Becoming Kim Jong Un

A Former CIA Officer's Insights into North Korea's Enigmatic Young Dictator

By: Jung H. Pak

Narrated by: Jung H. Pak

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's summary

A groundbreaking account of the rise of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un—from his nuclear ambitions to his summits with President Donald J. Trump—by a leading American expert

“Shrewdly sheds light on the world’s most recognizable mysterious leader, his life and what’s really going on behind the curtain.”—Newsweek

When Kim Jong Un became the leader of North Korea following his father's death in 2011, predictions about his imminent fall were rife. North Korea was isolated, poor, unable to feed its people, and clinging to its nuclear program for legitimacy. Surely this twentysomething with a bizarre haircut and no leadership experience would soon be usurped by his elders. Instead, the opposite happened. Now in his midthirties, Kim Jong Un has solidified his grip on his country and brought the United States and the region to the brink of war. Still, we know so little about him—or how he rules.

Enter former CIA analyst Jung Pak, whose brilliant Brookings Institution essay “The Education of Kim Jong Un” cemented her status as the go-to authority on the calculating young leader. From the beginning of Kim’s reign, Pak has been at the forefront of shaping U.S. policy on North Korea and providing strategic assessments for leadership at the highest levels in the government. Now, in this masterly book, she traces and explains Kim’s ascent on the world stage, from his brutal power-consolidating purges to his abrupt pivot toward diplomatic engagement that led to his historic—and still poorly understood—summits with President Trump. She also sheds light on how a top intelligence analyst assesses thorny national security problems: avoiding biases, questioning assumptions, and identifying risks as well as opportunities.

In piecing together Kim’s wholly unique life, Pak argues that his personality, perceptions, and preferences are underestimated by Washington policy wonks, who assume he sees the world as they do. As the North Korean nuclear threat grows, Becoming Kim Jong Un gives listeners the first authoritative, behind-the-scenes look at Kim’s character and motivations, creating an insightful biography of the enigmatic man who could rule the hermit kingdom for decades—and has already left an indelible imprint on world history.

©2020 Jung H. Pak (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“An excellent biography [that] cuts through the regime’s opacity and the fog of gossip to provide an excellent primer on the country’s present-day leadership as well as hints of whatever might come next. . . . Becoming Kim Jong Un moves between storytelling in intimate, elegantly written scenes and clear, well-argued policy analysis.”—Los Angeles Times

“Pak perceptively recognizes Kim’s limitations. . . . As Pak tells us, Kim is bold. Washington must be as well.”—The New York Times Book Review

“North Korea has long been regarded as a ‘hard target’ by the Intelligence Community—and with abundant good reason. Dr. Jung H. Pak has managed to shed more light on the current North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, than virtually anyone. She has adeptly and discreetly applied her experience as an intelligence analyst and managed to penetrate the opaque nature of North Korea, and in doing so has displayed her considerable skills in and mastery of the analyst’s tradecraft. . . . An important book, both for the professional expert and for those who simply want to gain insight into the ‘hermit kingdom’ and its enigmatic leader.”—James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence

Worthwhile listen.

Informative. Eye opening. Surprisingly enjoyable. And a thought provoking insight into the North Korean mindset.

Very revealing

An impressive and well done take on the current North Korean leader through the eyes of a former CIA officer. 10/10.

Insightful

Insightful book of an individual who is unknown to the general public. There is a lot to take away from this.

Fresh perspectives

It was quite interesting that the conjugation of Kim Jong Un and Ri Seol Ju was compared to the North's Byungjin policy of developing both military and economy. It is a briliant analogy! You can gain insights into the North Korean first lady Ri, which is rarely dealt with in other books, and the symbolic and strategic meanings of her publicy appearing side by side with Kim Jong Un.

There needs to be more books like this.

The books offers a significant amount of intelligence analysis and arguments of point that are valid and to the standard of rigor that I would expect from an analyst of 20+ years. The utilization of defector reports, declassified reports, NIC reports, think tank analysis, and academia is vast in the story telling that pieces the curtain of Kim Jong Un. I learn many new ideas and concepts of thought when following the book, and it has caused me to branch out and deepen my knowledge in area where I am weak. To the comments that the book is focused on Kim Jon Un’s weight and a disgruntlement toward former President Trump, I don’t feel are all too valid. I feel the point are significant in the context they are applied, and tip the reader into the thoughts of why activities took place due to the personalities of the two country leaders.my only issue is that I thought some areas were a little long winded, but it did not detract from understanding the main points of the book. I can not complain too much, having read books from Henry Kissinger.

If you want a firm understanding of the mindset of Kim Jong Un, his priorities for North Korea, his methods to maintain control of a country that could easy crumble around him if the right puzzle pieces were shifted, read this book.

Needs more Un insights

Too much general North Korea info, which anyone who has read any other North Korean texts will know. Was hoping for deeper analysis of Kim Jong Un himself.

Worst narration ever

The narrator (who is also the writer!) sounds like a senior research paper gone bad - she called Kim Jong Un "Fat" just one too many times to the point it became mocking, he may be a ruthless dictator but show the man some shred of respect since he is the subject of your book after all and mocking his weight over and over degrades the value of the book. This book had such potential, try again Jung H Pak, next time leave out the tasteless mockery.

Derivative

I am by no means an expert on North Korea, but there was very little here that I had not heard before. Moreover some subjects are skipped entirely. For example, the potential that South Korea or Japan might move to acquire nuclear weapons is given (by my count) a grand total of one sentence, while the potential impact this might have on China's relationship with Kim is ignored completely. Finally, the author mentions analytical bias over and over again, but succumbs to it herself in her clear dislike of Trump and inability to separate out these sentiments when discussing recent events.

Too much about Trump

The author try to be too cute instead of sticking to the subject of North Korea

I get it. You don’t like the President.

It was amazingly interesting until the parts about the current administration. The adjectives used to describe the President belie the fact that he has accomplished much of what is doubted in the later portion of the book.

Too bad, it was initially captivating but ended as a NYT like editorial of our government rather than the DPRK.