The Rebel and the Kingdom

The True Story of the Secret Mission to Overthrow the North Korean Regime

By: Bradley Hope

Narrated by: Lee Osorio

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

How did an Ivy League activist become a global fugitive? The New York Times bestselling co-author of Billion Dollar Whale and Blood and Oil chronicles the heart-pounding tale of a self-taught operative's high-stakes attempt to subvert the North Korean regime.

“Propulsive . . . Hope’s account is both deeply reported and novelistic.”—Ed Caesar, contributing staff writer for The New Yorker, author of The Moth and the Mountain

In the early 2000s, Adrian Hong was a soft-spoken Yale undergraduate looking for his place in the world. After reading a harrowing account of life inside North Korea, he realized he had found a cause so pressing that he was ready to devote his life to it.

What began as a trip down the safe and well-worn path of organizing soon morphed into something more dangerous. Hong journeyed to China, outwitting Chinese security services as he helped asylum-seeking North Koreans escape across the border. Meanwhile, Hong’s secret organization, Cheollima Civil Defense (later renamed Free Joseon), began tracking the North Korean government’s activities, and its volatile third-generation ruler, Kim Jong-un. Free Joseon targeted North Korean diplomats who might be persuaded to defect, while drawing up plans for a government-in-exile. After the shocking broad-daylight assassination in 2017 of Kim Jong-nam, the dictator’s older brother, Hong, along with U.S. Marine veteran Christopher Ahn, helped ferry Kim Jong-nam’s family to safety. Then Hong took the group a step further. He initiated a series of high-stakes direct actions, culminating in an armed raid at the North Korean embassy in Madrid—an act that would put Ahn behind bars and turn Hong into one of the world’s most unlikely fugitives.

In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, The Rebel and the Kingdom is an exhilarating account of a man who turns his back on the status quo—to instead live boldly by his principles. Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Bradley Hope—who broke numerous details of Hong’s operations in The Wall Street Journal—now reveals the full contours of this remarkable story of idealism and insanity, hubris and heroism, all set within the secret battle for the future of the world’s most mysterious and unsettling nation.

©2022 Bradley Hope (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“The Rebel and the Kingdom is an expertly crafted thriller that makes you turn the page. What makes it all the more remarkable is that it’s all true. Bradley Hope is a first-rate reporter and writer, and he has found a subject worthy of his skills in Adrian Hong, a Korean American idealist who set out, improbably enough, to topple the North Korean regime.”—Max Boot, columnist for The Washington Post, author of The Road Not Taken

“One of the most harrowing and inspiring stories I’ve ever read . . . This book left me in tears. Hope tells this inconceivable and heart-wrenching story with compassion, humanity, and integrity.”—Yeonmi Park, bestselling author of In Order to Live

“The engrossing inside story of two recent events that are jaw-dropping even for North Korea, and the obsessive man behind them . . . This is a terrific piece of up-close reportage that reads like a spy thriller but is all too real.”—Anna Fifield, author of The Great Successor

Great story.

Highly recommend. Well written and well read. Eye opening and inspiring tail about fighting against North Korea

Great riveting story

Hope writes a gripping tale that sounds unreal yet hints of the ultimate truth in a human underground spiriting North Koreans.

Really Incredible Listen + Story

I started listening to this in the morning, and shifted my schedule to be all cleaning and chores so that I wouldn’t have to stop. Listened straight through end to end. Fantastic work.

Fascinating story!

Loved the story, narration and pace of telling it. Gave us good background, without being too basic. Quite the insight into the emotional aspects of the North Korean refugee issues.

Phenomenal true story

I’ve listened to 100+ audiobooks this year, and this is my favorite. I’m actually listening to it for the second time now. :) I was aware of the general story of Adrian Hong from news articles but to hear all the details and learn how everything unfolded was eye opening and kind of insane. Hope they turn this into a movie. After reading Billion Dollar Whale, and then this book, I’m officially a Bradley Hope super fan and can’t wait to see what he covers in his next book.

Great DPRK summary

Great story and good summary of North Korean recent and past history. I Highly recommend.

Really enjoyable listen - highly recommended!

Great story, well delivered and a pleasure to listen to. Bradley Hope knocked it out of the park once again.