What is life in North Korea really like?
This fascinating
book by celebrated journalists Daniel Tudor and James Pearson
explores that very question. The authors interview experts and tap a
broad variety of sources to provide a startling insider's view of the
secretive North Korean society, including:
Members of
Pyongyang's ruling families
Defectors
from different periods and regions
Foreign
diplomats and NGOs with years of experience in the country
Cross-border traders from neighboring China
Textual
accounts appearing in English, Korean and Chinese sources
This book reveals
that ordinary North Koreans, poor and rich alike, enjoy listening to
K-pop music and are addicted to South Korean TV dramas--in direct
contravention of government dictates. Pirated foreign movies and
shows--American, South Korean and Chinese--are often smuggled into
the country and sold. Such snippets of information help the reader
understand that North Korea is undergoing dynamic changes, affecting
the 24 million people who call it home.
This new edition is
updated with an afterword by the authors that touches on Kim
Jong-un's recent meetings with Donald Trump and Moon Jae-in. While
the new foreword by Andray Abrahamian--a member of the U.S. National
Committee on North Korea--offers a detailed analysis of North Korea's
political discourse, changes in economic policy, and the rise and
fall of optimism within the country since 2018.