My Friend Kim Jong Un

By Keum Suk Gendry-Kim

Award-winning cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim contemplates and explores the long shadow North Korea casts over Korean society

On an island located an hour from Seoul, North Korea sits visible from cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim's home and studio. The specter of the infamous dictatorship and nuclear power looms over daily life. Artillery fire, helicopters, and sirens from a nearby military base paint the acoustic landscape. In her award-winning books Grass and The Waiting, Gendry-Kim documents the pain and heartbreak of Korea's history. In My Friend Kim Jong-Un, she looks to the present--to the man currently responsible for upholding the national divide created after World War Two.

While the rest of the world partakes in the popularity of Korean culture, a certain unease and anxiety hangs in the air in South Korea as its people still grapple with the distrust and anger of one culture split into two distinct societies. Gendry-Kim explores the life of the supreme leader, searching for commonalities to make sense of the daily fear: from his birth to his international education, his hobbies, and his relationships. She weaves her personal accounts and includes interviews with former South Korean president Moon Jae-in, North Korean defectors, researchers, journalists, and even Kim's former chef.

Translated by the award-winning Janet Hong, My Friend... is a cautionary tale on what makes a dictator, at a time when these lessons are more relevant in the West than ever.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1770468226
• ISBN13: 9781770468221
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
• Length: 236 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.3"