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A review by moniwicz
Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee - A Look Inside North Korea by Jang Jin-sung
4.0
The author saw a woman in the market place "Selling My Daughter for 100 Won." Nearby there were women selling bottled water to "wash your face with" while their own faces remained muddied and browned for lack of it. Such is the type of poverty the those in The Democratic Republic of Korea experience.
It was surprising to me that Communism's phrasing and grey buildings and military uniforms and slogans and Room 100s are the same anywhere. The author's descriptions could very easily have been plucked from 1950s Russia or Poland or Czechoslovakia. I don't know why I assumed that somehow Eastern Asia would be able to maintain its own identity and "rebrand" communism? (on reflection I was nonsensical)
Equally ashamedly surprised to read about Kim-Jong Il's callous (an unsuitable qualifier for many reasons) overthrow of his own father Kim Il-Sung.
It was surprising to me that Communism's phrasing and grey buildings and military uniforms and slogans and Room 100s are the same anywhere. The author's descriptions could very easily have been plucked from 1950s Russia or Poland or Czechoslovakia. I don't know why I assumed that somehow Eastern Asia would be able to maintain its own identity and "rebrand" communism? (on reflection I was nonsensical)
Equally ashamedly surprised to read about Kim-Jong Il's callous (an unsuitable qualifier for many reasons) overthrow of his own father Kim Il-Sung.