Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult

A landmark history of North Korea, told through the rise of the Kim dynasty and its surprising ties to American Christianity-a spectacular, penetrating account of the Hermit Kingdom • A Foreign Policy Most Anticipated Book of 2026

For nearly eight decades, North Korea has marched defiantly to its own beat, shaking off its Soviet and Chinese sponsors to emerge as the world's most enigmatic nation-a nuclear-armed state ruled by a dictatorial dynasty. Underpinning the state is a personality cul...