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Book review: A moving personal account of Japan’s pro-North Korea enclave

In a fascinating book of essays, filmmaker Yang Yonghi shares the drama and heartbreak of her Zainichi Korean family
Stephen Mercado May 18, 2023
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Book review: A moving personal account of Japan’s pro-North Korea enclave
A family portrait of Yang Yonghi, the author of the book "Turning off the Camera, I Write" | Image: A still from the documentary film "Dear Pyongyang" (2005)

A glimpse behind the scenes often makes the most compelling nonfiction. We enjoy reading about how someone founded a corporation, waged a political campaign, or, in the case of Yang Yonghi, how she defied expectations and overcame obstacles as a member of the Korean minority in Japan to become a successful film director.

“Turning off the Camera, I Write” is a collection of essays about a trilogy of documentary films Yang made since 2005 about her community of Zainichi Koreans — ethnic Koreans in Japan. First published in Korea last October and now being released in Japan, the book is

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About the Author

Stephen Mercado

Stephen Mercado

Stephen Mercado is a retired officer of the CIA’s Open Source Enterprise (originally the Foreign Broadcast Information Service). A researcher primarily interested in Japanese intelligence history and Asian open-source intelligence, he earned a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is the author of "Japanese Spy Gear and Special Weapons: How Noborito's Scientists and Technicians Served in the Second World War and the Cold War" (Pen & Sword Military, 2025), "The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Elite Intelligence School" (Brassey’s, 2002), a dozen articles and several dozen book reviews.

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