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5 things to read and watch about North Korea instead of “The Interview” What to read and watch about North Korea instead of “The Interview”
(35 minutes later)
Sony has canceled the Christmas-day release of "The Interview," the film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, bowing to threats from an anonymous squad of hackers riled by the film. The move sets a worrying precedent, as The Post reports here, and will likely kick off a debate about censorship and cyberterror.Sony has canceled the Christmas-day release of "The Interview," the film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, bowing to threats from an anonymous squad of hackers riled by the film. The move sets a worrying precedent, as The Post reports here, and will likely kick off a debate about censorship and cyberterror.
The film places its two main protagonists on a mission to assassinate North Korea's totalitarian leader, Kim Jong Un. For those disappointed by the decision to cancel its release, there may be a silver lining: In leaked e-mails, even Sony executives deemed the film a "misfire" and "desperately unfunny."The film places its two main protagonists on a mission to assassinate North Korea's totalitarian leader, Kim Jong Un. For those disappointed by the decision to cancel its release, there may be a silver lining: In leaked e-mails, even Sony executives deemed the film a "misfire" and "desperately unfunny."
Nevertheless, if you're keen to get a better glimpse into the strange world of North Korea, you could do much worse than heed WorldViews suggestions below:Nevertheless, if you're keen to get a better glimpse into the strange world of North Korea, you could do much worse than heed WorldViews suggestions below:
"Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea," by Barbara Demick"Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea," by Barbara Demick
A National Book Award finalist in 2011, "Nothing to Envy" is a haunting work of non-fiction, tracing the lives of six North Koreans. Demick, now the Los Angeles Times' Beijing bureau chief, pieced together her sketch of the country through years of painstaking research and interviews with defectors.A National Book Award finalist in 2011, "Nothing to Envy" is a haunting work of non-fiction, tracing the lives of six North Koreans. Demick, now the Los Angeles Times' Beijing bureau chief, pieced together her sketch of the country through years of painstaking research and interviews with defectors.
Vice's online series on North Korea's slave labor campsVice's online series on North Korea's slave labor camps
Vice's CEO and occasional front-line journalist Shane Smith is not everyone's cup of tea, but his romp through Siberia in search of "off-shored" North Korean labor camps is a dark, twisted journey.Vice's CEO and occasional front-line journalist Shane Smith is not everyone's cup of tea, but his romp through Siberia in search of "off-shored" North Korean labor camps is a dark, twisted journey.
"The Orphan Master's Son" by Adam Johnson
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2013. "Adam Johnson has taken the papier-mache creation that is North Korea," wrote the Post's David Ignatius, "and turned it into a real and riveting place that readers will find unforgettable."
"The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters," by B.R. Myers"The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters," by B.R. Myers
North Korea scholar Myers examines the ideology of the North Korean state, which, despite its communist trappings, borrows much more from the proto-fascist traditions of imperial Japan. Its ubiquitous, all-devouring propaganda not only builds up the myth of the Kim dynasty, but plays upon dark, disturbing narratives of racial supremacy and hatred of foreigners. North Korea scholar Myers examines the ideology of the North Korean state, which, despite its communist trappings, borrows much more from the proto-fascist traditions of imperial Japan. Its ubiquitous, all-devouring propaganda not only builds up the myth of the Kim dynasty, but plays upon disturbing themes of racial supremacy and hatred of foreigners.
Here's what the late Christopher Hitchens concluded after reading Myers's book:Here's what the late Christopher Hitchens concluded after reading Myers's book:
Unlike previous racist dictatorships, the North Korean one has actually succeeded in producing a sort of new species. Starving and stunted dwarves, living in the dark, kept in perpetual ignorance and fear, brainwashed into the hatred of others, regimented and coerced and inculcated with a death cult: This horror show is in our future, and is so ghastly that our own darling leaders dare not face it and can only peep through their fingers at what is coming.Unlike previous racist dictatorships, the North Korean one has actually succeeded in producing a sort of new species. Starving and stunted dwarves, living in the dark, kept in perpetual ignorance and fear, brainwashed into the hatred of others, regimented and coerced and inculcated with a death cult: This horror show is in our future, and is so ghastly that our own darling leaders dare not face it and can only peep through their fingers at what is coming.
Unlike previous racist dictatorships, the North Korean one has actually succeeded in producing a sort of new species. Starving and stunted dwarves, living in the dark, kept in perpetual ignorance and fear, brainwashed into the hatred of others, regimented and coerced and inculcated with a death cult: This horror show is in our future, and is so ghastly that our own darling leaders dare not face it and can only peep through their fingers at what is coming.Unlike previous racist dictatorships, the North Korean one has actually succeeded in producing a sort of new species. Starving and stunted dwarves, living in the dark, kept in perpetual ignorance and fear, brainwashed into the hatred of others, regimented and coerced and inculcated with a death cult: This horror show is in our future, and is so ghastly that our own darling leaders dare not face it and can only peep through their fingers at what is coming.
"The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag," by Chol-hwan Kang."The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag," by Chol-hwan Kang.
Here's what The Post's Timothy R. Smith wrote about the book last year:Here's what The Post's Timothy R. Smith wrote about the book last year:
In 1977, Chol-hwan Kang’s grandfather was charged with treason, and his entire family was sentenced to a labor camp. Kang was 9 at the time. For the next 10 years he performed manual labor, hauling logs and burying corpses. The family was eventually released, and Kang defected.In 1977, Chol-hwan Kang’s grandfather was charged with treason, and his entire family was sentenced to a labor camp. Kang was 9 at the time. For the next 10 years he performed manual labor, hauling logs and burying corpses. The family was eventually released, and Kang defected.
In 1977, Chol-hwan Kang’s grandfather was charged with treason, and his entire family was sentenced to a labor camp. Kang was 9 at the time. For the next 10 years he performed manual labor, hauling logs and burying corpses. The family was eventually released, and Kang defected.In 1977, Chol-hwan Kang’s grandfather was charged with treason, and his entire family was sentenced to a labor camp. Kang was 9 at the time. For the next 10 years he performed manual labor, hauling logs and burying corpses. The family was eventually released, and Kang defected.
"The Game of Their Lives""The Game of Their Lives"
Let's end on a slightly more uplifting note. This BBC documentary looks at North Korea's greatest moment of soft power: in 1966, its unheralded, unknown national soccer team took the World Cup by storm and won the admiration of soccer fans everywhere.Let's end on a slightly more uplifting note. This BBC documentary looks at North Korea's greatest moment of soft power: in 1966, its unheralded, unknown national soccer team took the World Cup by storm and won the admiration of soccer fans everywhere.