For my last
blogpost, I decided to revise my week 9 blogpost where I discussed “Pyongyang.”
After reading through it again, I thought that I didn’t give as much personal
insight into it compared to my other blogposts. So, here we go again:
“Pyongyang: A
Journey in North Korea” by Guy Delisle was the retelling of his experience
living in North Korea for two months. Rather than being a journal or diary, the
narrative style felt like a really long, traditional comic strip. The
storytelling had similarities to “Maus” because of the non-fictional content. However,
it was not as captivating and visually impactful as “Maus.” To be honest, I
think I was expecting something more from this comic. I wanted to feel
enlightened and moved, and walk away from this comic with a new perspective on
this country. It was partially my fault for having these high expectations, but
overall I did find this comic to be an interesting read. I probably wouldn’t
remember it after a while, but I wouldn’t say that I didn’t enjoy it.
Some parts that
I enjoyed from this graphic novel were the satirical moments sprinkled in. The
little “quizzes” Delisle drew were pretty engaging ways to express his opinion
on the delusional views of the society. I especially liked the last one where
basically every North Korean was labeled a “traitor” for the most ridiculous
reasons. It was funny, but also a little heartbreaking to know that it is
pretty common to go to that extreme. I considered myself to be knowledgeable of
North Korea because of my heritage, but it’s a completely different story when
you read about firsthand experiences. It is sad to see how much they
brute-force this crazy idea of being a “perfect nation” to the people when in
reality, it’s the exact opposite. I was surprised to read that they even
fabricated news articles and events in the Museum of Friendship to display on
the wall. Actually, maybe I wasn’t completely surprised but more disappointed
in how low they could go in deceiving their own people. Even the children of
their nation are brainwashed from an early age, and that felt incredibly cruel
to me. I realize that most Asian countries are much more disciplined with the
youth compared to the U.S., but the drawings of the little girls playing
accordions with stretched-out smiles was so upsetting to me. I felt like
Delisle really emphasized that moment and spent the time to talk about it
because he experienced a major culture shock. It was also the only moment in
the book where I felt like he showed genuine sympathy about the structure of
the regime. When you bring children into the subject, it always hits a soft
spot in people’s hearts. To think that these young children will grow up within
closed, tight walls evokes a deeper feeling of fear. You worry about their
futures and the type of people they will be shaped into. It made me feel more
grateful for the childhood that I had, because I had more freedom than I
thought.
I have never
lived in Korea before (I’ve only visited the country twice in my life), but I’ve
heard so many stories from my parents, aunts, grandparents, etc. I immediately
felt a personal connection with this piece, as an American who is somewhat
unaware of Korean politics and standards. Because of my Korean heritage, I felt
a strange pull towards this piece of work, almost as if I felt required to read
it. This is not because of national pride, but more because I was hoping to
gain insight. I felt embarrassed for myself, as North Korea was a completely
different place in my mind before I started reading this comic. It made me
aware of how little I knew about the country, and how much I should have known.
Reading through the comic made me think of these minute details often because
of this personal bond between myself and the subject. But as I mentioned
earlier, I had higher expectations. This comic is great for learning about the
actual city of Pyongyang, in terms of the buildings and landmarks, but other areas
fell a little short.
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