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

Narrated by: Stephen Park

Before becoming the world’s most notorious dictator, Kim Jong-Il ran North Korea’s Ministry for Propaganda and its film studios. Conceiving every movie made, he acted as producer and screenwriter. Despite this control, he was underwhelmed by the available talent and took drastic steps, ordering the kidnapping of Choi Eun-Hee (Madam Choi)—South Korea’s most famous actress—and her ex-husband Shin Sang-Ok, the country’s most famous filmmaker.

Madam Choi vanished first. When Shin went to Hong Kong to investigate, he was attacked and woke up wrapped in plastic sheeting aboard a ship bound for North Korea. Madam Choi lived in isolated luxury, allowed only to attend the Dear Leader’s dinner parties. Shin, meanwhile, tried to escape, was sent to prison camp, and "re-educated." After four years he cracked, pledging loyalty. Reunited with Choi at the first party he attends, it is announced that the couple will remarry and act as the Dear Leader’s film advisors. Together they made seven films, in the process gaining Kim Jong-Il’s trust. While pretending to research a film in Vienna, they flee to the U.S. embassy and are swept to safety.

A nonfiction thriller packed with tension, passion, and politics, A Kim Jong-Il Production offers a rare glimpse into a secretive world, illuminating a fascinating chapter of North Korea’s history that helps explain how it became the hermetically sealed, intensely stage-managed country it remains today.

an entire nation brainwashed

this book was very enlightening about the lives of the people of North Korea. it was interesting to see how the entire nation had been brainwashed to believe that everyone except for themselves was in worse shape than they were. it was interesting to see how bad their gulags or prisons were how much the prisoners were persecuted torture everyday how they were not only humiliated but so much so that they had they lost hope and everything. but not only that how to know song or whatever his name is how he was so corrupt and how he spent so much money when his people were starving how he really did not care about his people all he wanted was their praise. the story was very nice it was interesting to see how they finally did escape but to me the story of how the North Koreans were and how they were treated and how they were brainwashed and how the entire nation was put on spectacle for the rest of the world is what I really believe the story was about.

More Amazing and Inspiring Than You Can Imagine

This kept me wanting to come back to pick up where I left off. A fantastic balance of true-life drama and historical context. The story itself builds effortlessly into suspense and ends perfectly with a touching and humanizing denouement.

Slow Narration

Narration is pretty slow so you'll need to listen to it at 1.5x the normal speed, at least. But everything else is pretty good.

Fascinating read

Where does A Kim Jong-Il Production rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was my first audiobook!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably Kim Jong Il himself,

What does Stephen Park bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a wonderful job. I guess one thing would be I wouldn't have known how to pronounce the Korean names and places.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No it didn't make me laugh or cry, however, it did make me want to learn more and read more books about North Korea.

Absolutely incredible.

Fascinating and terrifying. Insightful and well-researched. What a story!!! Also, I learned a lot about Korean name pronunciation from the excellent narrator. Listen now!