Kim Jong–Il: North Korea′s Dear Leader

Having read quite widely about North Korea as a country, and having come across numerous chapters on Kim Jong-Il, in which one could only glean snippets of information on the man. I was keen to find a biographical work on the man (several exist that have been written by North Koreans, but those are basically fairy stories). Breen's book is highly readable, although I noticed some typos and garbled phrases, suggesting this book was rushed out.My real problem with it is that Breen is extraordinarily dismissive of both Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. He uses anecdotes that sounds almost completely implausible (all of which he has gleaned from a very few disgruntled North Korean defectors)to paint a picture of a buffoon. If Kim Jong-Il was such a caricature of a dictator, how has the Kim regime managed to stay in power, twenty years after almost all the other major socialist powers collapsed? I do not say this out of admiration for the regime, but rather because, as the South Koreans recognize, Kim Jong-Il and North Korea are a real threat, and should be taken seriously.If you want an actual biography of Kim Jong-Il, or anything approaching an even-handed and scholarly book on the man, avoid Breen's book and try the superb "Under the Loving Care of the fatherly Leader" by Bradley Martin.On the other hand, if you're after an entertaining and light hearted read, give this ago- as long as you take the anecdotes with a pinch of salt, it is actually quite a fun read.Not really recommended though.

Interesting book.

Michael Breen’s book on North Korea’s „dear leader“ is an attempt to render a biography of a person who has led a rather secretive life. Little is known about the son of Kim il-Sung, the country’s legendary leader. For that reason the author, a journalist-turned-consultant with a “fascination with North Korea”, relies on a variety of oral accounts, often without even naming sources. This fundamental deficit undermines the author’s credibility – more so than does the mocking, often ridiculous tone of his writing.Kim Jong-il certainly does not invite a lot of affection, but it is especially for the lack of substantial books on North Korea that a sincere approach to this secretive country would have been a welcome addition to the otherwise overly biased body of literature on North Korea dominated by useless glorifications of Americans fighting the “red hordes” in the Korean War or equally redundant vilifications of the so-called “rogue state” authored by people driven by ideology rather than the desire to promote fact-based dialogue.Breen, unfortunately, seems to belong in the latter category. Not only does he fail to provide references for many of his quotes, he also ignores relevant studies undertaken decades ago that would have enabled him to at least render a more substantial portrait of the Korean history.The gossipy descriptions of Kim as a person of few qualities and strange affections – termed by another journalist as a “compelling psychoanalysis” - may be entertaining to some readers, but they hardly warrant a book. North Korea, which is much more than just a small group of leaders, deserves a sincere approach – without which the understanding of what is going wrong (other than Kim’s hairstyle or his bulky figure) is not possible. Breen’s book is no help with such an effort.Post scriptum: Writing a portrait of a secretive person is fraught with risk. But it is possible to arrive at a respectable result, even with many questions remaining to be answered. David Chandler’s biography of Pol Pot (Brother Number One, 1992) is one fine example of a thoroughly researched, properly referenced account. Breen would have been well advised to consult a book like that.

Michael Breen is well qualified to write about the Korean peninsular, having lived in Seoul for many years, and visiting North Korea several times. Although no scholar (he is a former journalist) Breen is also the author of "The Koreans - Who they are, what they want, where their future lies", an excellent commentary on South Korea.Access to NK is well controlled, and highly fettered; much of Breen's book is based on testimony of NK defectors to the South and conversations with other visitors to the state. Breen has never interviewed the Dear Leader, (although he did meet the Great Leader and relates that he felt that the GL must have been struggling with flatulence!) journalists, especially foreign journalists, being treated with suspicion in North Korea. So in this respect, there is nothing really substantial to the book, and Breen has merely gathered and compiled a series of anecdotes and known facts about the Dear Leader, and added his interpretation of the man. However, I would stress that the lack of hard facts reflect more on the subject of the book, than the author: Breen literally does not have much to work with.Breen discusses Kim Jong-il's early upbringing, quoting from school reports supposedly cited in official books about the Dear Leader. What rapidly comes through from the quotes that Breen uses, much (or all) of the state's writings about its leader smacks of brownnosing and trying to put a positive spin on events.The section about Kim Jong-il's adult life is much more based on hearsay - as Breen acknowledges, there are large sections of the Dear Leader's life about which very little is known. It is known that Kim Jong-il integrated himself to his father, although always remaining in the background, even for a time after his father's death in 1994. Even then, Kim Jong-il did not take his father's title as the Great Leader, instead preferring to use the Dear Leader, playing the dutiful son to the end.As well as relying to an extent on hearsay, Breen also uses the Communist state's own writings - it transpires that the Dear Leader is quite a prodigious author. Although the Dear Leader probably didn't intend it that way, considerable mirth can be found in his works which are quoted by Breen, which cover topics such as movie making (Kim Jong-il is such a movie buff, that as Breen relates, he organized the kidnapping of a prominent South Korean director and his actress ex-wife) and journalism. Breen does at times go overboard in ridiculing the Dear Leader - comments about the "big hair" are rife throughout the book."Kim Jong-il: North Korea's Dear Leader" is not just a biography, but is also a commentary about North Korea, and how the population and military accepts his, and his father's, leadership of the country despite the dire state in which the average North Korean citizen lives. Despite numerous famines, and despite (or because of) the majority of North Korea's resources being channeled towards the military, the Dear Leader continues to have a firm grip on power. However, there are encouraging signs of increasing warmth towards the South, particularly as South Korea continue to increase their investments in North Korea, although this could be seen as a cynical move, giving the need for cold hard cash in this cash strapped country.Although not a substantial book, and light on hard facts (through no fault of the author), I would still recommend this book for those interested in North Korea and its leader, especially for those who shy away from the heavier, drier books out there.

I hate to give this book just one star as I really enjoy Michael Breen's writing and humor. His first book, "The Koreans", is the best book on the South Korean people I've ever read and I was eagerly anticipating this book, hoping it would complement the first book. Unfortunately, it is mainly a compilation of other books with a couple of personal notes from an old trip or two Breen made to North Korea prior to the famine of the 1990s. If you read "Aquariums of Pyongyang" by Kang Chol-Hwan and "The Great North Korean Famine" by Natsios, you will have basically read this book as well.For the best information on North Korea and its people, "North Korea: Through the Looking Glass" by Kong Dan Oh is probably still the best book to read.