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Emily May's Reviews > Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
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I've spent most of the last 24 hours immersed in non-fiction graphic novels. Tatiana's review of The Arab of the Future 3 inspired me to seek out other graphic novels about foreign countries, and I've already read and enjoyed Sacco's Palestine and Delisle's Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City.
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea is another Delisle book, but this one I liked considerably less. It didn't sit well with me how callous and pompous Delisle is towards the North Korean citizens, most of whom live in fear of imprisonment, or worse. He mocks their clothing and their insistence that the "Great Leader" is amazing, without pausing to consider what it must be like to live in such a strict regime. In Jerusalem, I enjoyed his touristy approach, but here it feels insensitive. He seems to portray the North Korean people as something less than human, unworthy of basic respect.
There's also something very creepy - even predatory - about the way he talks about women. One Korean woman is showing him through a museum which depicts Americans inflicting horrible torture on North Koreans, and he thinks:
Gross.
There are some interesting insights into life in Pyongyang, but the narrator's insufferable arrogance makes it difficult to stomach.
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I think of mentioning it to our charming guide, but why bother in a country that’s so devoid of common sense?
I've spent most of the last 24 hours immersed in non-fiction graphic novels. Tatiana's review of The Arab of the Future 3 inspired me to seek out other graphic novels about foreign countries, and I've already read and enjoyed Sacco's Palestine and Delisle's Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City.
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea is another Delisle book, but this one I liked considerably less. It didn't sit well with me how callous and pompous Delisle is towards the North Korean citizens, most of whom live in fear of imprisonment, or worse. He mocks their clothing and their insistence that the "Great Leader" is amazing, without pausing to consider what it must be like to live in such a strict regime. In Jerusalem, I enjoyed his touristy approach, but here it feels insensitive. He seems to portray the North Korean people as something less than human, unworthy of basic respect.
There's also something very creepy - even predatory - about the way he talks about women. One Korean woman is showing him through a museum which depicts Americans inflicting horrible torture on North Koreans, and he thinks:
Our guide is truly stunning, and listening to her graphic descriptions, I think up a few tortures of my own that I wouldn't mind inflicting on her.
Gross.
There are some interesting insights into life in Pyongyang, but the narrator's insufferable arrogance makes it difficult to stomach.
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Reading Progress
May 11, 2018
– Shelved
May 12, 2018
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Started Reading
May 12, 2018
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Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-34 of 34 (34 new)
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Laura
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May 14, 2018 06:21AM
I have not reread this in years, but remember that I felt it wasn’t as strong as his other books. Thanks for pointing out what was bad about it.
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Well said, and I agree with you, it is shameful to explore that notion even if Delisle is trying to be witty. Well reasoned review
You should read The Aquariums of PyongYang.
If you're interested in NF graphic novels, you might want to give "Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide" a try!
Great review Em! If you're getting into non-fiction graphic novels, I was recommended this one by a friend and it looks really great!Lily Renee, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer
What even. D; Can't fathom how anyone who knows even a little about North Korea would take this kind of approach. Thankfully there are much better books on North Korea.
Wow, that one comment he made about that Korean woman was in EXTREMELY poor taste. How inappropriate ugh
Oh gross! Thanks for the heads up, I'll definitely be giving this a miss.
"Our guide is truly stunning, and listening to her graphic descriptions, I think up a few tortures of my own that I wouldn't mind inflicting on her."
Yuck! Ew! No! Definitely passing this one up.
Yuck! Ew! No! Definitely passing this one up.
Books about North Korea vary in quality. This is one I haven't and won't be reading. Have you read 'Nothing To Envy'?
Guy wrote: "Books about North Korea vary in quality. This is one I haven't and won't be reading. Have you read 'Nothing To Envy'?"Yes, I have. Amazing book. Also highly recommend A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea.
Emily May wrote: "Guy wrote: "Books about North Korea vary in quality. This is one I haven't and won't be reading. Have you read 'Nothing To Envy'?"Yes, I have. Amazing book. Also highly recommend [book:A River in..."
Thanks for the recommendation.
Emily, I highly recommend:
In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
It's an incredible yet heartbreaking book.
In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
It's an incredible yet heartbreaking book.
Callum wrote: "Read Persepolis"I have. It was okay, though not my favourite graphic memoir.
That last quote is literally made up. I've got the book in front of me. The actual line is:Our guide is an attractive woman and the contrast of these crimes and her beauty is deeply unsettling.
The rest of your review is accurate. Don't know why you needed to make up some sexism at the end.
The last quote is NOT made up. I also have the book in front of me. 2009 edition, copy from the library. The quote is there and next to the panel that says 'it goes on like that for two crammed floors'. The woman is pointing to a painting or photo, and in the next panel, the guy thinks of this quote while dressed like a soldier. Nice try at attempting to frame the OP reviewer for 'sexism'.
It's not in the 2018 edition I just read. It's obviously been edited out, and for good reason.
Well, it'll always be in the older editions, so whoever claims OP is making stuff up for the purpose of sexism... they're being quite silly.
Oh wow, yeah I was abt to say that quote is not in the version I just read. It must have been edited out. Good riddance.
I have the 2019 edition and this disgusting quote is in it... but that’s the French version. I was shooked.
I thought the same thing!! Specially at that last quote, which is present in the Spanish version I read. I was very interested in the North Korean reality, but the narrator came off as arrogant, sexist and overall annoying. So it ended up being a disappointing experience.
Thank you for this review! Will not be wasting my time with this work
That quote is in my version also (2005 copyright date). Seriously made my stomach turn. I wrote my own review of this book without reading this review first, and I basically said the same thing. Couldn't agree with you more!
This is exactly what i wanted to say about this book. I don't understand why it has such high ratings. Are there really that many ignorant people reading this book?
Spot on review - luckily I was spared the offending quote
Good grief, that passage. I had to read it a couple of times because I thought I must have misread what you wrote. I certainly won't be buying this book. After reading Nothing to Envy, I can't imagine how anyone could be callous and blasé about the situation there.
Rae wrote: "Good grief, that passage. I had to read it a couple of times because I thought I must have misread what you wrote. I certainly won't be buying this book. After reading Nothing to Envy, I can't imag..."Agreed. Nothing to Envy is a brilliant, awful book. I would also recommend A River in Darkness if you haven't read it already.
I will definitely check that out, thank you!
oh thank you; i practically wrote the same exact things (even some more that gave me the ick) in my own review - in italian tho bc i always review in the language i read the book in haha. glad your review is the first in the list!
im glad you wrote this review, i wont be buying this book. im still interested in it though, but only if my library already has a copy
gross. what a monster. hate cannot produce true art. DPRK survived the levelling of its country by a massive American bombing campaign targeting its infrastructure and water supply in a vast coordinated act of genocide. the capitalist empires of the west have much to answer for
I think the version I have must have been edited--I was looking and looking and I couldn't find the line you mentioned about him wanting to torture the beautiful guide. I think it must have been in the scene where he is being guided through a series of paintings depicting American soldiers committing war crimes, right? In my version, he says, "The atrocities keep on coming. Our guide is an attractive woman and the contrast of these crimes and her beauty is deeply unsettling." I saw others complaining about the author calling children "monkeys," too, but I didn't see that in my version... I think? I was reading pretty fast, but I would have thought a line like that would jump out at me. Anyway, I agree he is very smug.
