The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court-Martial, and Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea Book

Charles Robert Jenkins's The Reluctant Communist is the story of the defection to, virtual imprisonment in, and return from North Korea. As a young Sergeant in the US Army, Jenkins crossed in mid-1950s the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separated US-friendly South Korea from the Communist North Korea of Kim Il-Sung. Once "over", Jenkins found himself a trophy for the North Korean government, the rare American who decided North Korea was the better deal. For forty years, Jenkins has to live under the "guidance" (read: mandatory orders) of the cadres, semi-anonymous officials of the repressive regime. His escape is bound to his getting married with a Japanese woman who was abducted by the North Koreans, presumably to educate spies in Japanese culture. In the early 2000s, the Japanese prime-minister Koizumi pressured North Korea into admitting the abductions and in returning the abducted Japanese; his success was extended to the families of these Japanese, and thus to Jenkins.

The story told by Jenkins is interesting. We get a glimpse of the life in North Korea, including some insider information about the evolution of conditions, the worsening of public and social services (as experienced by someone behind a golden fence), the growth of corruption and endemic theft. We get to understand the extent of indoctrination (the daily or weekly chores of learning the words of The Great Leader, the periodic self-criticism), all under the supervision of house and regional leaders. We get a few glimpses of the double-speak and general insubordination permeating the society.

I am, however, unable to really appreciate this story. There are many question marks about the details described by Jenkins; among them, the explanation about crossing the DMZ, the claim of almost no cooperation with the party, the claim of a detached mind (of not being at all involved, just living through the motions); how could Jenkins build a trade in honey without the officials finding out about it? etc. There is little of what we did not know about the internals of North Korea; the story gives me the feeling that Jenkins want to avoid burning the bridges back to North Korea. Some of the text feels like vague confirmation (read:what the West wants to hear): claims of seeing political homicides, claims of seeing the workings of labor camps, an alleged (and extremely improbable) confession of homicidal crimes by a party leader, etc.

Overall, a non-informative book from a shady character. The only interesting element is North Korea.