A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power by Paul Fischer
Kim Jong-Il was the North Korean son and dictator in waiting in North Korea. He loved film and had many western movies clandestinely pirated and brought to him. Internally, residents were only allowed to view locally made films. These were heavy on propaganda and low on quality. He wanted to launch a strong local film industry that could produce films that would win awards at film festivals. He decided to do it in a typically bizarre way. He kidnapped a South Korean actress. Then later kidnapped a director that happened to be her ex husband. He first spent years indoctrinating them in the positives of North Korea. After he thought they were ready, he let them produce movies. These films won awards and received acclaim. The couple gradually rekindled their relationship and remarried. They longed to escape. However, they were constantly monitored by bodyguards. To protect their lives, they needed to portray loyalty to North Korea. After one leak that they were kidnapped, they held a press conference to say they were there willingly. After increasing movie success, they were allowed to travel further abroad. Finally, when they were in Vienna, they were able to avoid their minders in a taxi chase and make it to the US embassy. There they defected to the west, and eventually escaped to the US. They continued to make movies in the US, while Kim Jong-Il "erased" them from North Korean film history. It is a so strange it must be true tale told in a riveting fashion.
The Great Successor attempts to paint a picture of the life of the current leader of North Korea. However, very little is publicly known about him. North Korea publishes propaganda for the cult of personality. However, the purpose is to deify, rather than humanize, and is not a reliable source. Expatriate Koreans that knew him are reluctant to talk for fear of reprisals. This is a dictator that had his own brother killed in broad daylight on foreign soil. What we are left with is bits and pieces from official encounters (such as Dennis Rodman's basketball visits). We know he is overweight, attended school in Switzerland and likes basketball (especially the Chicago Bulls.) He also appears to be a shrewd leader, willing to eliminate anyone that stands in his way. (Beyond that, we don't know many details of his life. This book pieces together bits and pieces from former schoolmates (who often confused him with relatives), as will as people that worked with him (a Japanese sushi chef) and people that had left North Korea.