Look With Your Eyes and Tell the World: The Unreported North Korea

by Roy Calley

North Korea is the country with the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel in the world (nine and a half million). International organizations have declared that human rights violations there have no parallel in the modern world. It is estimated that 10,000 people die in North Korean prison camps every year. Why? How did this come about? And what is life really like for the country's 25 million citizens? As a journalist who has visited the country and talked to the people on many occasions, Roy Calley is in a unique position to pull aside the veil to reveal the reality of life there. To do so it is essential to understand the formation of the nation, and this book   consists of three sections. The first explains how it changed virtually overnight from a Buddhist country to one embracing the "Juche" theory of total self-reliance after independence from Japan. The second analyzes the central importance of "victory" in the Korean War (1950-53) to how the North Koreans—both those in absolute power and the people—view themselves. The third is concerned with how it is to live in North Korea today. Some of the author's observations of everyday life come as a in Pyonyang, for example, we find very little poverty. This is one of the most modern cities in the world, but completely devoid of any type of commercialism. The people genuinely adore the Great Leaders. There is no possibility of self-advancement—but the concept means nothing to the ordinary citizen. To come to terms with the world's latest nuclear power we need to understand how it works. Roy Calley has gone inside to bring back a genuine report, not guesswork.

304 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Matt]

The book is a good insight into DPRK by a journalist who has actually visited the country. It is good in the fact it is a neutral look at the country. I’m not sure I like his writing style though hence the lower mark. He also try’s to cover many subjects with a brief overview, I would’ve preferred more depth.
Still a good read on what to me is a fascinating country and topic.

[Jake Chaplin]

Not gonna lie, after reading this my fascination with North Korea has increased. Kinda wanna visit now.