North Korea in Transition - by Kyung-Ae Park & Scott Snyder (Paperback)

About the Book

Following the death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has entered a period of profound transformation laden with uncertainty. This authoritative book brings together the world's leading North Korea experts to analyze both the challenges and prospects the country is facing. Drawing o...

Book Synopsis

Following the death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has entered a period of profound transformation laden with uncertainty. This authoritative book brings together the world's leading North Korea experts to analyze both the challenges and prospects the country is facing. Drawing on the contributors' expertise across a range of disciplines, the book examines North Korea's political, economic, social, and foreign policy concerns. Comprehensive and deeply knowledgeable, their analysis is especially crucial given the power consolidation efforts of the new leadership underway in Pyongyang and the implications for both domestic and international politics.

Review Quotes

[T]hese authors encourage readers to see and be prepared to deal with the regime in Pyongyang as it is and as it is becoming instead of dismissing it as a crazy, ruthless, helpless and isolated government. The uncomfortable reality, as either explicitly or implicitly acknowledged by these authors, is that the North Korean regime is unlikely to voluntarily make any dramatic changes in the foreseeable future or 'wither away' without having any grave internal and external repercussions. Their converging and underlying message, therefore, is that one needs to take North Korea seriously so as to better understand both the challenges and opportunities facing the country. . . . Released in the critical new era, defined by Pyongyang's third generation of hereditary power succession laden with greater uncertainty amidst the inevitable shifts in North Korea's politics, economy, foreign relations, and even society and culture, [this volume] presents cogent and authoritative analyses, through which any sensible reader could develop a valuable guideline to understanding North Korea's past and present more comprehensively as well as to better preparing for the unknown future.

An important work on the future of North Korea by an outstanding array of practitioners and academic experts. As the Pyongyang regime attempts to consolidate rule under the newest 'Dear Leader, ' it will continue to defy simplistic analysis. This book is a great advance to understanding the enigma that is North Korea.

Readers . . . will find rich food for thought on the dynamics between political stability and socioeconomic changes in the country.

This book meets a pressing need for wide-ranging, timely coverage of North Korea. It offers diverse, sometimes clashing views, especially over the future of the regime. Many chapters cover areas neglected elsewhere, deepening the debate. Others offer strong opinions, trying to steer the debate. Sensibly, the concluding chapter by the two editors draws the arguments together, leaving the reader with a clear sense of the options that lie ahead.


This useful book is a state-of-the-art treatment of North Korea for non-academics and is likely to be read widely in think-tank and policy circles. Its authors include some of the finest analysts of North Korea in English. Laymen will find the book appealing, because the essays, while well-informed, do not overwhelm with jargon. . . . The book also ranges widely, covering issues like ideology, economic (mal)adaptation, the monarchy, and foreign relations. All these traits make it a solid introduction to the North Korea tangle. ...The essays are rich, and scholars will also find new ideas and themes that merit sustained social scientific analysis.

About the Author

Kyung-Ae Park holds the Korea Foundation Chair at the Institute of Asian Research of the University of British Columbia. Scott Snyder is Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.