Today was an astonishingly significant day in global affairs as North Korea crowned Kim Jong-un the successor to Kim Jong-il, setting in place the next stage for the country's future. In my Library Journal review of Hassig and Oh's The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom, we see the inner depths of life inIn this sequel to North Korea Through the Looking Glass, which focused on Kim Jong-Il's political apparatus, Hassig (psychology, adjunct, Univ. of Maryland) and Oh (Inst. for Defense Analyses) discuss the lives of North Korea's citizens. Revealing the haunting details of daily life in an authoritarian state, the authors boldly declare that the current regime is unraveling despite its feverish attempts to hold on to power; even sprouts of capitalism are appearing in North Korean society. Unlike other authors, e.g., Jasper Becker in Rogue Regime, who portray Kim Jong-Il as fanatically eccentric, Hassig and Oh view Kim as a shrewd politician who understands the deficiencies of socialism but chooses to hold on to the status quo. The authors, who gained an intimate knowledge of North Korean society through their interviews with refugees in China, describe a defeated populace that for the most part disregards the constant barrage of state propaganda. VERDICT Western readers will gain a rare view of the hidden world of North Korean citizens. Recommended for those interested in international affairs or inquisitive about this last remnant of the Communist world.—Allan Cho, Univ. of British Columbia Lib., Vancouver
