Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Captain Broughton, HMS Providence (and her tender) and his voyage to the Pacific 1794–98
- 2 The ‘Bankoku Shimbun Affair’: Foreigners, the Press and Extraterritoriality in Early Modern Japan
- 3 Japan undermines extraterritoriality: Extradition in Japan 1885–1899
- 4 British Journalists in Meiji Japan
- 5 The Tokyo Embassy, 1871–1945
- 6 Captain Francis Brinkley (1842–1912): Yatoi, Scholar and Apologist
- 7 William Keswick, 1835–1912: Jardine's Pioneer in Japan
- 8 The Era of the Unequal Treaties, 1858–99
- 9 Ernest Cyril Comfort: The Other British Aviation Mission and Mitsubishi 1921–1924
- 10 Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria: Britain's Consular Service in the Japanese Empire, 1883–1941
- 11 John Carey Hall (1844–1921): A Career in the Japan Consular Service
- 12 Memories of the Past: The Legacy of Japan's Treaty Ports
- 13 The Centenary of Korea-British Diplomatic Relations: Aspects of British Interest and Involvement in Korea, 1600–1983
- 14 The Anglican Cathedral Seoul 1926–1986
- 15 British Public opinion and the Korean War: A preliminary survey
- 16 A Brush with History: Opening the British Embassy Pyongyang, 2001–02
- 17 Potboiler Press: British Media and North Korea
- 18 Reflections on North Korea: Myths and Reality
- 19 Twenty Years a-Stagnating – The Lost Opportunity of Britain's Relationship With the DPRK
- 20 Building politics: The British Embassy Peking, 1949–1992
- 21 Diplomacy in the East: Seoul, Beijing and Pyongyang 1981–2002
- 22 Odd Arne Westad. The Global Cold War
- 23 Charles Stephenson. Germany's Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885–1914
- 24 Gordon Pirie. Air Empire: British Imperial Civil Aviation 1919–1939
- 25 Margaret Hall. The Imperial Aircraft Flotilla: The Worldwide Fundraising Campaign for the British Flying Services in the First World War
- 26 Richard T. Chang. The Justice of the Western Consular Courts in Nineteenth Century Japan
- 27 Michael Auslin. Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and Culture of Japanese Diplomacy
- 28 Ian Nish. The Japanese in War and Peace 1942–1948: Selected Documents from a Translator's In-tray
- 29 Hugh Cortazzi, ed. Carmen Blacker – Scholar of Japanese Religions, Myth and Folklore: Writings and Reflections
- 30 Christian Polak, ed., with Hugh Cortazzi. Georges Bigot and Japan 1882–1899: Satirist, Illustrator and Artist Extraordinaire
- 31 Anthony Farrar-Hockley. The British Part in the Korean War. Vol. I: A Distant Obligation; Vol. II: The British Part in the Korean War. Volume II: An Honourable Discharge
- 32 Erik Cornell. North Korea under Communism: Report of an Envoy in Paradise
- 33 Valérie Gelézeau. Séoul, ville géante, cites radiuses
- 34 Donald N. Clark. Living Dangerously: The Western Experience in Korea 1900–1950
- 35 Jane Portal. Art under Control in North Korea
- 36 Felix Abt. A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
- 37 Kevin O’Rourke. My Korea: 40 Years without a Horsehair Hat
- 38 Arissa H. Oh. To Save the Children of Korea: The Cold War Origins of International Adoption
- 39 Keith Howard. Songs for ‘Great Leaders’: Ideology and Creativity in North Korean Music and Dance
- 40 Michael Lindsay. The Unknown War: North China 1937–1945
- 41 P. D. Coates. The China Consuls
- 42 Michael J. Moser and Yeone Wei-chih Moser. Foreigners within the Gates: The Legations at Peking
- 43 Hsiao Li Lindsay. Bold Plum: With the Guerrillas in China's War against Japan
- 44 Hugh Baker. Ancestral Images: A Hong Kong Collection
- 45 Robert Bickers and Isabella Jackson, eds., Treaty Ports in Modern China: Law, Land and Power
- 46 Odd Arne Westad. Empire and Righteous Nation: 600 Years of China Korea Relations
- Notes
- Index Names
- Index Places
36 - Felix Abt. A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2024
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Captain Broughton, HMS Providence (and her tender) and his voyage to the Pacific 1794–98
- 2 The ‘Bankoku Shimbun Affair’: Foreigners, the Press and Extraterritoriality in Early Modern Japan
- 3 Japan undermines extraterritoriality: Extradition in Japan 1885–1899
- 4 British Journalists in Meiji Japan
- 5 The Tokyo Embassy, 1871–1945
- 6 Captain Francis Brinkley (1842–1912): Yatoi, Scholar and Apologist
- 7 William Keswick, 1835–1912: Jardine's Pioneer in Japan
- 8 The Era of the Unequal Treaties, 1858–99
- 9 Ernest Cyril Comfort: The Other British Aviation Mission and Mitsubishi 1921–1924
- 10 Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria: Britain's Consular Service in the Japanese Empire, 1883–1941
- 11 John Carey Hall (1844–1921): A Career in the Japan Consular Service
- 12 Memories of the Past: The Legacy of Japan's Treaty Ports
- 13 The Centenary of Korea-British Diplomatic Relations: Aspects of British Interest and Involvement in Korea, 1600–1983
- 14 The Anglican Cathedral Seoul 1926–1986
- 15 British Public opinion and the Korean War: A preliminary survey
- 16 A Brush with History: Opening the British Embassy Pyongyang, 2001–02
- 17 Potboiler Press: British Media and North Korea
- 18 Reflections on North Korea: Myths and Reality
- 19 Twenty Years a-Stagnating – The Lost Opportunity of Britain's Relationship With the DPRK
- 20 Building politics: The British Embassy Peking, 1949–1992
- 21 Diplomacy in the East: Seoul, Beijing and Pyongyang 1981–2002
- 22 Odd Arne Westad. The Global Cold War
- 23 Charles Stephenson. Germany's Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885–1914
- 24 Gordon Pirie. Air Empire: British Imperial Civil Aviation 1919–1939
- 25 Margaret Hall. The Imperial Aircraft Flotilla: The Worldwide Fundraising Campaign for the British Flying Services in the First World War
- 26 Richard T. Chang. The Justice of the Western Consular Courts in Nineteenth Century Japan
- 27 Michael Auslin. Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and Culture of Japanese Diplomacy
- 28 Ian Nish. The Japanese in War and Peace 1942–1948: Selected Documents from a Translator's In-tray
- 29 Hugh Cortazzi, ed. Carmen Blacker – Scholar of Japanese Religions, Myth and Folklore: Writings and Reflections
- 30 Christian Polak, ed., with Hugh Cortazzi. Georges Bigot and Japan 1882–1899: Satirist, Illustrator and Artist Extraordinaire
- 31 Anthony Farrar-Hockley. The British Part in the Korean War. Vol. I: A Distant Obligation; Vol. II: The British Part in the Korean War. Volume II: An Honourable Discharge
- 32 Erik Cornell. North Korea under Communism: Report of an Envoy in Paradise
- 33 Valérie Gelézeau. Séoul, ville géante, cites radiuses
- 34 Donald N. Clark. Living Dangerously: The Western Experience in Korea 1900–1950
- 35 Jane Portal. Art under Control in North Korea
- 36 Felix Abt. A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
- 37 Kevin O’Rourke. My Korea: 40 Years without a Horsehair Hat
- 38 Arissa H. Oh. To Save the Children of Korea: The Cold War Origins of International Adoption
- 39 Keith Howard. Songs for ‘Great Leaders’: Ideology and Creativity in North Korean Music and Dance
- 40 Michael Lindsay. The Unknown War: North China 1937–1945
- 41 P. D. Coates. The China Consuls
- 42 Michael J. Moser and Yeone Wei-chih Moser. Foreigners within the Gates: The Legations at Peking
- 43 Hsiao Li Lindsay. Bold Plum: With the Guerrillas in China's War against Japan
- 44 Hugh Baker. Ancestral Images: A Hong Kong Collection
- 45 Robert Bickers and Isabella Jackson, eds., Treaty Ports in Modern China: Law, Land and Power
- 46 Odd Arne Westad. Empire and Righteous Nation: 600 Years of China Korea Relations
- Notes
- Index Names
- Index Places
Summary
Felix Abt's account of his seven years in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK-North Korea) is a first on two counts. While there are a few accounts by foreign experts and diplomats, as far as I know it is the only such work by a businessman. There are plenty of photographs in it, though they are not quite as unusual as the author seems to believe. And for the RSAA's Journal, this is the first ever review of a book only available in e-book format.
The book is well worth reading for the picture it gives of a country that, unlike the conventional Western image, is not full of mad people following the instructions of mad leaders. Some issues may be avoided but Abt tells what he saw rather than what others told him was there. He is Swiss, with a long record of work in Europe, Africa and South East Asia with multi-national companies such as F. Hoffman-La Roche and ABB. He took up his appointment as ABB's representative in North Korea with enthusiasm. That enthusiasm led him to co-found the European Business Association in Pyongyang and to serve as its first chair, and to establish a short-lived Pyongyang Business School. He also created a successful pharmaceutical company, along the way selling the idea of advertising to the North Koreans. He learnt to work closely with his Korean staff and, like others, found that Korean women, whether in North or South Korea, often provide a more capable and efficient body of staff. They are as well-educated as their male counterparts but do not suffer from the same status hangups of the latter.
Abt also discovered that while his North Korean colleagues and partners were willing and eager to do business, international sanctions and restrictions, the result of the DPRK's nuclear programme, often made it difficult. He is scathing about the Western approach to North Korea and about the methods used to try to make it conform, which, he argues, hit ordinary people and legitimate business in North Korea, despite claims to the contrary. He dismisses stories about North Korean production and sales of illicit drugs and, in particular, about US claims that the country is the source of the counterfeiting of US $100 bills.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- East Asia ObservedSelected Writings 1973-2021, pp. 339 - 340Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2023