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The Sister

The extraordinary story of Kim Yo Jong, the most powerful woman in North Korea
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( 1,453 ratings, 209 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Sister explores the rise of Kim Yo Jong, the powerful and enigmatic sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. As her regime's chief propagandist, internal administrator, and foreign policymaker, she exerts unprecedented influence in North Korea's history. Raised with the grim mission to reunite the Korean peninsula, she combines charm with chilling ruthlessness. Scholar Sung-Yoon Lee provides an authoritative account of North Korea's secretive world and its brutal ruling dynasty, known for repression, starvation, and nuclear threats.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in biography, political history, and East Asian studies, especially those wanting an in-depth understanding of North Korea’s leadership and dynastic politics.

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This first book on Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister, tipped to be his successor, is a readable, jaw-dropping insight into a secretive and dangerous dynasty.

This first book on Kim Jong-un's powerful sister, tipped to be his successor, is a readable, jaw-dropping insight into a secretive and murderous dynasty.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Recent years have seen the dramatic rise of a young woman called Kim Yo Jong in North Korea. Stomping the world stage from the shadows of her secretive state, she is creating headlines and fevered speculation about her role and her future. She is the sister of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and, as her murderous regime's chief propagandist, internal administrator and foreign policymaker, she is the most powerful woman in North Korea's history. Cruel but charming, she threatens and insults foreign leaders with sardonic wit. A princess by birth with great expectations for her macabre kingdom, she was brought up to believe it is her mission to reunite North Korea with the South, or die trying. She's pretty, she seems demure, she is cold, and she's incredibly dangerous.

The Sister, written by Sung-Yoon Lee, a scholar of Korean and East Asian studies and a specialist on North Korea, is a fascinating, authoritative account of the mysterious world of North Korea and its ruling dynasty - a family whose lust for power entails torturing and starving its people into submission, killing dissenters, and threatening nuclear war.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as a penetrating and unique analysis, The Sister combines insightful scholarship with engaging prose. Experts highlight its policy relevance and revelatory depiction of the Kim regime's inner workings. Reviewers commend Lee’s ability to see through propaganda and provide a gripping, disturbing narrative about one of the world’s most secretive states.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529073546

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 15 June 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Macmillan

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 387g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Sung-Yoon Lee is a scholar of Korean and East Asian studies and a specialist on North Korea. He is the Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor in Korean Studies and Assistant Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and Faculty Associate at the Program on US-Japan Relations, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. Dr Lee has advised senior-most officials in the US government and is an outspoken proponent of several policies aimed at changing the North Korean regime towards a path of denuclearization and improvement of human rights, while keeping the peace and stability in northeast Asia. In 2013, the Guardian called Lee '[a]mong the most insightful and prescient chroniclers'. The Sister is his first book.

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