Reddit reviews Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty

Under The Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader by Bradley K. Martin has it all. A long but gripping read.

They funny thing is the intelligent people in the country will read the newspaper and further be reaffirmed that freedom in other countries is so great that they are actually allowed to protest their government. In Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader there's an anecdote from a North Korean defector who said his suspicions of the South being much more free were confirmed when North Korea published articles about left-wing student protests in South Korea , they were supposed to show that South Korea was such a tyrannical hell hole that a revolution against its puppet government was taking place, but it ended up informing people with enough brains to put it together that there was so much freedom in the south that they actually allowed dissenters to publicly demonstrate, something completely unfathomable in the north.

Seriously, READ THIS BOOK

It's considered the best book on North Korea and there is a reason. It's a very factual, in depth look into the country, but because of how fucked up that country is, it reads like a horror novel. I have never read a nonfiction book that got me hooked like that one did. It's a serious page turner.

It's pretty accurate, I just got through this book for a research project on North Korea.

One of the most disturbing passages in that whole book is one discussing the Pyongyang metro. There are no real passengers, there are people in proper attire who get on the train, ride it, and get off again. Over and over all day, its their job. According to the author he never even saw them take lunch breaks.

Also creepy was that North Korean children (at the time of the author's visit) were on a playground in Pyongyang, simply playing the same game over and over for any visitors. The lengths this regime goes for appearances is mind-blowing.

I read it in Bradley K. Martin's book Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader. I can't get a page reference because I lent my copy to someone and God only knows where it is.

Most information available from North Korea is, unfortunately and by necessity, anecdotal. That being said, Martin has had almost unprecedented access to North Korea, both in terms of actual visits and in terms of defector interviews, the latter of which are featured extensively in this particular text. The point I made above I will now elabourate on slightly:

During the period when it had become clear that Kim Il-Sung intended to appoint a successor but when he had not yet made a choice, there were several men who considered themselves fit for the role. Most of them were high-ranking military officials who, like Kim the Elder himself, had earned popular credibility as anti-Japanese guerrilla fighters during the occupation and as military commanders during the Korean War. However, Kim was not about to entirely overlook his own offspring. Kim Jong-Il had no military experience and none of the charisma his father had in spades, but what he did have was political savvy. He had a certain leeway in his affairs anyway, being the son of the Great Leader, and he used it to buy gifts and flatter his father and other men in high positions. The more he did, the more his own position improved. He recognised the supreme vanity of his father and so, rather than present himself as the best candidate, he focused all his efforts on creating a nationwide cult of personality around Kim Il-Sung, alleging semidivine origins (which, as he knew, would only serve to further his own cause in the future when he himself led the nation). As part of the system of flattery which was in place around Kim Il-Sung, there were dispatches from the Party which would search through the countryside, in every small village, for pretty young girls (and I mean young. 12-16 years of age in many cases) whom they would abduct and spirit away to one of Kim's numerous mansions around the country. The family would, after wondering where their daughter could be, generally wind up receiving a note telling them their daughter had been chosen to join the [can't remember the name. It was an official organ of the military, something like Women's Auxiliary Service Corps] and was a hero of the perpetual revolution. The family would also, in fact, receive fairly substantial extra rations. The girls would eventually get too old and would then be married off to Party and military officials. This practice seems to have been widespread enough to be uncontroversial among defectors who would have been in a position to know about it.

And believe me, I know plenty about the RoK. Despite the truly incredible progress in the South since the War, there are, shockingly, people still in prison here who were arrested on suspicion of Communist sympathies in past decades, some as early as the 1940s.

Thanks for defending my comment Forensic and Rancmeat.

I was indeed being serious - life in North Korea truly sucks ass - and they do eat grass and all kinds of other horrible things (unless they are favoured enough to live in Pyongyang).

For anyone that is interested, check out this book . It is only one of many very interesting books about this country but probably the best and most insighful (although it might be a bit ambitious for those just starting to learn about this country).

I guess I'll also make a suggestion to some of the commenters on this page - don't blame the governement, the media and "them" (whoever them are) for not giving you the straight story about NK (and in general). If you take the time to read a little (like not not blogs, and the first paragraph of an article) you will learn some stuff. Sorry to be a preachy asshole - but some of the comments have just been brutal lately.

They had to praise him when the bandages came off or they'd be thrown out of their housing or sent to a work camp. Also, those people were handpicked by the government for their loyalty and training in ideology. They knew it was being filmed. It was a free propaganda stunt for NK.

It's impossible to know how brainwashed the country is. The documents and testimonials that came out of the USSR after the fall attest to this. Many of them simply went along with the party line to survive, while others consciously (or sub consciously) produced a mixture of Soviet and civilian (for lack of a better term) culture that served to both keep the regime satisfied and fulfill their own societal and cultural needs. This could very well be happening in NK. We have no idea, but recent videos that have been smuggled out show unrest in the provinces. People are talking back to police, and there was the incident with the grafitti last month. Modified radios are also more widespread than once though, so outside news is getting in moreso than it was in the last few decades.

RansomIblis is right, the army is starving. They had been the most taken care of segment of the population until very recently. If they starve, everything falls apart. They will not shoot civilians if they see that they are no longer any better than the average citizen.

I'm glad that you're interested in the NK situation, but please do some more research beyond youtubes and online vids. Check out this book for a great education on the subject. It's big, but highly readable and enjoyable.

Sorry for comment jacking but this is a real good book that talks about these labor camps and how the regime works.

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Loving-Care-Fatherly-Leader/dp/0312322216

Some people did fairly okay.

Source: Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader

You need to read a book;

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Loving-Care-Fatherly-Leader/dp/0312322216