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Rating: 
Summary: an important piece of the puzzle that is north korea
Review: Do not read Dr. Won Tai Sohn's "Kim Il Sung and Korea's Struggle" if you are seeking a sophisticated political analysis of how Kim Il-song and Kim Chong-il have built and run the North Korean state. But do invest in this book if you seek to know the pain and nationalistic hopes characteristic of the Korean people as they struggled under the yoke of Japanese occcupation from 1910 to 1945. And, above all, do pay close attention to Dr. Sohn's description of his childhood exile in Manchuria, for his family sheltered and worked with the young Kim Il-song in organizing the Korean youths in China to keep alive their love of the motherland.If your primary interest regarding this book is how the Koreans dealt with the Japanese occupation, then "Kim Il Sung and Korea's Struggle" is well-teamed with Richard Kim's "Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood." On the other hand, if your interest lies primarily in Dr. Sohn's first-hand knowledge of Kim Il-song as a youth, then the book is best teamed with Professor Dae Sook Suh's definitive biography of Kim Il-song.
Rating:
Summary: an important piece of the puzzle that is north korea
Review: Do not read Dr. Won Tai Sohn's "Kim Il Sung and Korea's Struggle" if you are seeking a sophisticated political analysis of how Kim Il-song and Kim Chong-il have built and run the North Korean state. But do invest in this book if you seek to know the pain and nationalistic hopes characteristic of the Korean people as they struggled under the yoke of Japanese occcupation from 1910 to 1945. And, above all, do pay close attention to Dr. Sohn's description of his childhood exile in Manchuria, for his family sheltered and worked with the young Kim Il-song in organizing the Korean youths in China to keep alive their love of the motherland. If your primary interest regarding this book is how the Koreans dealt with the Japanese occupation, then "Kim Il Sung and Korea's Struggle" is well-teamed with Richard Kim's "Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood." On the other hand, if your interest lies primarily in Dr. Sohn's first-hand knowledge of Kim Il-song as a youth, then the book is best teamed with Professor Dae Sook Suh's definitive biography of Kim Il-song.
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