An organizations charts showing “Party Organs”
- An organizational chart of "Government Organs”
- An organizational chart of “Command and Control” (the military).
- A map showing North Korea’s (many) gulags and political prisons
- An a map showing (many) locations of its WMDs.
The author notes a few "chinks" in Kim's armor.
- Defectors continue to leave, some are high level people. While penalties for defecting are known to extend to generations of the family, it seems that recent defectors maintain ties (no background is given).
- Some defectors are abetted by silence among the Chinese.
- The funeral of Kim Jung Il in 2011 did not have the same intensive morning seen in the funeral of his father, Kim Il Sung in 1994.
- The internet and media (particularly South Korean popular culture) are spreading which shows the lie about how the outside world lives. If caught with banned material it is possible to bribe your way out of punishment.
- One defector her peers at school laughed about Kim, something that should have triggered a life in a gulag.
The author notes that while there is some weakening of the cult of adulation, the surveillance and the system for weeding out "traitors" prohibits any movement strong enough to make a change.
This is a good overview. For the general reader, the author’s point of view is convincing.
Chung Min Lee points out that Kim, through strategic assassinations, has stifled any internal power plays virtually guaranteeing that he will be in power well beyond all other world leaders. His goal remains unifying the Korean peninsula with North Korea (backed by China and Russia) in a superior position. To this end, he will never give up his nuclear weapons.
Recent situations have allowed Kim Jung Il to present himself favorably beyond North Korea. The Olympics being in South Korea and an American president naive to the ramifications his overtures to Kim were opportunities to burnish his image. They do not represent a change in his goals or his commitment to the nuclear program.
Besides the examples of the brutality of the “juche” system, the book has encyclopedic value. There are histories of the Kim family how alliances with China and Russia have evolved. Along with a history of on North Korea’s antagonisms with South Korea and Japan there is information the diplomacy that surrounds the number of troops in the region and military spending.
There is
- a detailed family tree of the Kim’s and a diagram of the country's “caste” system.
- An organizations charts showing “Party Organs”
- An organizational chart of "Government Organs”
- An organizational chart of “Command and Control” (the military).
- A map showing North Korea’s (many) gulags and political prisons
- An a map showing (many) locations of its WMDs.
The author notes a few "chinks" in Kim's armor.
- Defectors continue to leave, some are high level people. While penalties for defecting are known to extend to generations of the family, it seems that recent defectors maintain ties (no background is given).
- Some defectors are abetted by silence among the Chinese.
- The funeral of Kim Jung Il in 2011 did not have the same intensive morning seen in the funeral of his father, Kim Il Sung in 1994.
- The internet and media (particularly South Korean popular culture) are spreading which shows the lie about how the outside world lives. If caught with banned material it is possible to bribe your way out of punishment.
- One defector her peers at school laughed about Kim, something that should have triggered a life in a gulag.
The author notes that while there is some weakening of the cult of adulation, the surveillance and the system for weeding out "traitors" prohibits any movement strong enough to make a change.
This is a good overview. For the general reader, the author’s point of view is convincing.
December 16, 2019
The grumpus23 (23-word commentary)
A bit repetitive. Nice overview of history of North Korea and how this despot came to power and maintains it while being isolated.
Note: This was an advanced copy supplied by the publisher for an honest review.
A bit repetitive. Nice overview of history of North Korea and how this despot came to power and maintains it while being isolated.
Note: This was an advanced copy supplied by the publisher for an honest review.
Read
December 8, 2019A very thought provoking treatise elaborating the political logic of Kim Jong un's acts as he walks the tightrope of keeping his dynastic grip on North Korea. He wants to grow North Korea economically but doesn't want to dare compromise his chokehold in power; he wants to enter the international arena of nations without losing his nuclear weapons; he wants to emulate China but resents North Korea's client status with the bigger state. This book shows that Kim Jong un is following a dictator ' s usual playbook to survive and flourish
September 18, 2019
As I began writing this book review, the American president, Donald Trump, fired John Bolton, his national security advisor. News reports said the two of them had a falling out over ways to deal with Iran, North Korea, and the Taliban. Bolton is a hawk in all three areas. He would happily go for military solutions while Trump says he wants to make deals. He just doesn’t see deal making as a two-way street. With Trump, it’s always “my way or the highway.”
My guess is that the author, Chung Min Lee, would stand with Bolton. Lee doesn’t like the North Korean leader. He also doesn’t trust South Korean president Moon Jae-in’s willingness to find a solution to the on-going conflict. In a 2018 interview with Truthout, Noam Chomsky points out that Moon and Kim Jong-un signed a joint Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. It “affirmed the principle of determining the destiny of the Korean nation on their own accord.” That is, without reference to any of the domineering superpowers.
Chung Min Lee, “is a senior fellow in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Prior to joining Carnegie, he taught for twenty years at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) in Yonsei University in Seoul.” His book does not provide much context to help us understand either North Korea or its president, Kim Jong-un.
North Korea didn’t get the way it is by accident. It is the result of 69 years of American military actions and threats, and political and economic isolation. Before that, it suffered through another 35 years of occupation by Japan.
Korea and Japan had a long history of warfare, leading up to 1910 when it was annexed into the Japanese empire. Throughout the second world war, the Japanese occupiers had a policy, and a practice, of kidnapping Korean women and sending them away to become “comfort women” for their soldiers.
In 1945, the victorious countries liberated Korea from Japan but didn’t really set it free. They put half under Soviet influence and half under the United States. Not long after, the Cold War heated up and the American State Department began seeing dominoes falling all across South East Asia.
Korea and several other south-east Asian countries began looking towards the socialist world for an escape from imperialist domination. Hostilities broke out between the northern half of Korea, led by Kim Il-sung, and the southern half, led by Syngman Rhee. The north was supported by the Soviet Union and China. The south had the United States and the newly created United Nations on its side.
The Korean War was the first hot war to erupt from the cold war. It was never concluded. An armistice was signed in 1953, but not a peace treaty. This is the historical context behind the current situation in Korea. The Hermit King largely ignores it and paints a belligerent picture of Kim Jong-un.
We can get an idea of Lee’s attitude when he says, in Chapter 2 that “North Korea is one of the largest criminal syndicates in the world: churning out counterfeit notes (such as fake U.S. $100 bills that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing); manufacturing and trading illicit drugs; running alcohol- and tobacco-smuggling rings; sending out slave laborers to Russia, China, and parts of the Middle East; and, increasingly, undertaking bank heists through computer hacking.”
That’s quite an incredible charge sheet. It raises the question of how one of the poorest countries in the world can sustain a criminal operation larger than the Central American drug cartels, and more successful than the Wall Street hedge fund manipulators. It just isn’t credible.
It’s not the only head-scratcher. In the introduction, Lee says that one of Kim Jong-un’s rivals, Jang Song, was accused of high treason in 2013. Lee writes that he was “handcuffed, held by two armed guards, sentenced by a military tribunal and executed immediately by antiaircraft guns.” I’ll give Lee the benefit of the doubt here and assume a typo. The copy I read was an uncorrected digital galley received through NetGalley.com. There are much more efficient methods of execution available to those inclined to carry one out.
The Hermit King is too biased to be of much help to anyone interested in getting to the bottom of the Korean conflict. The search for a solution requires a much more textured analysis than Lee provides.
My guess is that the author, Chung Min Lee, would stand with Bolton. Lee doesn’t like the North Korean leader. He also doesn’t trust South Korean president Moon Jae-in’s willingness to find a solution to the on-going conflict. In a 2018 interview with Truthout, Noam Chomsky points out that Moon and Kim Jong-un signed a joint Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. It “affirmed the principle of determining the destiny of the Korean nation on their own accord.” That is, without reference to any of the domineering superpowers.
Chung Min Lee, “is a senior fellow in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Prior to joining Carnegie, he taught for twenty years at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) in Yonsei University in Seoul.” His book does not provide much context to help us understand either North Korea or its president, Kim Jong-un.
North Korea didn’t get the way it is by accident. It is the result of 69 years of American military actions and threats, and political and economic isolation. Before that, it suffered through another 35 years of occupation by Japan.
Korea and Japan had a long history of warfare, leading up to 1910 when it was annexed into the Japanese empire. Throughout the second world war, the Japanese occupiers had a policy, and a practice, of kidnapping Korean women and sending them away to become “comfort women” for their soldiers.
In 1945, the victorious countries liberated Korea from Japan but didn’t really set it free. They put half under Soviet influence and half under the United States. Not long after, the Cold War heated up and the American State Department began seeing dominoes falling all across South East Asia.
Korea and several other south-east Asian countries began looking towards the socialist world for an escape from imperialist domination. Hostilities broke out between the northern half of Korea, led by Kim Il-sung, and the southern half, led by Syngman Rhee. The north was supported by the Soviet Union and China. The south had the United States and the newly created United Nations on its side.
The Korean War was the first hot war to erupt from the cold war. It was never concluded. An armistice was signed in 1953, but not a peace treaty. This is the historical context behind the current situation in Korea. The Hermit King largely ignores it and paints a belligerent picture of Kim Jong-un.
We can get an idea of Lee’s attitude when he says, in Chapter 2 that “North Korea is one of the largest criminal syndicates in the world: churning out counterfeit notes (such as fake U.S. $100 bills that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing); manufacturing and trading illicit drugs; running alcohol- and tobacco-smuggling rings; sending out slave laborers to Russia, China, and parts of the Middle East; and, increasingly, undertaking bank heists through computer hacking.”
That’s quite an incredible charge sheet. It raises the question of how one of the poorest countries in the world can sustain a criminal operation larger than the Central American drug cartels, and more successful than the Wall Street hedge fund manipulators. It just isn’t credible.
It’s not the only head-scratcher. In the introduction, Lee says that one of Kim Jong-un’s rivals, Jang Song, was accused of high treason in 2013. Lee writes that he was “handcuffed, held by two armed guards, sentenced by a military tribunal and executed immediately by antiaircraft guns.” I’ll give Lee the benefit of the doubt here and assume a typo. The copy I read was an uncorrected digital galley received through NetGalley.com. There are much more efficient methods of execution available to those inclined to carry one out.
The Hermit King is too biased to be of much help to anyone interested in getting to the bottom of the Korean conflict. The search for a solution requires a much more textured analysis than Lee provides.
December 22, 2020
Read 1984. Read this book. Wonder wtf? An excellent account of the history of the Korean Peninsula up to 2019. Great primer for those of us who haven’t been paying attention.
January 19, 2020
(3.5 Stars) (Audiobook) This work is one of many attempts to demystify the North Korean regime, this book looks at the life and policies of Kim Jong Un, as well as the history of the Kim Dynasty. A key point is that the author refers to the Kims in dynastic terms, as they are a modern ruling family. Through that prism, Chung analyzes North Korea's actions, from its domestic politics, to its international relations vis-a-vis China, South Korea, the US and USSR/Russia. North Korea demonstrates a remarkable ability to adapt and surprise the outside world. Kim Jong Un has proven remarkably effective in playing the great powers against each other as well as consolidating his own position of power. Yet, North Korea's current trajectory, according to Chung, is not sustainable in the long term. To evolve and improve the economic conditions for the country, North Korea will have to loosen the controls it has over the population. However, by doing that, it risks opening the floodgates to dissent and the potential for the violent overthrow of the Kims. The author acknowledges that Kim faces some unsavory choices, but then again, Kim is hardly a savory figure.
Overall, a solid book. It does jump around a bit, so the order is a little difficult to follow. Granted, I have read a number of other works, so much of this information is a refresher. Might be more effective for those who do not have as much experience and/or reading about North Korea beyond reading some headlines. The reader does a decent job with the material. Either audiobook or hard/e-copy would work fine in this instance.
Overall, a solid book. It does jump around a bit, so the order is a little difficult to follow. Granted, I have read a number of other works, so much of this information is a refresher. Might be more effective for those who do not have as much experience and/or reading about North Korea beyond reading some headlines. The reader does a decent job with the material. Either audiobook or hard/e-copy would work fine in this instance.
April 26, 2020
A bit biased but good, nonetheless.
February 28, 2020
I found this an interesting, insightful and intelligent examination of Kim Jong Un, the Kim dynasty and the current situation in North Korea. The author’s bias is a bit too much in evidence, as is his opposition to Trump, and the book is somewhat disorganised, jumping about and often repetitive. Nevertheless it’s a valuable attempt to explain the complex and complicated geopolitical issues and his speculation about what might happen in the future is thought-provoking and thoughtful. I don’t think I learnt anything new here, as I have read widely about North Korea and follow events there closely, but it’s certainly a good overview and introduction. I have also read some of the very negative reviews and found them too intelligent and insightful. But there are no easy answers or solutions to the enigma that is North Korea and its leader and I feel that this book is a worthy addition to the conversation.
December 7, 2021
This one felt very repetitive and overly focused on Trump's dealings with Kim and North Korea. For being such an expert, Lee offers little groundbreaking material here.
December 13, 2019
Information was okay but I found the "story" a little disorganized. Also, if you are going to dump on Trump and his wild style, then you have to get more into all the players (especially South Korea and China) and their motives and actions.
January 24, 2020
Disjointed...repetitive...confusing timeline that bounced all over the place.
February 6, 2020
This book is a detailed, well-written analysis of the foreign policy challenges North Korea and its leader Kin Jong Un present to the world. Part biography, part history lesson, part political analysis, the book does a great job defining and describing the unique problems this person and his regime present to East Asia and the world at large.
Chung presents a strong case that Kim is a continual threat to world peace; compounding the situation, the current presidents of South Korea and the United States are badly managing their relationships with him. Chung all but states Kim is playing them, with false promises of reunification and denuclearization respectively, to his advantage and the world's disadvantage.
Chung thoroughly analyzes the rise of Kim as a young leader and his brutal consolidation of power. Most famously, he murdered his uncle, his father's sister's husband. This was a man who promised his father before his death that he would assure KJU's ascendance to power. His gift for fulfilling his promise? KJU had him publicly executed with anti-aircraft guns in front assembled elites.
Chung provides the details of his rise to power and his masterful exploitation of the cult of personality around the Kim family that started with KJU's grandfather Kim Il Sung.
While this book's title and synopsis indicate it's a biography of KJU's in fact it's much more than that. It's a great primer on modern Korean history, the politics of the divided peninsula, the potential for future war, the potential for, logistics of, unification, etc..
This is a good read for those with interest in international relations, current events, east Asian affairs, etc. Chung's book is a great primer for those who want to bring their knowledge up to date.
Chung presents a strong case that Kim is a continual threat to world peace; compounding the situation, the current presidents of South Korea and the United States are badly managing their relationships with him. Chung all but states Kim is playing them, with false promises of reunification and denuclearization respectively, to his advantage and the world's disadvantage.
Chung thoroughly analyzes the rise of Kim as a young leader and his brutal consolidation of power. Most famously, he murdered his uncle, his father's sister's husband. This was a man who promised his father before his death that he would assure KJU's ascendance to power. His gift for fulfilling his promise? KJU had him publicly executed with anti-aircraft guns in front assembled elites.
Chung provides the details of his rise to power and his masterful exploitation of the cult of personality around the Kim family that started with KJU's grandfather Kim Il Sung.
While this book's title and synopsis indicate it's a biography of KJU's in fact it's much more than that. It's a great primer on modern Korean history, the politics of the divided peninsula, the potential for future war, the potential for, logistics of, unification, etc..
This is a good read for those with interest in international relations, current events, east Asian affairs, etc. Chung's book is a great primer for those who want to bring their knowledge up to date.
November 4, 2020
I've read a lot of books on North Korea and the Kim regime, and several on KJU. This didn't present much in the way of new information. it isn't a bad book if one doesn't have much background on the topic, but if you know something about North Korea this book won't add much to your knowledge.
Lee does cover the Trump-Kim summits and recent developments in South Korean politics. He also has fairly good coverage of the major players within the Kim family, living and deceased.
In the later third of the book he takes a detour into the life of Kim Il Sung. That feels a bit like he's trying to bulk up his page count. A little background on the founder of North Korea is probably unavoidable, but he's been dead for decades and I think you can write a contemporary book on the country that doesn't cover his biography in depth. In this book, Lee drags out the very well worn story of Kim's first speech backed up by his Russian handlers. It's been included in every book I've read about the regime. He did provide some new (to me) material on Kim Il Sung's brief resurgence near the end of his life. His son, Kim Jong Il was running things day to day and painting a pretty rosy picture for dad, but someone slipped up and let him know things weren't sunshine and puppies and he began taking things in hand. That expenditure of energy might have hastened his death and was story I had not seen before.
Overall, not a bad book, but it does not add much new material to the subject.
Lee does cover the Trump-Kim summits and recent developments in South Korean politics. He also has fairly good coverage of the major players within the Kim family, living and deceased.
In the later third of the book he takes a detour into the life of Kim Il Sung. That feels a bit like he's trying to bulk up his page count. A little background on the founder of North Korea is probably unavoidable, but he's been dead for decades and I think you can write a contemporary book on the country that doesn't cover his biography in depth. In this book, Lee drags out the very well worn story of Kim's first speech backed up by his Russian handlers. It's been included in every book I've read about the regime. He did provide some new (to me) material on Kim Il Sung's brief resurgence near the end of his life. His son, Kim Jong Il was running things day to day and painting a pretty rosy picture for dad, but someone slipped up and let him know things weren't sunshine and puppies and he began taking things in hand. That expenditure of energy might have hastened his death and was story I had not seen before.
Overall, not a bad book, but it does not add much new material to the subject.
October 1, 2019
I received a free copy for an honest review from Netgalley.
I feel the author was too close to the subject on this one- his bias is clearly seen as soon as the author’s note on the first page, and continues on throughout the book. In this bias, he reduces the credibility of his position and loses objectivity in his writing. There are many historical observations and recounts that are insightful and helpful in discussing what the future of Korea could be in the wake of Kim Jong Un, but the Culture of the last several decades is not something that will be easily dismantled. The concern with this book is that though there is a great deal of personal histories, there’s no way to really discuss this hot topic without the bias. I understand his personal history is a part of how he views what should be done or what could happen, but it feels like he’s not giving all the options or opinions on this, and being a little more hands off would have helped.
I feel the author was too close to the subject on this one- his bias is clearly seen as soon as the author’s note on the first page, and continues on throughout the book. In this bias, he reduces the credibility of his position and loses objectivity in his writing. There are many historical observations and recounts that are insightful and helpful in discussing what the future of Korea could be in the wake of Kim Jong Un, but the Culture of the last several decades is not something that will be easily dismantled. The concern with this book is that though there is a great deal of personal histories, there’s no way to really discuss this hot topic without the bias. I understand his personal history is a part of how he views what should be done or what could happen, but it feels like he’s not giving all the options or opinions on this, and being a little more hands off would have helped.
April 27, 2020
In relation to the unknowns about North Korea currently, the relevancy of the future of North Korea is so timely. The in-depth look at the ties and influences on the Korean peninsula, and surrounding countries, as well as countries that are not in proximity close, but have a vested interest- you get a small look into how complex this issue is.
Chung Min Lee does an over the tip thorough investigation and analysis of up to the current presidency hurdles that affects Kores, China, Russia, Japan, the United States, and world balances. There is an equal view brought to all lenses in looking at Korea, and a fascinating look at how so many factors are influenced by so many other factors.
This is so much material to handle, you will find yourself having to reread parts to truly take it all in, but the accuracy and research is definitely there, and obvious that much labor was spent to put so many conditions and influences into play when truly looking at the Kim Dynasty.
Chung Min Lee does an over the tip thorough investigation and analysis of up to the current presidency hurdles that affects Kores, China, Russia, Japan, the United States, and world balances. There is an equal view brought to all lenses in looking at Korea, and a fascinating look at how so many factors are influenced by so many other factors.
This is so much material to handle, you will find yourself having to reread parts to truly take it all in, but the accuracy and research is definitely there, and obvious that much labor was spent to put so many conditions and influences into play when truly looking at the Kim Dynasty.
January 9, 2022
The books I've read on North Korea in the past have been about ordinary people, written in journalistic style. This was more of a political look at it, which is good for me, including history of North Korea along with regional power dynamics and the politics and diplomacy of the region and the potential, eventual, reunification of the Korean peninsula. So I appreciated the insight into the inner workings of the regime, including fairly recent stuff (it goes up through around the time of the second Kim/Trump meeting). I learned a fair bit.
However, while quite readable in style, the book was extremely repetitive and rambly jumping here there and everywhere with some organization but not nearly as much as it needed. So while it added to my knowledge, and I ultimately did like the book, it is certainly not one that I think should go on the list of "must reads" for people who want to learn more about North Korea.
However, while quite readable in style, the book was extremely repetitive and rambly jumping here there and everywhere with some organization but not nearly as much as it needed. So while it added to my knowledge, and I ultimately did like the book, it is certainly not one that I think should go on the list of "must reads" for people who want to learn more about North Korea.
February 12, 2020
This is a pretty good book and it shows that Kim Jong Un is playing south Korea and Donald Trump to get sanctions relief. Trump is shown to only be interested in his "fame" as a great negotiator, which he isn't. Anyone giving this book one star is a Trump supporter who will forgive any idiotic thing he does. The Left in South Korea wants unification at almost any cost (Moon is nearly in that camp) but any thinking person would know that Kim will not unify unless he is in charge. This murderous dictator has the advantage that he can control the terms if he can just get sanction relief and he will never give up his nukes.
The book covers the history of how North Korea came into being and the three leaders of the Kim family. It also covers the ideas behind Jong Un's "denuclearization" ploy. It is a very interesting read and worth your time. Ignore the one star Republicans.
The book covers the history of how North Korea came into being and the three leaders of the Kim family. It also covers the ideas behind Jong Un's "denuclearization" ploy. It is a very interesting read and worth your time. Ignore the one star Republicans.
July 12, 2020
The Chinese do not want to have a united Korean peninsula. A world with North Korea is a dangerous world for China. A world without North Korea is even more dangerous for China.
The North Korean will never like the idea that their nation will be conquered and united by the South Korean since the South Korea is a US's puppet.
A North Korea, which relies on China for protection and security; still poses a threat and threatens the South Korea, will serves the best interests of China.
That is to say a unification on the Korean peninsula is a healthy fantasy.
And the 'Rocket Man' Kim Jong Un, should he continue to play his card wisely and well; should he choose to be a necessary evil and a dangerous dog of the Chinese, he and his family and his regime will survive and last for a very long time to come. And he might die old in peace !!!
The North Korean will never like the idea that their nation will be conquered and united by the South Korean since the South Korea is a US's puppet.
A North Korea, which relies on China for protection and security; still poses a threat and threatens the South Korea, will serves the best interests of China.
That is to say a unification on the Korean peninsula is a healthy fantasy.
And the 'Rocket Man' Kim Jong Un, should he continue to play his card wisely and well; should he choose to be a necessary evil and a dangerous dog of the Chinese, he and his family and his regime will survive and last for a very long time to come. And he might die old in peace !!!
September 19, 2025
Everyone knows the conditions of every North Korean citizens, but this book showed more details of how extreme the government is when it comes to torturing their citizens just because of their demands to live as a normal human being. This book gave me perspective of how brutal the Kim-regime is. The tactics to stay in power and leave the DPRK’s control through their bloodline is insane. History’s changed, false stories, and corruption.
The middle part was a bit repetitive when the book discussed the present conditions of DPRK, with the nuclear threat and the hope of the unification of the Korean peninsula.
All in all, the book was a good read. A lot of information to learn about the DPRK and their supreme leader.
The middle part was a bit repetitive when the book discussed the present conditions of DPRK, with the nuclear threat and the hope of the unification of the Korean peninsula.
All in all, the book was a good read. A lot of information to learn about the DPRK and their supreme leader.
September 11, 2020
Honestly, I do not know enough about geopolitics or Korean or Asian history to be comfortable with how I feel about this book. In fact, I think I probably need to read two or three more times to even truly comprehend much of what I read. Nevertheless, I wish we Americans understood this part of the world (and especially the Korean peninsula) better. We are naive to believe that what happens there does not affect us. Attempting to understand the psychology of what is and might happen there fascinates me. I just wish more of our politicans would read books like this.
October 16, 2021
I didn't really have expectations for this book; I find the North Korean regime a fascinating and intriguing subject to explore, but I think I was expecting a bit more about Kim Jong Un as a person than about military strategy and how he is seen as a looming international threat. Having said that, I quite enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to my next foray into North Korean society and its people.
March 17, 2020
I expected to learn more about North Korea, get more specific details about how the Kim family was able to establish a totalitarian dynasty and maybe learn more about Kim Jong Un. The book was a bit boring and repetitive. Unfortunately, I didn't learn more than I already knew about Kim and North Korea. Maybe this book was too political for my taste.
November 25, 2021
There is some good information hidden behind a deeply flawed, and meandering diatribe that is not so much about Kim Jong-Un, but rather the political history and interactions of the North Korean state. I wanted a book about Kim Jong-Un's character, not a vague neoliberal call to arms for more aggressive posturing towards the DPRK.
December 2, 2021
Highly recommend this book if you’re interested in geopolitical relations in Korea and the countries surrounding it or if you want to learn more about Kim Jong Un’d brutal dictatorship. The book is already becoming a little outdated since new developments in the USA will likely change things in the Korean Peninsula, but not by much, and so the book is still very relevant.
January 21, 2022
I grabbed this book thinking based on the title and cover that it was a biography of Kim Jong Un. It's not. There are more Trump tweets than quotes from Kim. Most of the book is a surface level review of the general political situation and a discussion of human rights abuses. I was expecting more about Kim himself.
November 17, 2024
Name is quite misleading, particularly since Un is the least Hermit-y of all DPRK leaders. The disjointed timeline doesn’t portray the story the author hopes to convey, and the foreign policy talk is most interesting when focused on anyone other than Un. Filled with anti-Trump drivel (not wrong, but overdone). Missed the mark for me.
January 14, 2020
3/5 Stars
It's wild. And informative. North Korea is like that crazy family member that everyone handles with care. It a wild harrowing read made so because it's real. Wow.
There were some sections that were a bit repetitive and I kind of don't really know how to rate this but I'd recommend it.
It's wild. And informative. North Korea is like that crazy family member that everyone handles with care. It a wild harrowing read made so because it's real. Wow.
There were some sections that were a bit repetitive and I kind of don't really know how to rate this but I'd recommend it.
October 16, 2020
The enjoyment of reading this book only on the last till the first 2 chapter.
From there seems like the points discussed keep on being reiterated from different point of context/view making I feel sleepy/unmotivated to dig much further into this book.
From there seems like the points discussed keep on being reiterated from different point of context/view making I feel sleepy/unmotivated to dig much further into this book.
May 23, 2021
I was looking for a little more specifically about the Kims and a little less about Korean relations with the rest of the world, but overall I still learned some things and enjoyed the book. A bit repetitive at times, but still good.
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