A TALE OF TWO NORTH KOREANS Brandon K. Gauthier Fordham University Kim Il Sung (1946) No Kum Sok (1953) Blaine Harden, The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and the Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom (New York: Viking, 2015); 304 pages; $27.95. In The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot, Blaine Harden, the famed author RI(VFDSHIURP&DPSUHFRXQWVWKHÀUVW\HDUVRIWKH1RUWK.RUHDQVWDWH through the experiences of Kim Il Sung and No Kum Sok. The stories of the former, the founder of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) DQG WKH ODWWHU D 1RUWK .RUHDQ ÀJKWHU SLORWWXUQHGGHIHFWRU UHPLQG XV RI WKHGLYHUVHLQGLYLGXDOVZKRVRXJKWWRQDYLJDWHWKH'35.·VÀUVWWXPXOWXRXV years. As Kim triumphed in power struggles at the top and sought to remake North Korea in his own image, No, whose father had worked for the Japa nese before August 1945, survived at the bottom by praising communism until he could escape to South Korea.  %HQHÀWLQJIURP+DUGHQ·VGHIWVWRU\WHOOLQJWKLVZRUNVXFFHHGVDVD popular history that encourages readers to learn more about the creation REVIEW: THE GREAT LEADER AND THE FIGHTER PILOT 141 of the North Korean state and the immense suffering that resulted from the .RUHDQ:DU,WVIRFXVRQ1R·VÀUVWKDQGDFFRXQWLQSDUWLFXODUIRVWHUVDJUHDW er appreciation for the experiences of all Koreans, regardless of their back JURXQGVGXULQJWKRVHKHDG\GD\V7KHERRN·VVLJQLÀFDQFHLQWKLVUHJDUGLV that it offers the general public a deeper understanding of North Korean history through the eyes of those who lived it. Readers, especially individuals unlikely to take the time to immerse themselves in the vast historiography of the subject, will learn much about the origins of Kim Il Sung’s regime DQGWKHKRUULÀFZDUWKDWIROORZHGLWVFUHDWLRQ0DQ\ZLOOÀQGWKHPVHOYHVGLV turbed by the North Korean leader’s ruthless efforts to accumulate power EXWÀOOHGZLWKDGPLUDWLRQIRU1R.XP6RN·VWHQDFLRXVVXUYLYDOLQVWLQFWV Despite these strengths, Harden’s portrayal of Kim Il Sung is often WRRVLPSOLVWLF7KDWQDUUDWLYHD]HURVXPGHSLFWLRQRIWKH1RW6R*UHDW/HDG er, leaves readers wondering if there was anything more to Kim’s story than EUXWDOSXUJHVDQG0DFKLDYHOOLDQLQWULJXHV7KH1RUWK.RUHDQOHDGHUZDVDV the author notes appropriately, a morally repugnant dictator. But in making WKDWFDVH+DUGHQGRHVQ·WGRHQRXJKWRDQDO\]H.LP,O6XQJ·VGHHSO\ÁDZHG humanity. Kim was a cruel despot, but he was also a human being, a father, DKXVEDQGDQGDVRQZKRJUHZLQWRKLVW\UDQQ\RYHUWLPHZLWKXQÁDJJLQJ FRQÀGHQFHLQKLVYLVLRQIRU.RUHD·VSURVSHULW\7KDWUHFRJQLWLRQZRXOGKDYH offered a more complex story about how one individual created a Stalinist nightmare with seemingly the best of intentions for himself and his people. Of course, the dictator’s life story has received more measured treat PHQWLQ'DH6RRN6XK·VKim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader and Bradley .0DUWLQ·VUnder the Loving Care of the Fatherly LeaderDPXFKUHDGWRPH on the Kim clan.1 For a more succinct overview, one could also look to Andrei /DQNRY·VFrom Stalin to Kim Il Sung: the Formation of North Korea.2 These works offer a sober assessment of Kim’s early years and his ultimate goals for Korea as a communist state. Regardless, Harden’s The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot re PDLQVXQLTXHDVDSRSXODUKLVWRU\WKDWFRQWUDVWV.LP·VÀUVW\HDUVLQSRZHU with No Kum Sok’s experiences at the opposite end of the political and so FLDOVSHFWUXP7KURXJKWKHLUVWRULHVZHDUHDOORZHGDELUGVH\HYLHZRIKRZ two Koreans responded to a dangerous time. 1 2 'DH6RRN6XKKim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988); %UDGOH\.0DUWLQUnder the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty 1HZ<RUN6W0DUWLQ·V3UHVV  $QGUHL/DQNRYFrom Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea, 1945-1960 (New Bruns ZLFN1-5XWJHUV8QLYHUVLW\3UHVV  142 YONSEI JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Excellent Liars No Kum Sok was born in 1932 to a privileged existence during the Japanese occupation of Korea. No’s father worked for Japan’s Noguchi Corporation which built hydroelectric and chemical plants and railroads across the pen insula. His father, however, lost his job after the liberation of northern Korea by Soviet forces and his family had to sell all of their possessions to survive. The subsequent death of No’s father from cancer in 1947 and the establish ment of the DPRK in 1948 further upended what had once been a tranquil DQGDIÁXHQWOLIH No, the author states, abhorred Kim Il Sung’s government and dreamed of escaping to South Korea, but the young man learned to keep his beliefs to himself and to publicly praise his new communist rulers. By the summer of 1949, No, hoping to avoid slaughter in the North Korean army gained admission to the DPRK’s naval academy by lying about his family’s privileged background. When war erupted the following year, No watched in horror as US bombers devastated his country, killing countless innocents. Only good fortune allowed him to escape to China in late September 1950 DQG UHFHLYH WUDLQLQJ DV D ÀJKWHU SLORW (PHUJLQJ DV D 0L* SLORW LQ WKH IDOO of 1951, No quickly found himself battling US jets in the skies above Ko UHDDQG0DQFKXULD1HLWKHUHDJHUWRGLHIRUKLVFRXQWU\QRUNLOO$PHULFDQV WKH \RXQJ PDQ NHSW KLV GLVWDQFH IURP KLV DGYHUVDULHV ÀULQJ KLV JXQV RII LQWRWKHFORXGVWRIHLJQGRJÀJKWV:KHQDXWKRULWLHVVWDWLRQHG1RRXWVLGHRI Pyongyang in September 1953, he promptly defected to South Korea on a WUDLQLQJÁLJKW0RYLQJWRWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVWKHIROORZLQJ0D\1RHQUROOHGDW WKH8QLYHUVLW\RI'HODZDUHEHQHÀWWLQJIURPDUHZDUGIURPWKH86 government, before eventually becoming a successful engineer. He lives in Florida to this day. Kim Il Sung’s background, Harden notes, bore little relation to No’s. %RUQLQ.LPVSHQWPRVWRIKLVIRUPDWLYH\HDUVLQ0DQFKXULDZKHUH KLVIDPLO\ÁHGWRDYRLG-DSDQHVHLPSHULDOLVP$IWHU.LP·VPLGGOHVFKRROH[ SHOOHGKLPDWDJHIRUSDUWLFLSDWLQJLQFRPPXQLVWDFWLYLWLHVDQLQHPRQWK VWLQWLQMDLOOHGWKH\RXQJPDQWRHPEUDFHDOLIHRIDUPHGVWUXJJOH,QWKHPLG V.LPDQGDVPDOOEDQGRIÀJKWHUVIROORZLQJWKHOHDGRI&KLQHVHFRP PXQLVWV ZDJHG D JXHULOOD ZDU DJDLQVW WKH -DSDQHVH LQ 0DQFKXULD EHIRUH ÁHHLQJWRWKH6RYLHW8QLRQWRDYRLGFDSWXUH,IWKHIXWXUHGLFWDWRU·VPLOLWDU\ accomplishments were few and far between in these years, Kim—the author QRWHV LQ TXRWLQJ WKH KLVWRULDQ 'DH6RRN 6XK³GHPRQVWUDWHG ´SHUVLVWHQFH and obstinate will, characteristic of many successful revolutionaries else REVIEW: THE GREAT LEADER AND THE FIGHTER PILOT 143 where, that deserve recognition.”3  $IWHU6HSWHPEHUWKHIXWXUHGLFWDWRUURVHWRSRZHULQ6RYLHW occupied Korea by idolizing Joseph Stalin and taking orders from Soviet au WKRULWLHV,QWKHSURFHVV.LPJDLQHGLQÁXHQFHDWWKHH[SHQVHRIKLVSROLWLFDO rivals, most of whom later faced execution squads. By the spring of 1950, .LPPDQDJHGWRFRQYLQFHERWK6WDOLQDQG0DR=HGRQJWROHWKLPODXQFKDQ invasion of South Korea. Unimaginable devastation ensued as a result, and only China’s intervention saved Kim Il Sung’s government from extinction. In the years following the war, the North Korean dictator charted an indepen GHQWSDWKRXWVLGHWKHRUELWRI0RVFRZDQG%HLMLQJZKLOHSOD\LQJWKRVHDOOLHV RIIRQHDQRWKHUIRUPXFKQHHGHGDLG.LPRYHUVDZWKHUHFRQVWUXFWLRQRIKLV country from the ashes in the process and strengthened the brutal political system that persists there to this day. Beyond the One-Dimesional Man :KLOH+DUGHQDFFXUDWHO\UHFRXQWV.LP,O6XQJ·VÀUVW\HDUVKHRIWHQLJQRUHV VLJQLÀFDQW TXHVWLRQV DERXW WKH IXWXUH GLFWDWRU·V DPELWLRQV )RU H[DPSOH ZKHQ QRWLQJ WKDW .LP DQG KLV JXHULOODV LQ WKH PLGV XVHG H[WRUWLRQ EODFNPDLODQGPXUGHUWRIHHGWKHPVHOYHVWKHDXWKRUZULWHV´,Q.LP·VSROL WLFV«WKHUHZDVQHYHUDTXHVWLRQRIZKHWKHUWKHHQGVMXVWLÀHGWKHPHDQV He had become a thug with a cause.” But one wonders what Kim’s cause was as a young insurgent. Was it the dream of freeing his homeland from -DSDQHVHLPSHULDOLVPRUVHL]LQJSRZHUIRUKLPVHOIDVDQDOOSRZHUIXOUXOHU" Did Kim’s desire to liberate Korea ever transcend his insatiable desire for VHOIJORULÀFDWLRQ" $ GLVFXVVLRQ RI WKHVH LQWHUWZLQHG TXHVWLRQV³UDLVLQJ WKH possibility that Kim Il Sung initially sought to achieve something larger than himself—would yield no tidy answers nor excuse his abhorrent behavior. Yet it would offer a far more penetrating analysis of the North Korean leader’s formative years. In a similar vein, the author’s description of Kim Il Sung’s relation ship with Joseph Stalin and Soviet authorities is reductive. The North Ko UHDQOHDGHU+DUGHQQRWHVZDVD´6RYLHWSRRGOHµZKR´VZDOORZHG6WDOLQLVP ZKROHµZLWK´«VODYLVKLPLWDWLRQµ+RZHYHULQPDNLQJWKHVHSRLQWVWKHWH[W doesn’t consider the extent to which Kim genuinely believed in the Stalinist economic model for Korea, a system that—despite its abundant horrors— transformed the Soviet Union into an industrialized power during the 1930s. 3 'DH6RRN6XK 144 YONSEI JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES As a result, Harden again misses an opportunity to offer deeper insights into the budding despot’s story: Kim used the Stalinist system to ensure his dominance in North Korea—yes—but he also felt it would lead his country to prosperity; Kim thus came to view his personal leadership, and the imple mentation of communist policies under his watch, as essential for Korea’s development. He ultimately believed in the necessity of his own tyranny. This remains one of the great tragedies of modern Korean history. Another overarching problem in this text is that the author doesn’t acknowledge a central similarity in the stories of No Kum Sok and Kim Il Sung: they both manipulated their environments for the sake of larger goals. For years, No faked the role of a fervent communist, outwitting his superiors by praising the DPRK until he could escape to South Korea. Kim GLGYHU\PXFKWKHVDPHWKLQJZLWK0RVFRZSOD\LQJWKHSDUWRIOR\DOVWRRJH until he could take total control of the DPRK and ensure its independence. In telling that story, the author mocks Kim as a puppet while describing No DVDQ´H[FHOOHQWOLDUµVXJJHVWLQJWKDWWKHIRUPHUVXUUHQGHUHGKLVSHUVRQDO agency while the latter managed to maintain his. The reality, however, is that neither man—despite the profound differences in their moral charac WHU³HYHUORVWVLJKWRIWKHLUSHUVRQDODPELWLRQV7KHUHVHHPVWREHDÀQH line between obsequious puppet and cunning liar. Despite these shortcomings, Blaine Harden’s The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot will enthrall popular audiences and encourage them to learn more about the origins of the DPRK. It is a tale of two North Kore DQVRQHZKREHFDPHDYLOODLQZLWKRXWUHDOL]LQJLWDQGDQRWKHUZKRÁHZWR freedom with dreams of a better life. Y