To most of the world, North Korea remains a secretive and mysterious nation, one that has tightly controlled the outflow of information in order to groom its public image. This book chronicles a rare, regime-sanctioned excursion by a North American into the heart of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. What is revealed is often what’s expected, such as the adoration of leaders, excursions to national monuments, and exposure to propaganda relating to self-sufficiency. But as a Korean speaker, the author gathered a lot more information than the scripted English narration provided by his Korean guides. Behind the propaganda of the Communist regime, the authentic, eye-opening North Korea is revealed.

Eddie Burdick has written for newspapers, journals, magazines, and academic journals in Asia and America. He lives in Houston, Texas.

Eddie Burdick
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 339
Bibliographic Info: 58 photos, appendices, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4898-2
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5653-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi
Preface      1
Introduction      3

Arrival and Day One: Saturday, 28 April 200       9
Day Two: Sunday, 29 April 2007      91
Day Three: Monday, 30 April 2007      201
Departure: Tuesday, 1 May 2007      288

Epilogue      303
Appendix I: Wrestling Results from the Pyong yang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace      307
Appendix II: Foreigners Give Impression of “Arirang”      310
Appendix III: Propaganda Slogans      311
Chapter Notes      313
Index      321

“A key acquisition for any collection interested in insights on the elusive North Korea, and offers a rare, regime-sanctioned excursion by a north American who visited the country for three days…offers a rare look at North Korean culture and social issues”—Midwest Book Review.