Tried reading this via audio book and could not get into the flow of the writing and the narrator just wasn't doing it for me.

Interesting book about ‘North Korea and its leader from a political science view. Would recommend it if you’re looking for a different look on things. Interesting yet it kind of sums up South Korean’s views on North Korea

A fascinating insight into a dad and frightening regime. I feel so sorry for the people of North Korea. Ching Min Lee has an in-depth knowledge and manages to combine the academic with the social in an excellent manner. Well worth reading.
Thank you Chung Mai Lee, Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion..

I found this an interesting, insightful and intelligent examination of Kim Jong Un, the Kim dynasty and the current situation in North Korea. The author’s bias is a bit too much in evidence, as is his opposition to Trump, and the book is somewhat disorganised, jumping about and often repetitive. Nevertheless it’s a valuable attempt to explain the complex and complicated geopolitical issues and his speculation about what might happen in the future is thought-provoking and thoughtful. I don’t think I learnt anything new here, as I have read widely about North Korea and follow events there closely, but it’s certainly a good overview and introduction. I have also read some of the very negative reviews and found them too intelligent and insightful. But there are no easy answers or solutions to the enigma that is North Korea and its leader and I feel that this book is a worthy addition to the conversation.

An eye opening frightening look at North Korea .A horribly dangerous family ruling bringing danger to the world.I learned so much and found the book very interesting.

Ever since I represented Kim Jong Il in a Six-Way Talks simulation in my freshman year in Saint Olaf’s International Relations course taught by Professor Kathy Tegtmeyer-Pak, I’ve followed East Asian geopolitical and diplomatic developments.

I recall holding having negotiating strength. Negative leverage. The threat of my nuclear programs. Years later, North Korea actually has nuclear weapons.

Chung Min Lee helps illuminate the latest in this developing geopolitical story. Effectively incorporating journalism and accounts from defectors, Chung weaves an effective narrative succinctly before delving into more detail as the book unfolds.

Chung doesn’t ask this question, but I found myself asking: What would I do if I were Kim?

I also found myself asking, What if I were among the North Korean workers effectively purchased by foreign powers as low-wage laborers? Or if I were a political prisoner in the North Korean gulags? Or a defector trying to make ends meet across the border in Seoul?

If North Korea is going to reform its economy further–Kim has already allowed the black markets to increasingly come into the formal economy–is such a path possible without losing some of his political grip on the country? His diplomacy will likely be critical in achieving his goals.

https://www.diplostrategy.com/book-review/the-hermit-king/

Chung Min Lee provides an insightful look into the secret North Korea and its ruler. Excellent research and worth the read!

The writer, a political scientist, provides a detailed account of the North Korean leader, as well as the history of this troubled nation. The Hermit King looks at living conditions for its citizens, the influences of other nations such as Russia and China and the progress that is potentially being made for diplomatic relations with the U.S. The book is incredibly detailed and a must read for anyone who is interested in world history and the man who controls his citizens with an iron fist.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book that I have read about the political scene in North Korea and their relationship with the surrounding countries and the USA. I found this to be a very interesting book covering both life in North Korea and that of the ruling class. Great for anyone wanting to learn more about that region of the world.
I was interested enough to look up some different perspectives regarding this area.

I thought The Hermit King: The Dangerous Game of Kim Jong Un was an interesting read. I give it four stars.

I received a free copy for an honest review from Netgalley.

I feel the author was too close to the subject on this one- his bias is clearly seen as soon as the author’s note on the first page, and continues on throughout the book. In this bias, he reduces the credibility of his position and loses objectivity in his writing. There are many historical observations and recounts that are insightful and helpful in discussing what the future of Korea could be in the wake of Kim Jong Un, but the Culture of the last several decades is not something that will be easily dismantled. The concern with this book is that though there is a great deal of personal histories, there’s no way to really discuss this hot topic without the bias. I understand his personal history is a part of how he views what should be done or what could happen, but it feels like he’s not giving all the options or opinions on this, and being a little more hands off would have helped.

As I began writing this book review, the American president, Donald Trump, fired John Bolton, his national security advisor. News reports said the two of them had a falling out over ways to deal with Iran, North Korea, and the Taliban. Bolton is a hawk in all three areas. He would happily go for military solutions while Trump says he wants to make deals. He just doesn’t see deal making as a two-way street. With Trump, it’s always “my way or the highway.”

My guess is that the author, Chung Min Lee, would stand with Bolton. Lee doesn’t like the North Korean leader. He also doesn’t trust South Korean president Moon Jae-in’s willingness to find a solution to the on-going conflict. In a 2018 interview with Truthout, Noam Chomsky points out that Moon and Kim Jong-un signed a joint Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. It “affirmed the principle of determining the destiny of the Korean nation on their own accord.” That is, without reference to any of the domineering superpowers.

Chung Min Lee, “is a senior fellow in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Prior to joining Carnegie, he taught for twenty years at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) in Yonsei University in Seoul.” His book does not provide much context to help us understand either North Korea or its president, Kim Jong-un.

North Korea didn’t get the way it is by accident. It is the result of 69 years of American military actions and threats, and political and economic isolation. Before that, it suffered through another 35 years of occupation by Japan.

Korea and Japan had a long history of warfare, leading up to 1910 when it was annexed into the Japanese empire. Throughout the second world war, the Japanese occupiers had a policy, and a practice, of kidnapping Korean women and sending them away to become “comfort women” for their soldiers.

In 1945, the victorious countries liberated Korea from Japan but didn’t really set it free. They put half under Soviet influence and half under the United States. Not long after, the Cold War heated up and the American State Department began seeing dominoes falling all across South East Asia.

Korea and several other south-east Asian countries began looking towards the socialist world for an escape from imperialist domination. Hostilities broke out between the northern half of Korea, led by Kim Il-sung, and the southern half, led by Syngman Rhee. The north was supported by the Soviet Union and China. The south had the United States and the newly created United Nations on its side.

The Korean War was the first hot war to erupt from the cold war. It was never concluded. An armistice was signed in 1953, but not a peace treaty. This is the historical context behind the current situation in Korea. The Hermit King largely ignores it and paints a belligerent picture of Kim Jong-un.

We can get an idea of Lee’s attitude when he says, in Chapter 2 that “North Korea is one of the largest criminal syndicates in the world: churning out counterfeit notes (such as fake U.S. $100 bills that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing); manufacturing and trading illicit drugs; running alcohol- and tobacco-smuggling rings; sending out slave laborers to Russia, China, and parts of the Middle East; and, increasingly, undertaking bank heists through computer hacking.”

That’s quite an incredible charge sheet. It raises the question of how one of the poorest countries in the world can sustain a criminal operation larger than the Central American drug cartels, and more successful than the Wall Street hedge fund manipulators. It just isn’t credible.

It’s not the only head-scratcher. In the introduction, Lee says that one of Kim Jong-un’s rivals, Jang Song, was accused of high treason in 2013. Lee writes that he was “handcuffed, held by two armed guards, sentenced by a military tribunal and executed immediately by antiaircraft guns.” I’ll give Lee the benefit of the doubt here and assume a typo. The copy I read was an uncorrected digital galley received through NetGalley.com. There are much more efficient methods of execution available to those inclined to carry one out.

The Hermit King is too biased to be of much help to anyone interested in getting to the bottom of the Korean conflict. The search for a solution requires a much more textured analysis than Lee provides.

This is an excellent, in-depth look at a frightening family that goes back years. North Korea should be counted as one of the United States most dangerous regimes.

This book was a great overview of the Kim dynasty, gave insight into Kim Jong-Un, and explained the relationship between North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia, & US. Most North Korea books try to explain the 'weirdness' culture like kids dancing and singing, but this book is not that as it is a more historical picture of how North Korea became what it is today.

Check this out if you're interested about North Korea as geopolitical force.