Ryan Arthur’s Reviews > Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty > Status Update
Ryan Arthur
is on page 203 of 874
I'm amazed by the blatant elitism exhibited by Kim Il-sung and the high officials of his regime. Not only because they aspire live in a socialist state, but because everyone else with the same ideological leanings willingly accepts it. The sheer number of women Kim had children with is also staggering, but that's not nearly as startling as the details surrounding the relations he had with teenage girls.
— Nov 30, 2025 03:20PM
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Ryan’s Previous Updates
Ryan Arthur
is on page 185 of 874
At this point in the book, Martin is describing his first entries into North Korea and taking note of how much the state cares about their perception to outsiders. He's in constant company by guides and reserved only to inspect things they want him to. Meanwhile, it is in this late 1970s, early 1980s that South Korea has begun to pull away in terms of economic success.
— Nov 25, 2025 10:18AM
Ryan Arthur
is on page 165 of 874
Approaching this book with little knowledge on North Korea, I've already learned much when it comes to the DPRK's origin story, their fight against Japanese imperialists, internal squabbles with differing communist groups, and the Korean War. Now that the story has moved along to DPRK's early decades of establishing themselves, I find some of the decisions Kim Il-sung to be faulty, and odd that he's still praised.
— Nov 18, 2025 09:17AM
