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The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters by [Myers, B.R.]

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The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters Kindle Edition

by B.R. Myers (Author)

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Understanding North Korea through its propaganda

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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File Size: 10995 KB
Print Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Melville House; Reprint edition (February 1, 2011)
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B004EWETZW
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,096 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #27 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Asia > Korea
- #54 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Special Groups > Ethnic Studies
- #58 in Books > History > Asia > Korea > North

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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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Required Reading to Understand the North Korean Regime

ByMark Sauteron January 13, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The Cleanest Race starts with a level of analysis often missing from studies of North Korea -- the cultural. The explanations of how North Koreans see themselves as a people, not just a political entity, are often persuasive and reflect some similar concepts in the South. Having watched the Northerners for years, and visited them, it's clear to me the appeal to this cultural factor is a key component of the regime's indoctrination system. The concept of "Korean-ness" was forged long before, and far longer, than the influence of communism and capitalism. It also brings a special poignancy to the accounts of Americans and other foreigners trapped in the DPRK, including the US POWs reported alive after the Korean War: American Trophies

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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

Hard to put down.

ByFerroon January 19, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

At first glance the idea of investigating a nation via its official propoganda does not seem useful, but in the case of the two Koreas- a people driven by conformity- it provides a valuable key to their elusive mindset.

Myers traces the government narrative of Korea back to the Japanese colonial era and earlier.

This is another book with fascinating research that sheds much light on the motivation and belief systems of todays Koreans, and the legacy of racism and xenephobia that has been encouraged and manipulated by its leaders for centuries.

This book provides much insight into the ROK as well as the DPRK. The same racial myths permeate both societies. The only difference is that the South is changing, while the north is trapped with attitudes that belong to prehistory.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

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

DPRK as Race, not State

ByRuss Burgoson September 13, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

An absolutely splendid book. I am not a Korea specialist and ordered this book on a whim, but once I opened it I couldn't put it down. Myers hypothesizes that we in the West have fundamentally misunderstood the Kim regime and that, as a result, we consistently adopt the wrong policies with respect to the DPRK, and in chapter after chapter he delivers convincingly on that hypothesis. Myers argues that by shoehorning the Pyongyang regime into the "totalitarian dictator" model, we overlook the depth to which the regime's politics and ideology are rooted in Korean identity. The Kims, he argues, have not created a "fascist" dictatorship but a dictatorship predicated on a sense of racial purity and superiority that validates their self-imposed "hermit" status and their claims to leadership not only of North Korea but of a notional unified Korea that spans the peninsula. By dealing with the regime on our terms -- as a rational actor nation-state amenable to the usual carrots and sticks (we'll embargo you, we'll provide you with humanitarian aid), we miss important diplomatic opportunities and squander others. When we think we've "won," the North sincerely believes we've lost. Myers wants us to see the strategic interaction between the DPRK and the West (and even China) through the DPRK's eyes, rather than our own.

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

A must read for anyone interested in Geopolitical thought.

ByWilliam S.on December 27, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

For anyone with an interest in geopolitical thought, I cannot recommend this book enough. B.R. Myers is an american professor of Korean studies in south Korea, and by taking an in-depth look at North Korea propaganda, it's propagated myths, and their actions, surmises and some say proves conclusively that everyone you have ever read or heard about North Korea is wrong. It is a fascinating look at the North Korean people, and the Kim regime that enjoys a much higher degree of popular support than most realized.

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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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Most recent customer reviews

Published 1 month ago by William Fredericks

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

Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer

Interesting insight into the DPRK's mindset

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.

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

Very enlightening

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...Read more

Published 12 months ago by Bryan

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

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

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