North Korea

[close] Having just published THE PYONGYANG OPTION, a spy thriller set in North Korea, I've had a wide range of discussions with readers, fellow fiction authors and experts on Korea. So, as one of the few authors to have visited North Korea, I've decided to set up this group to further delve into this interesting topic, whether or not you've read my books. North Korea remains a mysterious and dangerous country, and this ensures that it will continue to be featured in thrillers and mysteries. Tell me about fiction you've read or written featuring North Korean characters, plots or settings.

[close] This is a book club for discussing Korea-related books. Everyone is welcome.

[close] The socio-economic changes North Korea has undergone over the last two decade have been almost entirely unreported. Indeed, by the beginning of 2017, mass starvation had long ceased, while more and better-assorted markets emerged throughout the country (and yet you’re still reading that ‘North Korea’s regime is starving its population’). Fewer people are punished for political crimes than in the past (but you still read that three generations of a family are sent to the gulag for the slightest political crime). The rising middle class has been transforming the rigid old political class system since marketization has enabled people from lower classes to build their own business, with some becoming rich and even more influential than many party and government officials from the privileged ‘core class,’ something prohibited two decades ago. Yet, you’re still told by the media that a North Korean’s fate is solely defined by the social ‘caste’ he belongs to and so on. Business people around the world have had no access to any news of positive progress, while any stories of ‘normal’ development are generally considered not to be newsworthy by the media. — How much will the strangulating economic embargo which was imposed later in 2017 reverse this progress and cause suffering to the North Korean people?

[close] From the far east, I would like to begin reading the best-sellers and classics. I'm personally interested in Travel books and works written by Expats as well, but the focus I'd like to keep will be on those works often passed over, those translated for better or worse. We may foray into the Mid-East and South-East if there is interest on my part (or yours). It will be hard to keep me up on this, but I will start in the new year, and anyone who wants to join my exploration is more than welcome.