North Korea Confidential: Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps, Dissenters and Defectors

by Daniel Tudor, James Pearson

Overview

North Korea is one of the most controlled and isolated societies on earth, but what is it actually like to live there? How do you make money in a failed economy? How do you have fun under a violent, repressive dictatorship, and how does the secretive and infamous prison camp system work? Read this book to find out.

North Korea Confidential explains how the devastating famine of the 1990s became a catalyst for a network of black markets which have created a new generation of North Korean capitalists. From skinny jeans, to home-made booze, where there’s a market for it, today's North Koreans can probably buy it.

In seven fascinating chapters the authors explore modern North Korea today for the ordinary "man and woman on the street." They interview experts and tap a broad variety of sources to bring a startling new insider's view of North Korean society—from members of Pyongyang's ruling families to defectors from different periods and regions, to diplomats and NGOs, to cross-border traders from neighboring China, and textual accounts appearing in English, Korean and Chinese sources. The resulting stories reveal the horror as well as the innovation and humor which abound in this fascinating country.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781462915125
Publisher:	Tuttle Publishing
Publication date:	04/14/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	415,172
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Daniel Tudor is from Manchester, England, and graduated with a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University. He has lived in Seoul, Korea for a number of years, and served as The Economist's Korea Correspondent from 2010-2013. His first book, 'Korea: The Impossible Country' received strong praise and has also been translated into Korean, Chinese, Polish, and Thai. Daniel is a regular columnist for a Korean newspaper, the Joongang Ilbo, and has commented on Korea-related topics many times for the BBC, Al Jazeera, and others. He is also co-founder of The Booth, a small chain of craft beer pubs.

James Pearson holds a BA in Chinese and Korean from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and a Master's of Philosophy in Oriental Studies from the University of Cambridge. He currently serves as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Seoul, where he covers politics and general news in North and South Korea.

Editorial Reviews

02/09/2015
Despite impressive credentials, Pearson and Tudor, respectively the Seoul correspondent at Reuters and the Economist’s former Korea correspondent, disappoint with this look inside a mystery-shrouded country. Their choice to focus on how the average North Korean lives, and how the strict government regulations play out in reality, sounds promising. But the authors assume that the lay reader will have more knowledge about the totalitarian regime and its ambitions than is likely, and, strangely, they do not open with an overview of the country’s national and international politics. Better editing would have helped; some footnotes, such as one on the former president of Sierra Leone, contain distractingly irrelevant trivia, while others contain crucial information, such as about North Korea’s nuclear program, or how government employees can pay a monthly fee to be excused from work and “engage in private business.” Given the heightened interest in the country after the controversy surrounding the movie The Interview, this book comes across as a missed opportunity to examine North Korea from a different perspective. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Through a variety of sources, from the citizens of Pyongyang to defectors from different periods and regions, to former diplomats and NGOs with years of experience in the country, to cross-border traders from neighboring China, the book is an informative guide to real life in the isolated country." —Asia Society

"James and Daniel have shown that we don't have to rely on intelligence leaks and disinformation in trying to fathom out North Korea. There is solid information out there, which they have brought together and augmented with solid personal insights and first-hand information, and worked into a readable and informative guide to real life in the DPRK. It's a useful addition to a small number of good modern works on North Korea." —Martin Uden, former British ambassador to South Korea, and former head of the United Nations Panel of Experts on the DPRK

"'North Korea Confidential', by James Pearson and Daniel Tudor, says that nearly all North Koreans lead a 'double economic life', supplementing measly rations and puny state wages of as little as $1 a month with extra work in their spare time." —The Economist

"In a new book that the authors say aims to document "North Korea, the country" rather than "North Korea, the state," two journalists —Daniel Tudor, former correspondent for the Economist in Seoul, and James pearson, currently a Reuters reporter in Seoul—tap a wide range of sources to describe the lives of ordinary North koreans. —Wall Street Journal

"North Korean society is rapidly changing, affecting everything from what people watch on TV to what they sing at karaoke. With the help of a new book charting daily life we see if youAEve been paying attention." —The Guardian

"If you are a North Korea watcher or simply curious about the country, it's definitely worth a read. Because what is really happening inside the country rarely makes the headlines." —Korea Herald

"North Korea Confidential…ses extensive interviews with recent defectors and people still in the country to build a rich picture of daily life there." —Financial Times

"…a mix of street smarts and scholarly wisdom. It is a measured and balanced look at North Korea, one that doesn't shy away from the darkness or the light. Overall the authors' voice is refreshing, their storytelling is gripping, and their analysis is perspective." —DailyNK

From the Publisher

★ 04/15/2015
Rather than describing a gray, economically stagnant, and totalitarian society dominated by dictator Kim Jong Un, veteran journalists and coauthors Tudor and Pearson paint a vivid portrait of how North Korea functions by opportunistic entrepreneurism abetted by bribery. After the North Korean economy and government failed in the 1990s, most of the population, from ordinary citizens to upper-level bureaucrats, survived by hustling—buying, selling, and stealing from the government—beneath the illusion of dictatorial control. To own many consumer products all one needs is foreign currency, such as the Chinese yuan. Bribes will solve most problems, except political challenges to the Kim regime. That, the authors recognize, is extremely dangerous and results in incarceration in the very large and very brutal North Korean penal system. Opportunity and self-reliance characterize the North Korea that Tudor and Pearson portray, an economy and society functioning unofficially beneath the façade of Kim Jong Un's protection racket. Having survived the 1990s collapse, the fall of the Soviet Union, and by adapting to this unauthorized and thriving economy, the North Korean regime has shown a remarkable ability to survive, and the authors expect it will continue to be resilient. VERDICT Documented through extensive travel in the country and interviews with North Korean defectors, this important book will appeal to anyone interested in Korean and East Asian affairs.—Mark Jones, Mercantile Lib., Cincinnati

Library Journal