Martin, Bradley K.

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Martin, Bradley K.

PERSONAL: Male. Education: Princeton University; studied law at Emory University.

ADDRESSES: Office—Bloomberg News, Yusen Bldg., 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005 Japan. E-mail[email protected].

CAREER: Journalist. Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand; Charlotte Observer, reporter; Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, bureau chief in Tokyo, New Delhi and Beijing; Asian Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Asia Times, and Asian Financial Intelligence, Tokyo bureau chief; Asia Times, Bangkok, Thailand, deputy executive editor, and cofounding managing editor of Asia Times Online; Bloomberg Markets magazine, senior writer. East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, journalist-in-residence, then POSCO visiting fellow; Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, Distinguished journalist-in-residence; E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University, Athens, Scripps Howard visiting professional; Manship School of Mass Communication, Lousiana State University, Manship chair.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fulbright fellowships in Japan and Korea; Stanford professional journalism fellowship.

WRITINGS:

Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Intruding on the Hermit: Glimpses of North Korea, East-West Center, 1993.

Contributor to The Kwangju Uprising: Eyewitness Press Accounts of Korea's Tiananmen, edited by Henry Scott-Stokes and Le Jai Eui. Contributor to newpapers, including Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Baltimore Sun, and Dallas Morning News. Author of column "Pyongyang Watch," Asian Times.

SIDELIGHTS: Bradley K. Martin is a veteran foreign correspondent and an expert on Asia, particularly North and South Korea. In his book Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty Martin focuses on the world's only communist "dynasty" that of North Korea's Kim family and reining leader Kim Jong-Il. The author delves into the country's political and economic history dating back seventy years and discusses in depth Kim Jong-Il's father Kim Il-Sung, who was known as the "Great Leader." In an interview with Jamie Glazov for FrontPageMag.com, Martin noted: "I was fascinated from the moment I set foot in Pyongyang on my first visit there in 1979. North Korean society was so different from what I or any other American was used to—the regimentation, the true-believer gazes from people proclaiming their adoration of the Beloved and Respected Great Leader."

Although the Kim family lives in notorious secrecy from the Western press, Martin provides new insights into North Korea's ruling elite and, in the process, the lives of the North Koreans. In a review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader for Kirkus Reviews, a contributor felt that "Martin goes on too long, but offers much good information along the way about a decidedly strange and dangerous land." John F. Riddick, writing in the Library Journal, called the book a "massive study" and added that "the discerning reader can gain much from this work." In a review in Booklist, Jay Freeman commented that "Martin eloquently illustrates in this important book … [that] the control of the Kim dynasty may well be tenuous." Christian Caryl wrote in Newsweek International that the book is "a scrupulously detailed, intimate portrait of the Kims."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 2004, Jay Freeman, review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty, p. 183.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2004, review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, p. 675.

Korea Herald, May 16, 2005, "U.S. Nuclear Negotiator Reading Book on North Korean Leaders," p. 3.

Library Journal, September 15, 2004, John F. Riddick, review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, p. 70.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, October 17, 2004, Warren I. Cohen, review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader.

Newsweek International, April 11, 2005, Christian Caryl, review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, p. 97.

New York Review of Books, February 10, 2005, Nicholas Kristof, review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, p. B8.

Washington Times, February 13, 2005, Doug Bandow, review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, pp. 25-27.

ONLINE

A Times Online, http://www.atimes.com/ (June 12, 2005), Yoel Sano, review of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader.

FrontPageMag.com, http://frontpagemag.com/ (April 5, 2005), Jamie Glazov, "North Korea's Death Chambers," interview with author.

Louisiana State University School of Communication Web site, http://www.manship.lsu.edu/ (June 4, 2005), information on author's career.

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