North Korea's Hidden Revolution: How the Information Underground is Transforming a Closed Society

Jieun Baek

Nov 2016 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Caroline McLaughlin

About this audiobook

One of the least understood countries in the world, North Korea has long been known for its repressive regime. Yet it is far from being an impenetrable black box. Media flows covertly into the country, and fault lines are appearing in the government's sealed informational borders. Drawing on deeply personal interviews with North Korean defectors from all walks of life, ranging from propaganda artists to diplomats, Jieun Baek tells the story of North Korea's information underground-the network of citizens who take extraordinary risks by circulating illicit content such as foreign films, television shows, soap operas, books, and encyclopedias. By fostering an awareness of life outside North Korea and enhancing cultural knowledge, the materials these citizens disseminate are affecting the social and political consciousness of a people, as well as their everyday lives.

About the author

Jieun Baek is a PhD candidate in Public Policy at the University of Oxford. Previously, she was a research fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. Baek worked at Google, where, among other roles, she served as Google Ideas' North Korea expert.

Caroline McLaughlin is a versatile narrator with a smooth voice who strives to bring the author's words to life. Known for her rich characters and accents, she equally enjoys narrating fiction and nonfiction works. Her languages include conversational Mandarin Chinese.