*Includes pictures
*Includes accounts of the party and its activities
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
In 2014, the International Space Station unleashed a series of photographs that had netizens around the globe simultaneously slapping their cheeks in disbelief for more reasons than one. For starters, the world was astounded by the crisp definition and stellar resolution of the images captured by the space agency's NightPod lenses, which showed striking satellite shots of the world at nighttime, illuminated by its dazzling city lights. But it was a close-up snap of the China-North Korea border that elicited reactions far greater than the rest, for the image, as terrific as it was, was equally troubling. Backed by a time-lapse video of the area, the images show an enormous patch of pitch-blackness - roughly 47,000 square miles of it, to be precise - flanked by 2 sweeping stretches of gold, the coruscating clusters of light marking the largest cities in the land. On one side lay the shimmering Chinese territories, and the other, the glittering grounds of South Korea. The patch of black in question was so dark it could very well be mistaken for an extension of either the Yellow Sea or the Sea of Japan.
North Korea has long been the butt of jokes, and it has been a longstanding target of international criticism, but the startling satellite image was anything but amusing, for it demonstrated the truly catastrophic conditions North Koreans find themselves in. Statistics show that the average South Korean uses up to 10,162 kilowatt hours of power per year, whereas their neighbors in the north consume only 739. This is only one amongst a slew of stumbling blocks affecting the state, impeding it from proper progress.
So why is North Korea so starkly different from its neighbors when nothing more but mere borders separate them? A tyrannical lineage secured by nepotism. An entire nation indoctrinated by chilling, mindboggling propaganda, molded by fear and forced ignorance. Mass purges doled out seemingly on whims, without fair trials. Unparalleled paranoia and cold-blooded assassinations left and right, seemingly around every curve and corner. An impoverished sphere of barren wastelands inhabited by malnourished masses, orbiting a world glittering with the gross opulence and superfluous riches of the elite. These sound like the elements of a particularly perilous period of autocracy enforced by some mad monarch of a bygone era, or perhaps a generic blurb for a far-fetched thriller set in a dystopian future. Alas, the description matches the modern state of North Korea almost flawlessly.
For close to 7 decades and counting, the notorious Kim family has been subjected to a never-ending stream of shocking scandals and relentless ridicule. That being said, this frightful bloodline has managed to maintain absolute and all-encompassing power over the northern neck of the Korean peninsula. The reigns of these related tyrants are said to be so horrid that 2,000 intrepid souls risk their necks each year to escape from the suffocating grip of the state. And while many attribute the state's troubling antics to the controversial Kim dynasty, it takes an entire team to keep the 25 million oppressed North Koreans in check. This lesser-known, but all the more significant constituent of this intriguing system is the Choson Rodongdang, otherwise known as the "Workers' Party of Korea," the ruling political party of the state.
The Workers' Party of Korea: The History and Legacy of the Political Party that Founded and Rules North Korea examines the party's predecessors and the events that led up to its formation, as well as its inner workings and the behind-the-scene operations of the infamous hermit kingdom. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Workers' Party of Korea like never before.