Only Beautiful, Please: A British Diplomat in North Korea: John Everard: 9781931368254: Amazon.com: Books
John Everard
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Only Beautiful, Please: A British Diplomat in North Korea Paperback – June 26, 2012
by John Everard (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 68 ratings
Coverage of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) all too often focuses solely on nuclear proliferation, military parades, and the personality cult around its leaders. As the British ambassador to North Korea, John Everard had the rare experience of living there from 2006, when the DPRK conducted its first nuclear test, to 2008, just before Kim Jong Il's stroke. While stationed in Pyongyang, Everard's travels around the DPRK provided him with numerous opportunities to meet and converse with North Koreans.
Only Beautiful, Please goes beyond official North Korea to unveil the human dimension of life in that hermetic nation. Everard recounts his impressions of the country and its people, his interactions with them, and his observations on their way of life. He provides a picture as well of the life of foreigners in this closed society, considers how the DPRK evolved to its current state, and discusses the failure of current approaches to tackle the challenges that it throws up. The book is illustrated with striking and never-before-seen photographs taken by Everard during his stay in North Korea.
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John Everard's career as a British diplomat spanned nearly thirty years and four continents, and included a number of politically sensitive posts. As the youngest-ever British ambassador when he was appointed to Belarus, he built an embassy from the ground up just a few short years after the fall of the Soviet Union. He also skillfully managed diplomatic relations as the UK ambassador to Uruguay during a period of economic crisis and the country's election of its first left-wing government.
Following a year as a Pantech Fellow at Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Everard now works as a consultant for the UN in New York City.
Product details
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (June 26, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1931368252
ISBN-13: 978-1931368254
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.8 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 4.3 out of 5 stars 43 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,805,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#4596 in Asian Politics
#1328 in Nationalism (Books)
#1898 in International Diplomacy (Books)
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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north korea anyone interested nothing to envy john everard recommend this book books about north highly recommend british diplomat something new north korean read for anyone north koreans great read life in north end this book interested in north book about the author diplomat in north book does indeed read korea would find this book
Top Reviews
Design Think
5.0 out of 5 stars An ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE BOOK, with marvelous insight into a complicated country, from a writer I came to deeply respectReviewed in the United States on April 21, 2016
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This is an incredible book, and it is one of my two favorites of all of the many books and videos I have consumed about North Korea, a fascinatingly isolated place, that is seemingly trapped in a time warp.
John Everard was an ambassador to North Korea from the U.K. at a fascinating time (i.e., on the heals of the great famine of the 1990s, as private markets start to become more openly accepted in North Korea, and people are less inclined to treat their leaders, who let them starve, as gods). I found Everard's writing style to be very engaging.
Everard's ways of trying to see the real North Korea, even as a privileged ambassador, is enriching. Besides his friendships with staff and others, his book reveals that he was able to get a measure of freedom by bicycling around independently (well, sometimes he was trailed by government officials, but those are fun stories, too.) He brings a travelers spirit, and a real compassion for the people of the country, to his writing that I both respected and enjoyed.
Most importantly, Everard shares his personal and political insights into the country in a very engaging and effective manner, always with full disclosure of the benefits and limits of his experience. He is clear with the reader when he is pretty sure he is getting the real story (i.e., through confirmation by multiple, unnamed sources) versus the government's version of the story (i.e., the kinds of pre-planned visits to classrooms provided to ambassadors). It is literally a life and death matter to protect the privacy of sources, so sourcing issues are challenging for books on North Korea. Those books that do not handle it as well as this one leave the reader unsure of what to believe. In this book, Everard openly and generous shares those points on which he, himself, is not certain. And that gave me great confidence in him as a writer and thinker on these issues.
Everard is very clear that he can mainly speak to the experiences of North Korean elites, as it is mostly elites who live in the capital where he was based. North Korea makes it very difficult for anyone, but especially for ambassadors, to interact with anyone outside of the elite classes. He does his part to remind readers of this inherent limitation to his experience, which is helpful. But to get more of a 360 on this subject, I would recommend the book below, because it focuses on people from a range of different social classes.
Readers will also leave this book with a solid sense of history and politics that he kicks into at the end of this book. It should be noted that the book is organized in a rather funky way: basically starting with his more personal observations and experiences and moving back to a more standard (but still useful and engaging) treatment of the history, politics, and potential for the country. But I think that organization works well, by presenting his more unique contributions up front that will be new to all readers, and by leaving the more standard material for readers to read as needed, based on their own familiarity and interest in that material. It was quite a clever innovation for this book.
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A second book I would recommend that others read, perhaps just immediately before this one, is "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, " by Barbara Demick. 2010. It is an excellent compliment to this book, as Everard is clear that he can speak mainly to the elite classes he was surrounded in Pyongyong as an ambassador. In contrast, Demick drills down into the experience of a range of North Koreans from different social classes, who eventually escaped the country. Taken in combination, the two books provide an amazingly thorough sense of the country, at least to the extent possible in such a restrictive regime. And since both writers are so skilled as engaging storytellers, it is quite a joy to read both of them. My review of Dimock's also-wonderful "Nothing to Envy" can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1QK6V1JB1DGQH/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
5 people found this helpful
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C. Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and straightforwardReviewed in the United States on April 7, 2016
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I really enjoyed reading this book. I've read other books about North Korea, but none of them dealt with the lives of the middle class as this book does. Everard writes in a very straightforward, simple manner. Some of the other reviewers didn't seem to appreciate this but it didn't detract from the book at all. Everard organizes the books topically, including farming, schools and food in North Korea, foreigners in North Korea, the diplomatic community in North Korea, North Korea in historical context. One of the topics I found most interesting was his descriptions of life for diplomats in Pyongyang, and also their Korean staff. I had never read anything about it before. Everard by no means supports the North Korean regime but he is very polite in the way he writes about the country and its people, which I appreciated. I hope he writes another book!
2 people found this helpful
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Mark M
5.0 out of 5 stars Like most books about North KoreaReviewed in the United States on April 2, 2015
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This is a very interesting and readable book about the author's experiences in North Korea as the British ambassador. Like most books about North Korea, this book's coverage winds up being highly influenced by the specific experience of the author, which tends to be a result of the author's reason for being in North Korea. As an ambassador, this author-- plenty harsh on the country's government by the way-- didn't really have direct access to the worst treated parts of the country. So, a lot of what he talks about is the country's beurocrats and the lives of the relatively privileged in Pyongyang.
4 people found this helpful
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JCal
4.0 out of 5 stars An Honest PerspectiveReviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016
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What sets this book apart from others on North Korea is that the author isn't trying to convince his readers of anything. He fully admits that this is one man's perspective, limited by his position and how much the regime/North Korean contacts were willing to show him, and doesn't try to push it beyond that. He doesn't claim definitive insight like other writers on North Korea do after having taking the guided tour a handful of times.
I marked it down a star because I found the writing style somewhat repetitive. There were a few cases where it seemed that the author forgot what he'd written a few chapters before and was introducing a new concept to his readers (again), but other than that, it's a great read and I'd definitely recommend it.
3 people found this helpful
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SpiritualityProf
4.0 out of 5 stars I highly recommend this bookReviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017
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Having read many books on North Korea as well as probably having seen every documentary in English or Spanish on North Korea, I highly recommend this book. The author, a former British diplomat to North Korea has short chapters covering many aspects of life in the DPRK, but also, a commentary on the present and pressing situation regarding nuclear concerns. The book was fascinating; however, I wish he would have extended each and every chapter by only a few pages. Just when you found yourself tantalized, the chapter was over.
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handr
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read, Elegant ProseReviewed in the United States on January 12, 2013
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I was really happy with this book. John Everard is a knowledgeable diplomat, and the book was a pleasure to read. I've read a bunch of books on North Korea (Escape from Camp 14, The Aquariums of Pyongyang, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, Nothing to Envy, This is Paradise, North of the DMZ) - enough to qualify myself unofficially as a North Korea book junkie! This book was wonderful because it really did have something new to say - it provided a unique description of life in Pyongyang from the point of view of a Western diplomat. The political analysis sections at the end of the book were enlightening as well. Definitely worth reading. I actually found myself feeling sad when I was done with the book!
38 people found this helpful
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Jason
5.0 out of 5 stars It's a great read for anyone interested in life in North KoreaReviewed in the United States on September 13, 2014
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This is a neat look at the inside of the "Hermit Kingdom" by someone intimately acquainted with it. He doesn't see the full measure of things there (his position wouldn't get him into too much contact with slave laborers, y'know...), but writes honestly and describes life there as well as anyone could. It's a great read for anyone interested in life in North Korea.
6 people found this helpful
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Top international reviews
BarryR
4.0 out of 5 stars A new perspectiveReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Although three have been many books written about this country this is different. Most books I have read describe life under the leadership. It is usually about the hardships of making a living and just simply staying alive. There are also many books describing the political suppression and the use of the camps.
This book of course covers these aspects but written from the perspective of a diplomat. This means a
2 people found this helpful
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Charles M. Devereux
5.0 out of 5 stars A Tour de forceReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2013
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This book is a well written description of life in North Korea. It avoids the polemic, and avoids jumping to any easy solutions; indeed the last chapters make uncomfortable reading for those who believe that regime change will be easily accomplished. The book is a well researched academic volume, but is also readable and human. One only wonders at how the author in his role as a diplomat (and a senior one at that) was able to accomplish so much that is documented. A book to be thoroughly recommended especially at this time of raised tension.
5 people found this helpful
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Andrew M
5.0 out of 5 stars A very good insight into the Hermit KingdomReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2014
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If you are considering visiting North Korea (DPRK) this book will prepare you well for your visit. Its written in a very readable style and is full of information. In my opinion the pace of change in DPRK is very slow in comparison to other places so the information contained will remain current for some time to come.
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Chalfont
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and shows what the media doesn'tReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2014
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Everard beautifully and engagingly captures the oddities of North Korea, both the ones we'd expect given the media coverage, and the sweet, innocent lives that its citizens live and which receive less coverage.
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Vauxhall Hoosier
4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and well writtenReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2013
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Though the country is constantly in the news, we hear very little about what goes on inside the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This book offers a rare glimpse of life inside the least accessible country in the world.
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