North Korea: Beyond Charismatic Politics

At the dawn of Kim Jong-Un's reign, professors Kwon (University of Cambridge) and Chung (Hanyang University, South Korea) deliver a penetrating (and endnote laden) argument for how North Korea remains adamantly isolated and surprisingly stable. Beginning their analysis in 1994 with the Great National Bereavement triggered by the death of Kim Il Sung, the authors backtrack to evaluate the means by which the Great Leader created the personality cult that has persisted through the reign of his late son, Kim Jong Il, and grandson, Kim Jong Un. Massive parades displaying military might, frequent publicity trips made by the successive leaders throughout the country, and enormous (and numerous) public artworks depicting the lineage ensured "a transition of power based on hereditary charisma" and s%C5%8Fn'gun, North Korea's governing political and social ideology that prioritizes the military before all other segments of society. While the book was completed before Kim Jong Un's formal ascension in December 2011, Kwon (The Other Cold War) and Chung offer valuable insights into the evolution of a philosophy and nation determined to look inward and carry on in the 21st century as a neo-Confucian state built on the concepts of loyalty to a perceived sovereign (ch'ung) and filial piety (hyo). Given the message broadcast to spectators and the rest of the world at a recent festival%E2%80%94"Do not hope for any change in me!"%E2%80%94North Korea seems poised to stay the course whatever the costs. Illus. (Mar.)