Author Series | Sung-Yoon Lee | The Sister

Sung-Yoon Lee, Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, stopped at the Hudson Library to discuss his book, The Sister. The Sister is a fascinating, authoritative account of the mysterious world of North Korea and its ruling dynasty-a family whose lust for power entails the brutal repression of civilians, a missile program that can reach the continental U.S., and the constant threat of global havoc. The New York Times Book Review calls the book “a timely, important treatment of a dangerous leader, and a sincere warning not to underestimate her.”
The first woman ever to issue the threat of a nuclear weapons strike is not even officially a head of state. Kim Yo Jong is the sister of North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and, as their regime’s chief propagandist, internal administrator, and foreign policymaker, she is the most powerful woman in North Korean history. Cruel but charming, she threatens and insults foreign leaders with sardonic wit, issuing proclamations and denunciations in her own name, a first for any woman in the Korean royal family. She memorably called the South Korean Defense Minister “a senseless and scum-like guy” before going on to promise South Korea “a miserable fate little short of total destruction and ruin”. A princess by birth with great expectations for her macabre kingdom, she was brought up to believe it is her mission to reunite North Korea with the South or die trying.
Sung-Yoon Lee is a scholar of Korean and East Asian studies and a specialist on North Korea. He is a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and previously taught Korean history at Tufts University. He has written on the politics of the Korean peninsula for numerous publications including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has testified as an expert witness at the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearings on North Korea policy and has advised senior leaders, including the President of the United States.

[@dbadagna]

Thank you for presenting this interesting and informative talk. The audio was very good but the volume level of the questions in the Q&A was so low that they couldn't be heard even with the volume turned all the way up.

[@dbadagna]

At 40:00, Mr. Lee said there are more South Koreans over the age of 70 than under the age of 70, but the actual statistic is that, as of 2023, there are more South Koreans aged 70 and higher (6,319,402) than those in their 20s (6,197,486). As of 2024, the total population of South Korea is 51.7 million.