North Korea: A History

Description

In this key textbook, Michael J. Seth offers an excellent synthesis of existing scholarship, including a thorough examination of contemporary sources. Seth masterfully traces how North Korea gradually transformed itself from a Soviet-style socialist state to an ultra-nationalist, dynastic one, illuminating this journey with an engaging understanding of the political, ideological, economic and social forces at play. Throughout, Seth adds a rich dimension by placing North Korean history into broader global perspective and considering the implications for the future of the country. With a helpful glossary and an exhaustive bibliography, this clear and accessible overview is an ideal text for students of North Korean history, and for anyone with an interest in the evolution of this uncommon nation.

Michael J. Seth is Professor of History at James Madison University, USA.

Seth's succinct narrative provides the necessary background to cut through the shallow journalism that stereotypes the North Korean state, society, and leadership as aberrant. Revealing the complex historical roots of the North Korean revolution, this history takes the story into the current geo-political fervor that characterizes Northeast Asia in the 2010s. Anyone who wants to really understand the how's and whys of North Korean state behavior in the current moment must read this account. * Michael Robinson, Indiana University Bloomington, USA * This timely book contains the most important data on North Korea since 1948 with references to previous history. * Gabriel Jonsson, Stockholm University, Sweden *