igent”.]
What, specifically, does he like about Martin’s book?
Martin has read enough to get beyond the usual assumptions about the draconian nature of the two Kims’ rule. For example, purges were often not fatal or permanent.
See? Take off the orientalist blinkers and it’s really not that bad.
He will admit that there are some problems though:
For the past decade the regime has not been able to feed its people.
Well, it’s been able to feed some of its people:
In a rare insight into his life of privilege and excess, Kim’s former executive chef has described how the “Dear Leader” washes down exotic sushi, Iranian caviar and gourmet shark fin soup with vintage French wines from his 10,000-bottle cellar before treating himself to his favourite tipple, Hennessy XO cognac….
During his 13 years of service in Pyongyang, he travelled the world to purchase mouth-watering treats for Kim and his cronies: caviar from Iran and Uzbekistan, melons and grapes from China, durian fruit from Malaysia, papaya from Singapore, bacon from Denmark and beer from the former Czechoslovakia.
This unfortunate inability of the regime to feed its people would, of course, have nothing to do with its policies. So who could be to blame?
The US long ago put North Korea under siege…
And so it goes. To sum up: things aren’t as bad as all that in the North, and if they are, well, it’s America’s fault. One lesson above all to be learnt from the tragic history of Korea over the last sixty years – a lesson with some contemporary relevance – is that the US should never, ever, intervene in another country to try and impose democracy. If you want to know why, just look at what happened in the South.
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