North Korea Undercover - Softcover

Sweeney, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593072987 ISBN 13: 9780593072981

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2013

Synopsis

Award-winning BBC journalist John Sweeney is one of the few to have witnessed at first hand the devastating reality of life in the controversial and isolated nation of rth Korea. Posing as a university professor, Sweeney went undercover to gain unprecedented access to the world s most secret state. He spoke to people who have seen the horrific dark side of the regime and saw things which have been hidden for years from the eyes of the western world: huge factories with no staff or electricity; hospitals with no patients; uniformed child soldiers; and the world-famous and eerily empty DMZ - the De-Militarized Zone where rth Korea ends and South Korea starts - all framed by the relentless flow of regime propaganda from omnipresent loudspeakers. Sweeney also visited South Korea and met defectors from the rth who told him the other side of the story: gulags within a gulag state, dire poverty, blunted lives, hideous torture, effective infanticide of disabled babies, stick-limbed children dying of famine and mass graves of political prisoners that could only be dug when the spring thaw set in. With the world s eyes focused on rth Korea, Sweeney s timely account is a stunning piece of reportage from the country the author describes as the strangest place he s ever visited. A combination of first person experiences, new and revealing interviews, and history, rth Korea Undercover examines the country s troubled history and provides a window into life there today.

About this title

Review:

"Sweeney's book is a spark in the dark of North Korea." The Times "The recent UN report on North Korea under-lined the importance of Sweeney's book. There is much to learn from North Korea Undercover." Literary Review "Harrowing... creepy and poignant; and, in turn, tragic and obscene. North Korea Undercover asserts that the West should be more concerned about labour camps than nuclear weapons." -- Tom Farrell Sunday Business Post "Explosive and entertaining... Sweeney provides a remarkably vivid look at this hidden country. An investigative must-read." Booklist "A tremendous piece of reporting. This book is one that we should all read and absorb." Army Rumour Service

Book Description:

A unique and timely account of life in North Korea

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0593072987
• ISBN 13: 9780593072981
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320