Introduction
1. Building a Reputation, 1956–1967
2. Kimilsungism beyond North Korean Borders, 1968–1971
3. Kim Il Sung's "Korea First" Policy, 1972–1979
4. Kim Jong Il's World and Revolutionary Violence, 1980–1983
5. Survival by Any Means Necessary, 1984–1989
Conclusion
Benjamin R. Young is an Assistant Professor in Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has previously taught at Dakota State University and the U.S Naval War College. He received his PhD in 2018 from George Washington University and was also a member of the 2018-2019 CSIS NextGen Korea Scholars Program. His research primarily revolves around East Asian studies, Cold War international history, security studies, and international relations.
"By calling attention to relations with the Third World as a
critical component of North Korea's developing national identity,
Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader offers a significant and
refreshing contribution to understanding the historical development
of North Korea that moves beyond the familiar narrative of an
emerging state situated amongst China and the Soviet Union in the
Cold War context."
—Hanmee Kim, Wheaton College
"Benjamin R. Young's book is beautifully written, thoroughly
researched, and absolutely eye-opening. Guns, Guerillas, and the
Great Leader provides an unprecedented look into the causes and
consequences of North Korea's struggle for international
influence."
—Mitchell Lerner, Ohio State University
"North Korea has been an isolated nation since the 1990s, but
interestingly Young points out odd relics of a time the so-called
Hermit Kingdom reached out to the world, such as Kim Il Sung Avenue
in Mozambique's capital Maputo. For the casual Korea watcher this
book is a surprise: it shows the country's story hasn't been all
bad."—Frank Beyer, Asian Review of Books
"This is a serious work of history, not a light read, but it's
really well researched. More importantly, it manages to say
something new and interesting about North Korea, which frankly is
rare. Young shows how North Korea was once extremely active in the
Third World, building movements against western imperialism that
today look militantly quixotic but at the time had revolutionary
potential. The dense networks of exchange and patronage that North
Korea forged, across the Third World but in Africa especially,
added to its own sense of purpose and informed its vision of
unification of the Korean Peninsula."—Van Jackson, The Duck of
Minerva
"Today, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North
Korea, is widely viewed as a dangerous rogue state that is
irrationally pursuing nuclear weapons despite international
condemnation and the crushing poverty of its own people... Benjamin
Young's Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader turns this picture on
its head by taking the reader back to a time when North Korea was
competing with the world's superpowers by presenting itself as an
alternative model of development for Third World audiences."—Daniel
Connolly, The Middle Ground Journal
"Guns, Guerrillas and the Great Leader rightly underlines the North
as the Cold War success story. In the long post war liberation
struggles and the aftermath with the sweet success of victory there
were appreciations for solidarity and quests for new maps. The
North had provided the first home and away."—Glyn Ford, Asian
Affairs
"[Young's] monograph is a valuable contribution to North Korean,
Cold War, and Third World studies, as it provides detailed factual
information on Pyongyang's interactions with over twenty Third
World states. Its colourful description of the heavy-handed methods
of North Korean diplomacy makes it easier to understand why many
non-aligned countries, having initially embraced the DPRK, soon
became disillusioned with its behaviour. At the same time, the
author also demonstrates that North Korea did manage to retain a
foothold in certain developing countries even after a series of
regime changes, precisely because of the same opportunistic
pragmatism that repulsed some other Third World leaders."—Balázs
Szalontai, Pacific Affairs
"Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader is a gem among several new
books on North Korean diplomacy and leadership. The book is also
very accessible to a wider general audience. Despite the book's
weighty subject matter, its title alludes to some of the
fascinating anecdotes that fill its pages, thus making Young's
first monograph a thoroughly enjoyable read."—Andrew Yeo,
H-Diplo
"The book is fascinating as it sets out in readable form that
inter-Korean legitimacy battle in the early decades of the two
states, an era when literally any sovereign territorywith a vote in
the UNbecame a sought-after target for both North and South, all
the way down to small island chains in the waters of the Caribbean
and Pacific."—Christopher Green, H-Diplo
"Young has written a compelling and thoughtful book on a subject
that has received little attention until now. Given readers'
seemingly inexhaustible curiosity about all things North Korea,
this is no small feat for a first book. I look forward to reading
what comes next."—Bridget Coggins, H-Diplo
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