I like Andrei Lankov a lot, probably my favorite Korea watcher.
>The Real North Korea: Life & Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia
This is his latest book, which is a really good introduction to contemporary North Korea. If you only know North Korea through memes and hysterical MSM news coverage, then the book will be especially enlightening for you.
The title is silly, but it's not indicative o the book's quality. Some editor chose a provocative title to get attention.
>In the midst of a diplomatic and military face-off, Andrei Lankov discusses contemporary North Korea — both as an expert on its history and politics, and as a former resident.
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>Andrei Lankov has gone where few outsiders have ever been. A native of the former Soviet Union, he lived in North Korea as an exchange student in the 1980s. He has studied it throughout his entire career, using his fluency in Korean and personal contacts to build a rich, nuanced understanding.
>In this lecture from The World Beyond the Headlines series, Lankov draws from his timely new book, "The Real North Korea", to substitute cold, clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque police state. He turns his focus to what North Korea is, what its leadership thinks, and how its people cope with living in such an oppressive and poor place. He argues that North Korea is not irrational, and nothing shows this better than its continuing survival against all odds. But while the people in charge have been ruthless and successful in holding on to power, Lankov argues that in the long run, with or without reform, the regime is unsustainable.