Reviews

The Passing of Kim Jong-il: North Korea Still Mired in “Charismatic Politics”

By | December 17, 2012

Charisma is hard to obtain and harder to retain. It is also ephemeral. Kim Jong-un wants it, has some, but needs more. Roger Cavazos starts watching the sky in the first of our anniversary extravaganza.

Engagement in an Age of Division: Moon Chung-in’s Sunshine Policy

By | November 11, 2012

In this second YJIS-SinoNK collaborative effort, Eunsil Esther Park, reviews Moon Chung-in’s latest book, The Sunshine Policy: in Defense of Engagement as a Path to Peace in Korea.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen: Moon Chung-in’s Vision of Sunshine

By and | November 10, 2012

As a companion to Eunsil Esther Park’s special review of Moon Chung-in’s latest book, SinoNK editors Christopher Green and Steven Denney give their own critical take on Moon’s spirited defense of the sunshine policy.

Before Unhasu Encores, a Memoir

By | March 10, 2012

by Adam Cathcart Apart from Escape from Camp 14, this spring’s “must-read” refugee memoir is by Eunsun Kim, 26, whose book,« Corée du Nord, 9 ans pour fuir l’enfer », a collaboration with Le Figaro‘s Sebastian Faletti, just came out in French.  (The title translates as “North Korea: 9 Years to Escape from Hell / 逃离地狱–朝鲜9年.”)  Unlike […]

Hostage Princes and Shadow Reformers: Kim Jong Nam

By | January 18, 2012

We recently learned that Kim Jong Nam [金正男], the eldest son of Kim Jong Il, had struck up a friendship with Japanese reporter, Yoji Komi [五味洋治], in the Beijing Capital Airport in 2004 and has corresponded with him frequently since by e-mail.  Recently, Kim instructed Yoji to collate all the materials, over 100 e-mails and […]