North Korea, still incredibly secretive, is ceasing to be the world’s “black box.” Apparently, a radical social experiment that began there in the 1940s is nearing its end. And behind it are people’s fates—countless lives. The well-known sinologist and publicist Andrei Lankov tells about how these lives were lived and what is happening in the country now.
The author has repeatedly had the chance to visit North Korea and talk with people from the most different walks of life. These are employees of state security and smugglers, North Korean new rich and defectors, intellectuals (being intellectual is apparently prestigious, but still dangerous), and drivers (who can be both safe and prestigious).
The book tells about technologies (from exotic gas-generator engines to North Korean internet) and monuments to leaders, about homes and trains, about hunger and delicacies—about the everyday life of North Koreans, their concerns, anxieties, and joys. About how North Korea is gradually, reluctantly opening to the world.