Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World

Cold War International History Project

by Benjamin R. Young

Far from always having been an isolated nation and a pariah state in the international community, North Korea exercised significant influence among Third World nations during the Cold War era. With one foot in the socialist Second World and the other in the anticolonial Third World, North Korea occupied a unique position as both a postcolonial nation and a Soviet client state, and sent advisors to assist African liberation movements, trained anti-imperialist guerilla fighters, and completed building projects in developing countries. State-run media coverage of events in the Third World shaped the worldview of many North Koreans and helped them imagine a unified anti-imperialist front that stretched from the boulevards of Pyongyang to the streets of the Gaza Strip and the beaches of Cuba. This book tells the story of North Korea's transformation in the Third World from model developmental state to reckless terrorist nation, and how Pyongyang's actions, both in the Third World and on the Korean peninsula, ultimately backfired against the Kim family regime's foreign policy goals. Based on multinational and multi-archival research, this book examines the intersection of North Korea's domestic and foreign policies and the ways in which North Korea's developmental model appealed to the decolonizing world.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2021

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many interesting facts about North Korea from their prosperous days that I never knew. The author also has an interesting interview on the nknew.org podcast. Worth a read, for sure!

[James Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid history buff, I am receiving one of my Bachelor's degree's in anthropology. Although my concentration is in archaeology, for a class I was required to read this book. "Guns, Guerrillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World" is a phenomenally written book that greatly explains the DPRK within the Cold War era. I find that some non-fictions books can be incredibly dense, but I enjoyed Dr. Young's book. If there are any professors or educators wanting to incorporate this book into their curriculum, I highly suggest it as it is a swift and efficient read regarding the internal and foreign affairs of the DPRK under Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

[Thomas Kingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nowadays we think of North Korea as hermetic, it's isolationism occasionally broken by summits and sabre rattling. However, it was not always that way and this excellent monograph sets out to explore the decades of Cold War engagement that North Korea had with the Third World.

Taking varied forms such as expensive newspaper ads and grand statutes much of this was peaceful but the bombing(s) of planes and equipping of the Khmer Rouge show a much deadlier side too. In many ways this is a tragic account of a nation that was once so hopeful, rising from the ruins of the Korean War and Japanese occupation to develop a better economy and industry than it's southern rival, only to be left behind and turn to increasingly desperate and ineffectual attempts to cling onto respect and relevance.

Well worth the read and a great addition to North Korea studies, especially since it charts a very different path from the often morbidly curious studies of NKs peculiarities.

[Baglan]

fascinating

[Harry Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could have been longer and a bit more detailed on the nature of the military aid and trainers that the DPRK provided. The writing came off a bit stilted at times. Good otherwise.