The first problem I have with Bruce Cumings' 2004 North Korea is its title. Probably should have been called The United States, or better yet, George Bush. Mr Cumings is a respected historian and even teaches not far from where I am sitting, so I...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Whenever I use this particular reference, I have to begin by apologizing to my audience. The name of the book really is: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding North Korea by Quinones and Tragert. I highly recommend it to those who are...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
My western friends may be disappointed to know that I do not believe democracy to be the purest form of government. In its misunderstood form, the "rule of the people" does not exist. All the people cannot rule. They merely designate who will...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
The latest news out of the Korean Peninsula, from KBS news. NK is now saying, "Hey, we can shut down the nuclear facilities, if you bullies will stop being so hostile to us!" (My paraphrase) I am curious as to which "hostilities" are being...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
From Belke's Juche regarding the "religion" of North Korea: " In the Juche ["self-reliance"] ideological view, the Chinese and Soviets did not go far enough to implement Communism..." Even from the point of view of classic Communists: "You...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Chongryon is an organization of North Koreans living in Japan, fiercely loyal to Kim Jong Il. In the past many have moved back to North Korea to go back to their "roots" only to find that their roots have been uprooted altogether and replaced with...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Thomas Belke has done us a great service by writing his descriptive work Juche, A Christian Study of North Korea's State Religion. On page 11 he quotes Kim Jong Il in defining Juche: "The Juche idea is a new philosophical thought which centers...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Once one is tuned in to the North Korea crisis, there is no end to the connections that begin to form, the reminders, the warnings, the obvious comparisons... Take the 60's The Mouse That Roared . It was an awful movie, but the story line...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
