The Hermit Kingdom: On the Rise and Future of North Korea

Michiel Hoogeveen regularly appears on Nieuwsuur and other radio and TV programmes to explain the situation surrounding North Korea. Unlike authors of Dutch North Korea books, he has actually been to the country. He has travelled there four times so far. As a young political scientist, he became fascinated by this country and has since become someone with great expertise, so that a number of foreign media have already asked for his commentary. In this book, he outlines the situation of the country over the past 30 years, with an emphasis on the current development of the country, in economic and geopolitical terms. What are the interests at stake, why do they do what they do? How did North Korea end up in isolation, and are the North Koreans really as idolatrous of their leader as they seem? Hoogeveen sketches an honest and upright portrait of the country and its inhabitants, and also has considerable criticism in his pen. His book is mainly a 'Realpolitike' position towards one of the most enigmatic countries of the moment, perhaps even more enigmatic than ourselves.