Table of Contents

Map of North Korea; Introduction; PART I: Understanding the DPRK; 1 Politics with North Korean Characteristics; 2 The Role of History; 3 Rise and Fall of the North Korean Economy; 4 Society; 5 Cultural Values; 6 The Outside World; PART II: Visiting and Living in the DPRK; 7 Practical Aspects; 8 The Land and its Sights; PART III: A Brush with History; 9 Opening the British Embassy Pyongyang, 2001–02; References/Bibliography; Index

About the Author

J.E.Hoare is a former member of the Research and Analysis Cadre of the British Diplomatic Service. He served in Seoul (1981-85), Beijing (1988-91) and finally as Charge d'Affaires and Consul General in Pyongyang (2001-2). He is a former Research Associate of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and is currently Research Associate at the London School of Oriental and African Studies. He has published extensively on both Korea and Japan, including Japan's Treaty Ports and Foreign Settlements: The Uninvited Guests (1994), Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, Vol.III (Ed.1999) and with his wife Susan Pares, A Political and Economic Dictionary of East Asia (2005) and North Korea in the 21st Century (2005). Susan Pares is a former member of the Research and Analysis Cadre of the British diplomatic service. Susan served in the Beijing embassy in 1975-76. She is married to Jim Hoare and has lived in overseas for many years. She is closely associated with the British Association for Korean Studies and on her own and with Jim has published a number of articles and books.