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A CAPITALIST IN
NORTH KOREA
A CAPITALIST IN
NORTH KOREA
MY SEVEN YEARS IN THE HERMIT KINGDOM
FELIX ABT
TUTTLE Publishing
Tokyo | Rutland, Vermont | Singapore
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Copyright © 2014 Felix Abt All images in this book are the property of the author, unless otherwise noted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014938523
ISBN: 978-1-4629-1410-4 (ebook)
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Contents
Preface: On the Verge of Glasnost?
Chapter 1 Into the Heart of Darkness
Chapter 2 Malaise into Opportunity
Chapter 3 Look to the Party, Young Revolutionary, and Buy
Chapter 4 Healing the Great Leader’s Children
Chapter 5 Same Bed, Different Dreams
Chapter 6 A Manchurian Candidate?
Chapter 7 Southerners, Yankees, and “Chinese Lips”
Chapter 9 Flowers of the Nation
Chapter 10 Nurturing Revolutionaries
Chapter 12 Partying, Pyongyang-Style
Chapter 14 The Loss of Innocence
Preface
On the Verge of Glasnost?
In December 2011, North Korea’s long-time leader, Kim Jong Il, collapsed on a train and died from a heart attack. Western intelligence agencies had been
