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librarymouse's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
This was an interesting look at Pyongyang from the perspective of a foreigner on a long-term work assignment in North Korea. Most accounts I've read of North Korea have come from expats and journalists. Most recently I read a book by Suki Kim. To read about somebody living and working in North Korea as a foreigner, and walking around Pyongyang without a minder was a bit jarring, especially after reading how closely watched and isolated Suki Kim, her fellow teachers, and students were kept only 8 years later. It's very possible that in 2003 when this book was written, international relations with North Korea were different in a way that I can't fully grasp without having lived it. Overall, this was an interesting read, but far less informative than I had hoped. The author does not seem to view the people around him as people, and there's some unexpected sexism in how he discusses the attractive young women who run the tours he goes on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Ableism