CURRENTLY SOLD OUT

The Invitation-Only Zone by Robert S. Boynton (Hardback, 2016)

Throughout the late 1970s and early '80s, dozens of Japanese citizens were abducted from coastal Japanese towns by North Korean commandos. In what proved to be part of a global project, North Korea attempted to reeducate the abductees and train them to spy on the state's behalf. When the project faltered, the abductees were hidden in guarded communities kwn as Invitation-Only Zones -the fiction being that these were exclusive enclaves, t prisons. In 2002, Kim Jong II admitted to kidnapping thirteen Japanese citizens and returned five of them (the other eight, he said, had died). From the moment that Robert S. Boynton first saw a photograph of these men and women, he became obsessed with the window their story provided into the vexed politics of Northeast Asia. In The lnvitation- Only Zone, he untangles the logic behind the kidnappings and shows why some Japanese citizens described them as their 9/11. He tells the story of how dozens were abducted and reeducated; how they married and had children; and how they lived anymously as North Korean citizens. He speaks with nationalists, diplomats, abductees, and even crab fishermen, unearthing bizarre North Korean propaganda tactics and the peculiar cultural interests of both counties. A deeply reported, thoroughly researched treatise on the power struggle of one of the most important areas in the global ecomy, Boynton's keen investigation is riveting and revelatory.

Place of Publication
New York
Content Note
30 Black and White Illustrations, 3 Maps, Time Line, Notes, Selected Bibliography, Index
Author Biography
Robert S. Boynton's journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications. He is the author of The New New Journalism and directs the Literary Reportage program at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.
Out-Of-Print Date
12/06/2017
Date of Publication
15/01/2016
Country of Publication
United States

More items related to this product

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Books

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Books