Book on N.Korea's Jang has implications for S.Korea | NK News
NK News Logo
October 13, 2024
Features

Book on N.Korea’s Jang has implications for S.Korea

Jang beat odds to join ruling family, but was ultimately a casualty of internal power contradictons

Jang Song Thaek’s path could best be described as full of ups and downs. A handsome, ambitious character, Jang nonetheless did not come from privileged family in the North yet, against the odds, was let into the household of the ruling Kim family as a son-in-law. Yet even his romance with national founder Kim Il Sung’s daughter, Kim Kyong Hui, has a shadow cast over it considering his life’s tragic end.

Ra Jongyil, former deputy head of the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS)’s North Korea department, has published a book on Jang entitled The Path of Jang Song Thaek: Rebellious Outsider. Ra sheds light on the contradictions between Jang’s life as a talented individual but also one who married into the Kim inner circle. As Ra told NK News, the book includes dramatizations, including a part where Jang compares his life to Julien Sorel, the main character in the French novel The Red and the Black. The book is, however, based on Ra’s many sources inside and outside the country, as well as widely known facts about the North Korean leadership during the same time.

Try unlimited access
Only $1 for four weeks

  • Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis
  • Year-one discount if you continue past $1 trial period
  • The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop
  • Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns
  • Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting
Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts.
Subscribe now

All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time.