My Friend Kim Jong Un

<b>Award-winning cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim contemplates and explores the long shadow North Korea casts over Korean society</b><br><br>On an island located an hour from Seoul, North Korea sits visible from cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s home and studio. The specter of the infamous dictatorship and nuclear power looms over daily life. Artillery fire, helicopters, and sirens from a nearby military base paint the acoustic landscape. In her award-winning books <i>Grass </i>and <i>The Waiting</i>, Gendry-Kim documents the pain and heartbreak of Korea’s history. In <i>My Friend Kim Jong-Un</i>, she looks to the present—to the man currently responsible for upholding the national divide created after World War Two. <br><br>While the rest of the world partakes in the popularity of Korean culture, a certain unease and anxiety hangs in the air in South Korea as its people still grapple with the distrust and anger of one culture split into two distinct societies. Gendry-Kim explores the life of the supreme leader, searching for commonalities to make sense of the daily fear: from his birth to his international education, his hobbies, and his relationships. She weaves her personal accounts and includes interviews with former South Korean president Moon Jae-in, North Korean defectors, researchers, journalists, and even Kim’s former chef.<br><br>Translated by the award-winning Janet Hong, <i>My Friend… </i>is a cautionary tale on what makes a dictator, at a time when these lessons are more relevant in the West than ever.