All Monsters Must Die: An Excursion to North Korea [Paperback]

A finalist for the prestigious August Prize,All Monsters Must Dieis the story of North Korea, past and present, offering a rare and fascinating window into the most isolated country in the world. In 1948, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is founded by General Kim Il-sung. In 1978, North Korea celebrates the 30th anniversary of its founding, and Kim Jong-il, who at the time is the head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, orders the kidnapping of the greatest South Korean movie star, the actress Madame Choi, and her ex-husband, the famous film director Shin Sang-ok.

In 2008, North Korea celebrates its 60th anniversary, and authors Magnus Bärtås and Fredrik Ekman take a bizarre, heavily guided tour to the world’s most isolated country. Bärtås and Ekman weave together these three stories to create a mosaic of North Korea, past and present: from the Japanese occupation to the demarcation of the border at the 38th parallel and the Korean War, the development of North Korean Juche ideology, the establishment of the Kim dynasty’s cult of personality, and the aggressive manufacturing of political propaganda, which motivated the kidnapping of South Korea’s most famous film couple.

Even though they are permitted to view very little and nearly every word they hear in translation is scripted, the pair manage to paint a convincing picture of a bizarre, comic, and profoundly Orwellian land where newspeak and doublethink are everyday norms. Given the scarce source material, these travelers have spun a richly detailed tapestry. -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

A clear and troubling picture of a country forced to embrace madness. -Kirkus

“Both a gruesome and humorous tale of freedom and oppression.”-Svenska Dagbladet