North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea

by Andrei Lankov (Author)

31 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0786428397

ISBN-10: 0786428392

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The Kim dynasty has ruled North Korea for over 60 years. Most of that period has found the country suffering under mature Stalinism characterized by manipulation, brutality and tight social control. Nevertheless, some citizens of Kim Jong Il's regime manage to transcend his tyranny in their daily existence. This book describes that difficult but determined existence and the world that the North Koreans have created for themselves in the face of oppression. Many features of this world are unique and even bizarre. But they have been created by the citizens to reflect their own ideas and values, in sharp contrast to the world forced upon them by a totalitarian system. Opening chapters introduce the political system and the extent to which it permeates citizens' daily lives, from the personal status badges they wear to the nationalized distribution of the food they eat. Chapters discussing the schools, the economic system, and family life dispel the myth of the workers' paradise that North Korea attempts to perpetuate. In these chapters the intricacies of daily life in a totalitarian dictatorship are seen through the eyes of defectors whose anecdotes constitute an important portion of the material. The closing chapter treats at length the significant changes that have taken place in North Korea over the last decade, concluding that these changes will lead to the quiet but inevitable death of North Korean Stalinism.

North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea

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Editorial Reviews

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"If anything is missing here, it's probably not worth knowing...well written, comprehensive and relevatory...valuable." --School Library Journal

"Deserves ongoing mention and recommendation as a powerful survey...must have this rare insider's look at the North Korean psyche." --Midwest Book Review

"We are obliged to Lankov for this insight...Lankov is one of the most illuminating North Korea watchers around...uniquely perceptive...especially good on the details of everyday life." --The New York Review of Books

"Deserves ongoing mention and recommendation as a powerful survey...must have this rare insider's look at the North Korean psyche." --Midwest Book Review

"Offers an intriguing and informative peek into North Korea through the lens of daily life." --Pacific Affairs

"Valuable...a detailed description of North Korean life...one of the best guides to the daily life of North Koreans available in English." --Korean Quarterly

About the Author

Andrei Lankov is a senior lecturer at the Australian National University.

Paperback: 358 pages
Publisher: McFarland (April 24, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786428392
ISBN-13: 978-0786428397
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 31 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #39 in Books > History > Asia > Korea > North
- #216 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Asia

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		58%
4 star		29%
3 star		7%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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Best book on daily life in North Korea

Bybigmark40on September 29, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

If you only buy one book to read about life in North Korea, make it this one.
Covers everything you could possibly want to know and more. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I felt it could have contained more personal interest stories of real life North Korean's, but still a cracking read. It's a systematic study of every aspect of North Korean society that covers everything from relationships to politics.
Barbara Demick's book "Nothing to Envy" is another superb read with loads of personal experiences detailed within it. "North of the DMZ" however would carry a lot more analysis of the country as a whole. If interested in the gulags within North Korea, Blaine Harden's "Escape from camp 14" is a thrilling and harrowing true life account of one man's awful life, having been born in the camp of subversive parent's, and his ultimate escape. I've raad many books about life in North Korea and "North of the DMZ" is in the top two.

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hell on earth

ByEllenon September 18, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

After having seen, "Under the Sun", a documentary about North Korea which appears to be the worst place on earth, no food, no spirit, no smiling, joy and serenity don't exist, I ordered this book. It's remarkable. It's a difficult read only because of the information, but it is fascinating and very informative. It is impossible to understand how North Korea still exists promulgating the horrors of communism as being patriotic and wise. It's living in hell.

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A must-read for anyone interested in North Korea.

ByMr. Outsideon September 29, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

One of the definitive North Korea books. Lankov's original research is always interesting to see another, more human side of the DPRK while not excusing it's many shortcomings to its people. I just wish that there was some kind of source for his information!

Still, the short essay format makes this easy, breezy reading despite the often heavy implications carried in its words.

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An interesting (if slightly repetitive) look at the average North Korean

ByDavidon February 4, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

An interesting set of essays (rewritten and rearranged from several years of newspaper columns) dealing with the mundane day-to-day for people living in the Hermit Kingdom. The author - a Russian who grew up in the USSR and provides fascinating perspective on the similarities and contrasts - includes pieces on elementary school, courtship and marriage, television, the black market system, travel, architecture, and pretty much everything else that you could thing of that would relate to the average Korean Joe (or Kim, or whatever). Some overlap of subjects means repetition, but it's not too bad. Read this alongside an analysis of the current political outlook in the North, and you'd have a good conversational overview of one of the saddest places on Earth.

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Decent read

ByAmazon Customeron July 5, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The book gives a lot of insight to North Korea a subject I find interesting. I was hoping for personal stories from actual people rather than the authors narrative.

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Fascinating

ByAmazon Customeron September 6, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is a fascinating journey through several decades of North Korean modern history. Mr Lankov was an exchange student there in the early 80's, a fate I share albeit in a country close by. I wish he had spent some time on some of the concrete experiences he had while there, providing more of a glimpse of everyday life as an exchange student in Pyongyang, an experience few have encountered.

The book is a compilation of columns, as such much is regurgitated, hence a vigilant copy editor would have provided a tighter text and perhaps some re-writes as well. His conclusions at the end of most of the columns seems a bit "beige" for lack of a better word, not bland just beige. Having most likely lived on a steady diet of kimchi I would have expected more spicy conclusions.

I read the Kindle edition. It is unfortunately laced with bad or lazy formatting, new columns (chapters) begin in the middle of a page, photos are not re-sized to fit the Kindle format and there is no interactive ToC. This is most likely no fault of Mr. Lankov, but his agent or publisher has made him a dis-service by not reviewing the digital file more thoroughly. It is unfortunate because Mr. Lankov's text deserves to be handled with more respect.

Some people might find a three star review critical, but the review takes the whole package into consideration. The text itself is clearly worthy of four stars, and even five with a more comprehensive editor. The sloppy formatting is what holds down the overall impression.

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Unbelievable!

ByAmazon Customeron February 7, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I can't believe all the rules and regulations the poor North Korean's live under. Even they know some of it is ridiculous. Others just live and don't question. They are starving, living with part time electricity, one toilet for a high rise of residents and yet they are made to worship the "Loving Father" or risk being sent to a labor camp for the rest of their lives! Absolutely unbelievable!