Politics in North and South Korea provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the political dynamics of the two Koreas. Giving equal weight to North and South Korea, the authors trace the history of political and economic development and international relations of the Korean peninsula, showing how South Korea became democratized and how Juche ideology has affected the establishment and operation of a totalitarian system in North Korea.

Written in a straightforward, jargon free manner, this textbook utilizes both historical-institutional approaches and quantitative evidence to analyse the political dimensions of a wide variety of issues including:

Legacies of early-twentieth-century Japanese colonial rule

South Korean democratization and democratic consolidation

South Korean diplomacy and North Korean nuclear crises

The economic development of both North and South Korea

The three-generation power succession in North Korea

North Korean human rights issues

Inter-Korean relations and reunification

This textbook will be essential reading for students of Korean Politics and is also suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on East Asian Politics, Asian Studies, and International Relations.