North Korea Confidential

North Korea is a country where everyone is thought to worship a power-crazed dictator, where disputes with neighboring South Korea frequently break out into violence, where nuclear bombs are detonated with alarming regularity, and where most people are assumed to be on the verge of starvation. But is this an accurate view of daily life in North Korea today? Read this book to find out. In seven fascinating chapters the authors explore what life is really like for ordinary North Koreans. They tap a broad variety of sources-from interviews with members of Pyongyang's ruling elite to defectors, diplomats, NGOs and cross-border traders, as well as written accounts in English, Korean and Chinese-to bring together a radically different view of North Korean society today.

NORTH KOREA CONFIDENTIAL - North Korea sentences presidents and journalists at two South Korean newspapers to death .... Story is reported by The Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Reuters, Foreign Policy, Daily Beast, NK News, and many other publications.

"The North didn't directly threaten the British authors of North Korea Confidential: Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps, Dissenters and Defectors, but said the book 'viciously defamed and distorted' the country's realities." -New York Times (AP)

"One of the most informative and contemporary books to be released on North Korea..." -Asia Society

“"Tudor and Pearson's timely book goes a long way to counter the lazy stereotypes that provide the staple of global commentary on North Korea. This beautifully-written account of daily life shows that North Koreans of every age routinely bypass government restrictions as they participate on a day-to-day basis in self-interested market-driven activities. Young North Koreans watch South Korean movies, listen to KPop, copy of South Koreans fashions and like young people everywhere, find ways to meet up with partners outside of the restrictions of parental supervision. The authors do not minimise the authoritarian nature of the North Korea state but they make a hugely important contribution in taking seriously the difference between government policy and the reality of daily life. This book is a must read." - Hazel Smith, North Korea expert”

"...it is refreshing to find a book that neither obsesses excessively over the nuclear issue nor treats the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as simply a bad joke or the world's most irrational place." --Andrei Lankov, Reason "In a new book that the authors say aims to document 'North Korea, the country' rather than 'North Korea, the state, ' two journalists --Daniel Tudor, former correspondent for the Economist in Seoul, and James Pearson, currently a Reuters reporter in Seoul--tap a wide range of sources to describe the lives of ordinary North Koreans. --Wall Street Journal "North Korea Confidential, by James Pearson and Daniel Tudor, says that nearly all North Koreans lead a 'double economic life, ' supplementing measly rations and puny state wages of as little as $1 a month with extra work in their spare time." --The Economist "The authors, both journalists in the region, do their best to beat the stereotypes that have been scraped together over the years, 'the ridiculous international media image that suggests that DPRK citizens are robots who simply live to serve their 'Dear Leader.'" --Associated Press "North Korea Confidential gives us a deeply informed close-up. Tudor, a former correspondent for The Economist, and Pearson, a Reuters reporter, have pieced together their story from North Korean insiders, defectors, diplomats and traders, and from a careful reading of texts in English, Korean and Chinese." --New York Times "Dispelling the myth of a brainwashed populace is one of the main goals of the book. Despite horrific prison camps, lack of Internet, and a national fabric called "vinylon," most people still take the risk to watch a foreign film, regularly consume South Korea pop culture, party, and even argue with the police." --The Daily Beast "North Korea Confidential...uses extensive interviews with recent defectors and people still in the country to build a rich picture of daily life there." --Financial Times "North Korean society is rapidly changing, affecting everything from what people watch on TV to what they sing at karaoke. With the help of a new book charting daily life we see if you've been paying attention." --The Guardian

Daniel Tudor is from Manchester, England, and graduated with a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University. He has lived in Seoul, Korea for many years, and served as The Economist's Korea Correspondent from 2010-2013. His first book, 'Korea: The Impossible Country' received high praise and has also been translated into Korean, Chinese, Polish, and Thai. Daniel is a regular columnist for a Korean newspaper, the Joongang Ilbo, and has commented on Korea-related topics many times for the BBC, Al Jazeera, and others. He is also co-founder of The Booth, a small chain of craft beer pubs. James Pearson is a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Seoul, where he covers politics and general news in North and South Korea. He holds a BA (hons) in Chinese and Korean from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and a Master's of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Oriental Studies from the University of Cambridge.

North Korea is a country where everyone is thought to worship a power-crazed dictator, where disputes with neighboring South Korea frequently break out into violence, where nuclear bombs are detonated with alarming regularity, and where most people are assumed to be on the verge of starvation. But is this an accurate view of daily life in North Korea today? Read this book to find out. In seven fascinating chapters the authors explore what life is really like for ordinary North Koreans. They tap a broad variety of sources--from interviews with members of Pyongyang's ruling elite to defectors, diplomats, NGOs and cross-border traders, as well as written accounts in English, Korean and Chinese-to bring together a radically different view of North Korean society today. NORTH KOREA CONFIDENTIAL - North Korea sentences presidents and journalists at two South Korean newspapers to death .... Story is reported by The Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Reuters, Foreign Policy, Daily Beast, NK News , and many other publications. "The North didn't directly threaten the British authors of North Korea Confidential: Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps, Dissenters and Defectors , but said the book 'viciously defamed and distorted' the country's realities." -- New York Times (AP) " One of the most informative and contemporary books to be released on North Korea.. ." --Asia Society

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