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The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters Paperback – December 20, 2011

by B. R. Myers (Author)

83 customer reviews

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Understanding North Korea through its propaganda: A newly revised and updated edition that includes a consideration of Kim Jung Il's successor, Kim Jong-Un

What do the North Koreans really believe? How do they see themselves and the world around them?

Here B.R. Myers, a North Korea analyst and a contributing editor of The Atlantic, presents the first full-length study of the North Korean worldview. Drawing on extensive research into the regime’s domestic propaganda, including films, romance novels and other artifacts of the personality cult, Myers analyzes each of the country’s official myths in turn—from the notion of Koreans’ unique moral purity, to the myth of an America quaking in terror of “the Iron General.” In a concise but groundbreaking historical section, Myers also traces the origins of this official culture back to the Japanese fascist thought in which North Korea’s first ideologues were schooled.

What emerges is a regime completely unlike the West’s perception of it. This is neither a bastion of Stalinism nor a Confucian patriarchy, but a paranoid nationalist, “military-first” state on the far right of the ideological spectrum.

Since popular support for the North Korean regime now derives almost exclusively from pride in North Korean military might, Pyongyang can neither be cajoled nor bullied into giving up its nuclear program. The implications for US foreign policy—which has hitherto treated North Korea as the last outpost of the Cold War—are as obvious as they are troubling. With North Korea now calling for a “blood reckoning” with the “Yankee jackals,” Myers’s unprecedented analysis could not be more timely.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A particularly nasty strain of racist propaganda has enabled North Korea's dictatorship to maintain power, according to this fascinating cultural survey. An American-born, South Korea-based instructor of North Korean literature, Myers (A Reader's Manifesto) combines his cultural and linguistic fluency with sharp analysis to throw light on one of the world's most closed-off cultures. Examining North Korean books, news broadcasts, and films, Myers finds that the country's supremacist propaganda can be traced to imperial Japan, which sought to convince Koreans that they were part of the "world's purest race." Myers acidly discredits Western interpretations of North Korea as "hard-line communist" or "Confucian," noting the prevalence of maternal rather than paternal imagery and the societal scorn for the former Soviet bloc. Esoteric cultural markers-e.g., the heavy use of flashbacks in film and literature-are mined for compelling clues to the North Korean sensibility. Myers' greatest feat is his explanation of how the regime has maintained power despite its failures in almost every area of governance-how it has convinced average North Korean citizens that shipments of U.S. food aid, for example, are actually reparations for past "Yankee" crimes. A sharp and smart introduction to one of the world's most secretive societies.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Electrifying... finely argued and brilliantly written." —Christopher Hitchens, Slate

"Provocative... A fascinating analysis." —Dwight Garner, The New York Times

"[A] scary... close reading of domestic propaganda [that] goes a long way toward explaining the erratic behavior and seemingly bizarre thought processes of Dear Leader Kim Jong Il." —The Wall Street Journal

"Myers' book is worth buying and reading." —The Quarterly Review

"The definitive book on the subject." —The Atlantic

"There are few books that can give the world a peek into the Hermit Kingdom.The Cleanest Race provides a reason to care about how those in North Korea see themselves and the West. It is possibly the best addition to that small library of books on North Korean ideology."
—Andrei Lankov, Far Eastern Economic Review

"Myers renders great service to the global foreign policy establishment with his lucid and well documented profile of the North Korean polity. If only it were made mandatory reading for all the stakeholder leaders, particularly the American establishment, who feel compelled to deal politically with North Korea. Maybe then, Myers' wisdom might lead them to adopt the only possibly policy toward North Korea that will work: that of 'benign neglect.'"
—Mike Gravel, US Senate 1969-1981

"In his new survey of North Korean propaganda, The Cleanest Race, B.R. Myers insists that the ongoing support of the North Korean public for the regime doesn't reflect any great faith in communism. Instead, he argues, it is rooted in a kind of paranoid racial nationalism adapted from the Japanese fascism that flourished before World War II.... Myers feels that the racialism at the heart of the regime's ideology will sustain it even as it fails to provide the prosperity it promises."
—Laura Miller, Salon.com

"The text offers a clear picture of the peculiar worldview of this profoundly inward-facing country, its character and continuous subtle alterations, and its under-appreciated ramifications in world affairs." —Reference & Research Book News

From the Hardcover edition.

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Product details

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Melville House; Reprint edition (December 20, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1935554344
ISBN-13: 978-1935554349
Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 83 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #34 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Propaganda & Political Psychology
- #40 in Books > History > Asia > Korea > North
- #75 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Nationalism

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Top customer reviews

Great book. It didn't change my opinion on North ...

ByGregor Dawsonon August 23, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Great book. It didn't change my opinion on North Korea, but it certainly helped solidify some thoughts. Its language is very accessible and it follows a logical progression of argument. I thought it ended somewhat abruptly; with a conclusion that could be expanded. I'm looking forward to reading Myers more recent book on North Korea.

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Very Informative

ByJSon January 30, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The author explains in precise terms what is really going on with North Korea. I now have a much clearer understanding of the history of the region and a rational explanation for why the North Korean leaders do such strange things. Very detailed information but presented in an entertaining way. Enjoyed it greatly.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

An Eye Opener

ByDalena de Haanon November 25, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is not a book I would have read was it not for the book club I belong to. I live in South Korea and have seen and/or heard many stories/videos about North Korea. That made me form my own opinions, with very little understanding of psychology behind it.
I found the first part boring and felt it lead to nowhere but after about 1/3rd of the book it became very interesting. I found it interesting, well written and definitely another take on why - and I believe it.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the writers tongue-in-cheek way of writing. It is seriously subtle.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Cursory observations

ByCharles Davison September 8, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Myers' book is an interesting read about the nature of North Korean propaganda. Though he presents great examples of how theNorth Korean government manipulates information, he doesn't present any suggestions for solutions on how to counter the influence of the propaganda. He is somewhat left leaning in his retelling of historical events and presents an interesting counter balance to more hawkish authors like Victor Cha.

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Very enlightening

ByBryanon September 3, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Gives a succinct but thorough history of North Korea, but more importantly captures the much more effusive sensibility of the country, which is no less important for understanding a culture, but so much harder to qualify.

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The Lies They Tell Themselves...

ByHMS WarspiteTOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICEon February 14, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

2009's "The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters" is author B.R. Meyers' thought-provoking survey of North Korean propaganda. In a highly readable and lavishly illustrated book, Meyers provides some useful insights into the lies North Koreans tell themselves, and the potential implications of those lies for US policy-makers.

At the core of the book is Meyers' thoughtful examination of decades of North Korean propaganda, from its founding by Kim Il Sung in 1945 right up to 2009 reports of Kim Jong Il's ill-health, concerns about a possible succession crisis, and relations with the US. Meyers' thesis is that the ideological basis of the North Korean state is paranoid rascist nationalism. He argues that outsider observers who see North Korea as the last Stalinist state or as an amalgam of Confuscism and Socialism may misunderstand Pyongyang's motives and actions. His conclusions bode poorly for current denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.

Propaganda is notoriously difficult to disect from the outside, especially when a pragmatic state plays one theme to its citizens and another to its enemies. Experienced observers of North Korea may therefore find much of interest in the book without necessarily agreeing with the author's every conclusion. "The Cleanest Race" is highly recommended to students of the Pyongyang regime as an insightful look at a closed society.

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Essential reading

ByKarola Mostafanejadon January 4, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I went to visit North Korea as part of a tour. I found this book explained what I saw there in an unbiased fashion using original thinking that not only explains the North Koreans' behaviour as rational but also counteracts the relentless propaganda emanating from the West that castigates the North Korean state as evil only. Western states should look to their own (back)yards to route out human rights violations.

22 comments One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Interesting insight into the DPRK's mindset

ByAmazon Customeron April 29, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Good read even if it is very opinionated. Gives an insight into the minds of North Koreans that I haven't heard or seen anywhere else.

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Most recent customer reviews

Three Stars

Interesting

Published 2 months ago by William Fredericks

Five Stars

if you want to kinow about north korea...then read this

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer

Powerful and Subversive

Every American policy maker needs to read this book. Without a deep knowledge of North Korean racial identity, we can never grasp Pyongyang's true intents and the violent lengths...Read more

Published 4 months ago by NoahDavid Lein

Well reasoned but not earth shattering

This provides a good insight into the propaganda machine that currently runs North Korea, however the inside provided do not deviate wildly from what can be found in other...Read more

Published 1 year ago by Andy Boissonneau

Reads like he cobbled it together after an internet search

Dated and not particularly insightful. Repetitive. Reads like he cobbled it together after an internet search.

Published 1 year ago by Shatterbox

The Cleanest Race - North Korean Official View of Themselves

This is was interesting study of the North Korean people. Instead as a pure, super race, they view themselves as pure and without guile.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Stephen

Three Stars

Worth reading for professional reason

Published 1 year ago by Wyatt Kwon

A little bit scary, not re what the NKs ...

A little bit scary, not re what the NKs might do to the West, but what they're doing to themselves. The author makes the case that, rather than following a strictly Communist...Read more

Published 1 year ago by Dr. S. Shapiro

An absolutely fascinating read and I would recommend it to anyone that would like to better understand ...

A clear and insightful look into the environment and mindset of the inhabitants of the most mysterious countries on earth.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Lauren McM

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