Five Essential Books for Understanding North Korea’s Cult of Personality

A cult of personality refers to a situation where a leader is presented as almost god-like, with extreme admiration and devotion from the population. In North Korea, this involves statues, propaganda, and nuclear threats. The Kim dynasty—Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un—has maintained this cult for decades. The article notes that this cult is not just political but also religious in nature, with rituals and reverence similar to worship. The intensity and durability of this cult are striking, even surviving events like the devastating famine of the 1990s. The author, Jonathan Cheng, explores how Kim Il Sung’s upbringing in a devout Presbyterian family may have influenced the cult’s religious aspects.

The famine of the 1990s was one of North Korea’s worst tragedies, coinciding with the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994. During this period, an estimated 25 million people in North Korea faced severe food shortages, starvation, and economic collapse. Barbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (2010) tells this story through the personal experiences of six North Koreans who lived through the famine. The book highlights how the cult of personality around the Kim family persisted even amid widespread suffering, as citizens were expected to remain loyal despite the state’s failure to provide basic needs.

From 1910 to 1945, Korea was under Japanese colonial rule, a period marked by oppression, forced assimilation, and cultural suppression. Richard E. Kim’s Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood (1996) is a collection of autobiographical stories about growing up in this era. The book captures the emotions of nationalism, shame, and resilience among Koreans during this time. Kim Il Sung, the future leader of North Korea, was born in 1912, a time when Korea was still under Japanese control. The book provides insight into the historical context that shaped Kim’s later policies and the cult of personality he would create.

The Korean War (1950–1953) divided Korea into North and South, with the North under Kim Il Sung’s rule. During the war, fourteen Christian ministers were captured by North Korean forces, and twelve were executed on the banks of the Taedong River in Pyongyang. Richard E. Kim’s novel The Martyred (1964) explores the moral complexities of this event, focusing on the two survivors and their alleged betrayal of faith to avoid execution. The book delves into themes of faith, nationalism, guilt, and truth, reflecting the broader struggles of Koreans during and after the war.

Masaji Ishikawa’s memoir A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape from North Korea (2017) recounts the harrowing story of a half-Korean, half-Japanese boy born in postwar Tokyo who was repatriated to North Korea in the 1960s. Ishikawa’s account reveals the harsh realities of life in North Korea under Kim Il Sung, where the promised socialist paradise was far from reality. The book is part of a genre of memoirs by North Korean defectors, but Ishikawa’s perspective as a returnee adds a unique layer to the narrative. His escape highlights the moral and physical challenges faced by those who dared to flee the regime.

Jonestown was a religious commune in Guyana led by Reverend Jim Jones, which ended in a mass suicide in 1978. Julia Scheeres’ A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Jonestown (2011) explores how Jones created a personality cult similar to Kim Il Sung’s in North Korea. Jones adopted three Korean children, praised Kim Il Sung in public broadcasts, and even considered relocating Jonestown to Pyongyang. The book examines how such cults form and why people become devoted to them, drawing parallels between Jones’ and Kim’s methods of control and manipulation.