1st Edition

The Forgotten Political Elites of North Korea Woe to the Vanquished

By Fyodor Tertitskiy Copyright 2024
272 Pages 57 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

234 Pages 57 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

272 Pages 57 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book comprises the biographies of the North Korean politicians whose actions played a pivotal role in shaping the formation of the country during the late 1940s, the Korean War of 1950-53 and the power struggles of the mid-1950s. Drawing from a rich array of archival material in both Korean, Russian and oral testimonies, this book gives insight into the life stories of key figures such as... Read more

1. Introduction  2. Lost and forgotten: Failed candidates for the North Korean throne  3. The Brigade faction: Fates of those who served with Kim Il-sung in the Soviet Army  4. Yu Sŏng-ch'ŏl: Kim Il-sung’s former comrade-in-arms and his testimony  5. Mikhail Kan: Stepping away from power  6. Innokentiy Kim: How an officer of Stalin’s secret police stood for North Koreans  7. Pak Chŏng-ae: The woman with an iron heart  8. Mun Il: North Korea’s Moriarty  9. Chang Hak-pong: chronicler of the early days of North Korea  10. Pang Hak-se: The founding father of the North Korean secret police  11. Aleksei Hegay and his mysterious death  12. Vice-Minister Kang Sang-ho: the story of his service in the North Korean police and of his miraculous escape from the DPRK  13. Nam Il: The general who signed the Korean War armistice  14. Pak Ch'ang-ok: Kim Il-sung’s (equally) evil twin  15. Lee Sang-jo: An ambassador who challenged the Leader  16. Pak Ŭi-wan: Vice-Premier who had a heart  17. Conclusion

Biography

Fyodor Tertitskiy is Leading Researcher at the Institute for Korean Studies at Kookmin University, South Korea. He studies North Korean military, social and political history and is the author of The North Korean Army (2022) and Soviet-North Korean Relations During the Cold War (2023)