The three-generation Kim Dynasty has made North Korea one of the most reviled—and ridiculed—nations in the world. Memes depicting Kim Jong-un laughing about the fact that he’s “no longer the craziest leader” keep popping up on social feeds, even while reports of the sequestered country’s growing nuclear power get buried under what is deemed more immediate news. Beyond the finger-pointing, threats, and not-so-funny humor are the hidden people of a devastated country whose stories are agonizingly, slowly coming to light. The regime will fall one day. Until then, insightful books provide our best opportunities for encouraging education and understanding. Here’s a selection of fiction and nonfiction titles, linked to their Booklist reviews, that allow us to look in.

Read the full reading list here:

Further Reading: The Fiction of North Korea. Eugenia, Williamson. The Booklist Reader. August 10, 2017

Submitted by Marla Sepnafski.