14 Andrei Lankov. North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea - Kindle edition by Andrei Lankov. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea - Kindle edition by Andrei Lankov. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea 1st Edition, Kindle Edition
by Andrei Lankov (Author)


4.1 out of 5 stars 36 ratings




ISBN-13: 978-0786428397
Product details

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.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

"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; 

"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.

File Size: 5600 KB
Print Length: 346 pages
Publisher: McFarland; 1 edition (January 10, 2014)
Publication Date: January 10, 2014
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
Language: English

Andrei Lankov


Customer reviews
4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
36 customer ratings



north korea north korean daily life life in north exchange student andrei lankov north koreans north of the dmz south korea soviet union every aspect author is russian korean society aspects of life books about north average north good read korea times read some few book kimTOP 1000 REVIEWER

S. Warfield

TOP 1000 REVIEWER

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent information in the form of essays about North Korea

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Andrei Lankov's excellent North of the DMZ is a collection of essays that first appeared in two newspapers, the Korea Times and Asia Times. Lankov was an exchange student from the USSR in the 1980s and has spent a good deal of time in North Korea. In this book, he concentrates on the effect that such a repressive regime has on the lives of the people. There is a lot of information about the changes that are taking place and how capitalism is slowly creeping its way into North Korean society. This trend began during the famine of 1996-1999 when women started selling goods and food items in the streets in order to make a little money to buy more food for their families. Although illegal, the government turned a blind eye to these markets. Just about every aspect of North Korean life is examined in the well-written and comprehensive collection of essays. The book is highly readable and is wonderful as a introduction to North Korea for anyone who wants to learn about this odd and backward society and government. The class system or songbun is covered as well as schools, marriage, propaganda, prison camps, and the Kim family 's tight and repressive reign.

The book is worth reading and is a very good addition to my collection of books about North Korea.

Ron L

4.0 out of 5 stars I wish he'd write an update...

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2017

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Let’s be clear from the start that this is a compilation of articles written for periodicals, and as such it suffers from a certain ‘jerkiness’ as the subject is constantly changing. Plus we also get more than a little repetition, as, for instance, a term is (once more) defined for a presumed new reader. Further, there are inconsistencies since it seems that as new data became available numbers might change; see the number of deaths from the 1990’s famine for example. Suffice to say, it could have been improved by a more attentive editor. Add to that, the photos are often not very clear; certainly not pro-quality. And then my (used) copy came with marginal notes; not as advertised.
It is certainly worth the read regardless.
I’ve read some few books on the subject of North Korea, but there seems to be a serious disconnect between them.
Some claim that we in the west are misled; that the lives of those in North Korea are not drastically different from those who live in the westernized nations of Asia.
Others are clear regarding how the population of NK is mistreated by the government and how the NK people manage to live their lives as a result of, and in spite of, that mistreatment. Lankov is no apologist for the disaster known as North Korea.
Lankov is a survivor of the disaster known as the USSR. He, tellingly, takes the western left to task for its fashion of propagandizing in support of the failing commie states, including, finally, the DPRK, as the others collapsed. The western left’s fantasies of free stuff and utopias only finds limits when mass starvation is obvious and becomes too clear to ignore, and with regard to NK, some still haven’t opened their eyes,
It would seem that those right across the border in South Korea would be immune to such foolishness, given the abundant NK corpses, but it seems not, and those fools get a critique also.
But Lankov is still subject to wishful thinking at times: the preface makes the claim (Pg 2) that “Most people’s lives remain nearly untouched by high politics…” (whatever “high” politics means), and then spends the next 300 pages presenting evidence that the lives of North Koreans are impacted by politics (high or low, I’m not sure) in 24/7/365 fashion. Never do those in North Korea ever get to ignore politics; a slip of the tongue can put you and your family in a ‘camp’ from which you will hope you escape by dying. Perhaps they might appear to be able to ignore politics, but after reading the book, you might (as I did) come to believe the NK population has simply developed deception to a fine art.
Similarly, he claims the communists here and elsewhere delivered better healthcare than the democracies, citing WHO ‘estimates’ for longevity and infant mortality. Any digging at all tells you that WHO uses the data provided by the government of the country in question to develop those estimates; the same Communist governments which constantly and blatantly lie in every other form of data.
In the case of North and South Korea, we also have the clear evidence of poor health in the decreased stature (some several inches) of NK people as a result of life-long malnutrition. And we have Lanklov’s information on the same page regarding shortages or lacks of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. Evidence beats claims (and estimates) always and everywhere.
Then, questionably, he assumes the founders of the North Korean government were idealists rather than power-hungry thugs and toward the end, he details a lavish dinner for the Kims and associates during the famine when thousands were dying of starvation daily and rhetorically asks whether they were “cruel”. He decides they were “indifferent”. Regarding the first, it is purely opinion and mine is different. Regarding the second, I’m not sure I see a difference.
Aside from those instances, he seems clear-headed regarding the dishonesty, mistreatment, constant indoctrination, imprisonment, and starvation of the North Korean population at the hands of the government, and the transgressions of that government in many other areas, including outright kidnapping of foreign nationals.
But one anecdote caught my eye: Regarding the NK workers engaged in logging in Russia, he notes the poor treatment (by western standards), but also the extremely high pay by comparison to what it is possible to earn in NK. Further, he states that the workers have about 1/3 of that amount collected by the supervisors for use by the NK government. Compared to most Western governments, the Norks are in a low-tax area!
Unlike any other account I’ve read, he does take a long view of the circumstances, often wondering what will occur when the Kims lose power, as they must. None of the alternatives are pretty and there’s much worthy of consideration. He touches on one effort which gets little attention: The South really has no interest in unification by now. They have watched what happened when East Germany collapsed and seen the tremendous costs involved in cleaning up the messes left by Communists world-wide. They’d rather the North ‘progress’ such that they do not have to play the savior to one more batch of Communist victims.
Flawed, but well worth reading.

Ellen

5.0 out of 5 stars hell on earth

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2016

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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.

David

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting (if slightly repetitive) look at the average North Korean

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2013

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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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M.telford

4.0 out of 5 stars Best book on daily life in North Korea

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2012

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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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Mr. Outside

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone interested in North Korea.

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2014

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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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Thomas Koetzsch

5.0 out of 5 stars Daily life in North Korea

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2013

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There are a lot of books written about North Korea and their numbers grow almost on a daily basis. This is one of the few books, which describes daily life in North Korea. There are 112 stories (in 18 sections) which highlight every facet of that country's society. Whatever aspect you are interested in you are bound to find a story which will satisfy your interest. The ones I found intriguing are about primary education and the fortunes which can be made - and quite officially so - by working in Siberia. At the end, the author asks whether the regime will go with a bang or a whimper. If you are interested in the subject you should read Andrei Lankov's The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia, which examines this issue in depth.

What I found a real gem is the `Further Reading' section at the end of the book. If you know your North Korea you will recognise quite a few of these books, but there is also a whole section on what has been written and published in South Korea. You don't see those reviewed very often.

4 people found this helpful