Absolutely fascinating look at North Korea's self-image. The author skillfully presents the argument that North Korea's attitude of themselves as a pure, clean race - constantly in danger of contamination by everyone outside their borders - is what fuels the ability of the Kim dynasty to stay in power. The Kims are maternal figures, protectors of the childlike populace, and Myers' copious quotes from propaganda that is seen by domestic eyes bears out that thesis. What they see, and what is translated into English for foreign consumption, in quite different. The internal propaganda is far more racist and, as a result, it is unlikely that there would ever be an improvement of relations between them and the rest of the world. There is absolutely no advantage for them to do so when they already get foreign aid from a number of countries. And, as what happened when the USSR started reducing the amount of aid, they simply go without.There are other reviews here far more eloquent. Go read them and check out the book if you're curious. It's not a litany of crimes against humanity, but an exploration of the mindset on the Korean peninsula and how it's fertile ground for an authoritarian cult of personality.Riveting stuff. Apparently, everything we know of North Korea is wrong. Confuscian Patriarchy, Marxism and fascism are explanations that are as satisfying for foreign conceptions of what ideology should be as they are unable to truly explain the motivations and behavior of the North Korean people and regime. For example, Patriarchy is a puzzling label to apply to a nation reverent of mothers and traditionally feminine qualities, communism a clunky explanation for an ideology and behavior that fails to live up to even the least strict sense of Marxism and fascism assumed despite what seems to be really shockingly high appreciation for a regime that delivers continously unstable standards of living. The author suggests that the missing piece is the one that's also assumed to be the least nuanced and realistic. North Koreans view their race as perfect and their leader the embodiment of said moral perfection, therfore the only one apt to protect the nation that will be inherently victimized by a morally corrupt world-particularly Washington. Instability in standards of living are therfore not detrimental to the regime's existence as is assumed of most regimes and neither is aggression from Washington. Quite the contrary, as with the Soviet Union (one of the few clear similarities it seems), the greatest threat to the regime's survival is a friendly world, one lacking in the ever present aggressive force Washington has unwittingly played for years. It's the constant application of certain assumptions - that a regime's most important function is mastering the market and maximizing resources and that the North Korean regime secretly accept this , for example - that make North Korea seem impossible to understand. As for the writing, it's much less dense than most academic papers you'll read and also less...clear for it. It's a quick read though and undoubtedly illuminating even if you don't agree with most of the author's analyses.
What do You think about Nejčistší Rasa (2010)?
DPRK is in the news a lot these days, and it won't make any sense unless you read this book.
—mezzoforte006
Fascinating...A military State..pure and simple.
—Killdragon22
