Pyongyang: The Hidden History of the North Korean Capital

Rating:
Summary: The Hidden Disappoinment
Review: If you can find some way for someone else besides you to pay for this book, and you are a Korean studies amateur who is still in the process of creating a knowledge base about the DPRK and the mythology of Pyongyang in particular, then this book is for you. Otherwise, thirty dollars is a ridiculuous price for this 150 page wanna-be Lonely Planet guide to Pyongyang. A simple Google search will net you better pictures and better info on the city itself, particularly if you can read Korean, and if you are really interested in specific aspects of the city then you need a newsgroup or a direct Email to an expert. I was very disappointed when I received this book in the mail - professional or skilled amateur DPRK watchers beware; first timers who found 30 bucks on the street this morning by accident, get some. Nan - bagaji seot da.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most inaccessible capitals in the world
Review: Maps and beautiful color photographs enhance the informative text of Pyongyang: The Hidden History Of The North Korean Capital by Chris Springer. Pyongyang showcases a series of site-by-site descriptions of one of the most inaccessible capitals in the world. Well researched commentary provides truthful insights behind official history and propaganda, ranging from the Korean War down to the present day. A informational prize for armchair travelers, and a highly recommended introductory familiarization guide for anyone journeying to North Korea, Pyongyang is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and community library collections.

Rating:
Summary: informative introduction to North Korea through its capital
Review: This is a remarkably well-written book works on both the level of a pictorial city guide and as political geography. The North Korean capital of Pyongyang was effectively flattened during the Korean War (1950-53) and its rebuilding reflected a series of political choices from what sorts of activities to locate in the capital to what kind of architectural design, materials, and construction techniques to employ. Springer mines this intersection of cityscape and political history beautifully, and it is hard to imagine anyone who would not learn something new from reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: An outsider in Pyongyang
Review: Tourists in Pyongyang have always had difficulties in interpreting what they are seeing and what they are perhaps missing. The ever present guides will of course talk a lot but they are carefully briefed and never say anything off the record. An unofficial introduction to the town is therefore long overdue and now we finally have one. More work probably went into this book than into many twice or three times its size on other places given the tough environment in which the author worked.

The author had to work carefully and discretely whilst in the town itself. He had to play detective rather than tourist and continue his research abroad where former residents of Pyongyang could talk freely to him. As he admits, there are still gaps to fill, but few visitors will have the skill and patience to match his work. For those who will never have the chance to visit Pyongyang, the book is still worth buying as an introduction to North Korean politics. All those who have made their mark there, whether recognised or not by the current regime, are remembered and described.

The book is as unusual as its subject; both deserve eachother.

Neil Taylor