Abstract
From many perspectives, North-East Asia seems to be the area of paradoxes. The astonishing economic development of the region in the second part of the twentieth century, despite a troubled geopolitical context, is a great example of the peculiar ability of these countries to invent their own way. A few experts predicted the incredible economic growth of communist States, such as China or Vietnam, during this period. On the contrary, many expected these systems not to survive the fall of the Soviet Union, economically as well as politically. Paradoxically enough, post-communist North-East Asian States seem to have strengthened their legitimacy, and are now ready to face the challenge of globalization. By many aspects, even the North Korean regime belongs to this category, since it succeeded in perpetuating its peculiar Stalinist-dynastic political system. This situation clearly highlights the specificity of North-East Asia, that apart from the case of Cuba, there is no other place in the world where communism is still alive.
