Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
by
3.92 · Rating details · 19,458 ratings · 1,658 reviews
Famously referred to as one of the "Axis of Evil" countries, North Korea remains one of the most secretive and mysterious nations in the world today. In early 2001 cartoonist Guy Delisle became one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortress-like country. While living in the nation's capital for two months on a work visa for a French film animation company, ...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published May 1st 2007 by Drawn and Quarterly (first published October 2003)
Original Title
Pyongyang
ISBN
1897299214 (ISBN13: 9781897299210)
Edition Language
English
Setting
Pyongyang (Korea, Democratic People's Republic of)
North Korea (Korea, Democratic People's Republic of)
North Korea (Korea, Democratic People's Republic of)
Literary Awards
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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.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube (less)
Feb 14, 2008Lilburninbean rated it did not like it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Oct 08, 2012Paul Bryant rated it liked it
Shelves: graphic-novelly-stuff, travel, autobiography-memoir
Just seen the news about Sony's movie The Interview and now I'm thinking - Uh oh - I hope this review doesn't get hacked and bring Goodreads down with it! Because really, all I am trying to do is to lower the international temperature and turn those tears to smiles as we present a short musical selection we like to call
MY BRILLIANT KOREA
President Obama (dressed as a Mother Superior) :
Have you met my good friend North Korea,
The craziest nation on earth?
You'll know it the minute you see it,
You'll collapse into inappropriate mirth
Mrs Kim Jong-un (looking up from reading the New York Times):
The Jong-uns, darling we're the Jong-uns
And Jong-uns shouldn't be afraid
to build - socialism - while the flame is strong
Cause we may not be the Jong-uns very long
Kim Jong-un:
Climb ev'ry mountain, ford ev'ry stream
Follow ev'ry rainbow 'till you build a socialist utopia
A socialist utopia that will need all the love you can give
Everyday of your life for as long as you live
Prez Obama:
How do you solve a problem like North Korea?
How do you drag the Kims before the courts
For infecting all the people with such fear
They try to make their brains stop thinking thoughts?
Kim Jong-un:
Pyongyang is pretty, oh, so pretty,
It's so pretty and witty and bright!
And I pity any supreme leader who isn't me tonight.
See the great leader on that billboard there
(Cute party cadres : What billboard where?)
Who can that attractive man be?
Such a noble face, such a well-cut suit,
Such a handsome smile, such a pretty me!
I feel stunning and entrancing,
Feel like running and dancing for joy,
For I'm loved by a pretty wonderful socialist nation!
*
(oh - what? what's that? you want a book review too? well... I suppose so...)
This is a slightly mean-spirited book which recounts all the tedium of a couple of months in Pyongyang as a Western visitor. There's nothing much to do except visit massive monuments to Kim Il-Sung as it was in 2005 when GD went there. Or you could visit massive monuments which are in the process of being built. Or you could mutter about being told to keep your acid jazz music down because it might not be appropriate for other people to hear. Hmph! All the minor indignities any Westerner would zero in on. Guy does a lot of huffing and puffing and tutting, and thereby reveals his own appalling pettiness just as he exposes the gruesome mindsets of the North Koreans. Since we already know that Westerners are a pain in the arse when they visit foreign countries and North Koreans are all poor and oppressed and benighted, you really don't get to learn much you didn't already know.
Two and a half very lukewarm stars.
(less)
MY BRILLIANT KOREA
President Obama (dressed as a Mother Superior) :
Have you met my good friend North Korea,
The craziest nation on earth?
You'll know it the minute you see it,
You'll collapse into inappropriate mirth
Mrs Kim Jong-un (looking up from reading the New York Times):
The Jong-uns, darling we're the Jong-uns
And Jong-uns shouldn't be afraid
to build - socialism - while the flame is strong
Cause we may not be the Jong-uns very long
Kim Jong-un:
Climb ev'ry mountain, ford ev'ry stream
Follow ev'ry rainbow 'till you build a socialist utopia
A socialist utopia that will need all the love you can give
Everyday of your life for as long as you live
Prez Obama:
How do you solve a problem like North Korea?
How do you drag the Kims before the courts
For infecting all the people with such fear
They try to make their brains stop thinking thoughts?
Kim Jong-un:
Pyongyang is pretty, oh, so pretty,
It's so pretty and witty and bright!
And I pity any supreme leader who isn't me tonight.
See the great leader on that billboard there
(Cute party cadres : What billboard where?)
Who can that attractive man be?
Such a noble face, such a well-cut suit,
Such a handsome smile, such a pretty me!
I feel stunning and entrancing,
Feel like running and dancing for joy,
For I'm loved by a pretty wonderful socialist nation!
*
(oh - what? what's that? you want a book review too? well... I suppose so...)
This is a slightly mean-spirited book which recounts all the tedium of a couple of months in Pyongyang as a Western visitor. There's nothing much to do except visit massive monuments to Kim Il-Sung as it was in 2005 when GD went there. Or you could visit massive monuments which are in the process of being built. Or you could mutter about being told to keep your acid jazz music down because it might not be appropriate for other people to hear. Hmph! All the minor indignities any Westerner would zero in on. Guy does a lot of huffing and puffing and tutting, and thereby reveals his own appalling pettiness just as he exposes the gruesome mindsets of the North Koreans. Since we already know that Westerners are a pain in the arse when they visit foreign countries and North Koreans are all poor and oppressed and benighted, you really don't get to learn much you didn't already know.
Two and a half very lukewarm stars.
(less)
Jan 02, 2012Grace rated it did not like it
It was ok. The subject matter and observations were pretty fascinating. But I LOATHED the artist's tone, and it was distracting. I found him to be disrespectful and xenophobic. Yes, I said disrespectful and I meant it. Sure, the North Korean government is responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in the world, and they deserve to be criticized. But the author chose to go there, chose to do business with them, and chose to allow the money he is getting paid for his work there to enable him to live like royalty while the people around him suffer, brainwashed and starving. Forgetting the FLAT-OUT RACIST comments he casually drops about other asian nations, I don't think he understands the difference between criticizing a tyrannical government and criticizing an ethnic culture.
I am also not a fan of his artistic style, but that's just a matter of opinion.
[note: This was translated from the original French, so while I think a certain je ne sais quois might have been lost in translation, i don't know what it might have been.] (less)
I am also not a fan of his artistic style, but that's just a matter of opinion.
[note: This was translated from the original French, so while I think a certain je ne sais quois might have been lost in translation, i don't know what it might have been.] (less)
Oct 30, 2016Greta rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: owned-in-english, graphicnovels-comics-manga
This is a work of satire. Which means that trenchant wit, irony, sarcasm, parody or caricature is used to expose and discredit vice or folly, to ridicule conduct, doctrines, or institutions.
When I read the reviews, I have the impression that people tend to forget this, or that they really don't like this genre. A considerable number of reviewers think the author is racist, misogynistic, self-righteous.
I don't see him like that at all. His satire and politically incorrect jokes are lighthearted and not really offensive, and above all, he has always a self-mocking attitude.
Probably it all depends on one's level of tolerance. If you're easily offended, you better avoid this.
This book was originally published in 2002, and while much of its content is common knowledge by now, I was still startled by some of the things mentioned in it.
At some point Guy Delisle was surprised by the complete absence of handicapped people in Pyongyang. When he tried to talk about it with his guide, he received this answer : "There are none. We're a very homogenous nation. All North Koreans are born strong, intelligent and healthy".
This struck me as curious indeed, and after some searching on the internet, I found some really upsetting information...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world...
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/...
7/10 (less)
When I read the reviews, I have the impression that people tend to forget this, or that they really don't like this genre. A considerable number of reviewers think the author is racist, misogynistic, self-righteous.
I don't see him like that at all. His satire and politically incorrect jokes are lighthearted and not really offensive, and above all, he has always a self-mocking attitude.
Probably it all depends on one's level of tolerance. If you're easily offended, you better avoid this.
This book was originally published in 2002, and while much of its content is common knowledge by now, I was still startled by some of the things mentioned in it.
At some point Guy Delisle was surprised by the complete absence of handicapped people in Pyongyang. When he tried to talk about it with his guide, he received this answer : "There are none. We're a very homogenous nation. All North Koreans are born strong, intelligent and healthy".
This struck me as curious indeed, and after some searching on the internet, I found some really upsetting information...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world...
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/...
7/10 (less)
Jun 21, 2017Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: nonfiction, adventure, art, asia, computerology, foreign-affairs, funny, memoir, canada, film
Delisle's Pyongyang experience is a little different from his other books because in the case of North Korea, Delisle is here to work on animation studies for a film. Apparently most major animation studios find animation devilishly expensive to produce in the home country and so go to lower-wage countries to do the in-between frames in a storyline so that the work is smooth and not herky-jerky.
Foreigners are asked to come for short periods of time to keep an eye on the project and get the work done on time and with the proper standards. While he was there, Delisle came across a not-insignificant number of people living in Pyongyang or passing through, on their way to remote outposts for different reasons. I'd always wondered about that, but wasn't sure if it actually happened. Must be pretty grim work, considering Delisle's experience ensconced in a big, empty, cold & impersonal hotel in the city...surely as comfortable a place as can be found.
Anyway, one gets a very good sense of what his days were like, what the city looked like, how fun was to be had, if it was to be had at all, but very little of the inner lives of residents, which is to be expected. Delisle's work again adds to the richness of our understanding of the world. (less)
Foreigners are asked to come for short periods of time to keep an eye on the project and get the work done on time and with the proper standards. While he was there, Delisle came across a not-insignificant number of people living in Pyongyang or passing through, on their way to remote outposts for different reasons. I'd always wondered about that, but wasn't sure if it actually happened. Must be pretty grim work, considering Delisle's experience ensconced in a big, empty, cold & impersonal hotel in the city...surely as comfortable a place as can be found.
Anyway, one gets a very good sense of what his days were like, what the city looked like, how fun was to be had, if it was to be had at all, but very little of the inner lives of residents, which is to be expected. Delisle's work again adds to the richness of our understanding of the world. (less)
Apr 12, 2013ΞιsNιnΞ rated it really liked it
Guy Deslisle's 'Pyongyang' provides a still-rare look at N.Korea, the waking authoritarian nightmare from which millions of whispering prisoners are still hoping to wake... while the majority of these prisoners were born in their jail-cells, and lack all context for imagining a 'better' life. The Kim Jong's tightly controlled censors & filters made certain every trickle of online data passing through their servers & firewalls could never threaten to destabilize the slapdash scaffolding propping up their towering illusions of NK-Normalcy.
Deslisle was an animator before he started making comics, and oddly enough, North Korea has been a world leader in cell animation for decades. This meant he was one of the few westerners to live the surreal life in Pyongyang, spending two months on a work visa.
Animation is the most unlikely of North Korea's rare export success stories, and a dying one; cell animation continues to diminish in favor of easier, cheaper and better computer animation. But North Korea's richest domestic crop is fear and paranoia, and what with the insane dicktators and the nuclear bombs and all, it's become their top export as well; now the rest of the world can enjoy cold war-type armageddon-shivers with a spicy Korean flavor. Hey, man... remember the 80's? You haven't lived until you've escaped a post-apocalyptic nightmare of the irradiated, liquified skin & organ variety... Fun shit, but we're nowhere near the glory days of nihilism, circa 1984. Curiously, we have walked ourselves like fucking sheep into a room with no exit, as the sound of a massive steel bolt sliding into place with a 'clunk' behind us signals we're trapped in a real-world version of '1984'. Despite all the glib, cliched references to Orwell - that way too many people consider close enough to actually reading the shit & understanding it - we're in the midst of living our own nightmare, and Millennials, lacking any pre-digital-age context, think they're living Apple-Google-Facebook dream, getting weepy at video of Steve Jobs blathering sales propaganda that makes the iPhone sound like the answer to disease & hunger.
'Pyongyang' is going to be far less dire and dramatic than a native North Korean's account. Westerners, of course, only get vague hints of the clockwork nightmare behind the curtain, though portraits of the fat little wizard and his Pop were everywhere. I guess Big Brother is the proper analogy, since Pyongyang sure as hell isn't the Emerald City, and there's nothing remotely similar to a yellow brick road... unless it's the DMZ, and Em City is Seoul. On the other hand, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un are clearly munchkins.
Although he keeps the atmosphere light and entertaining, and his artwork has a charming, minimalistic style, the creepiness of it all adds up to an unsettling look at the institutionalized madness of North Korea.
More Art-book Reviews
More Comic-book Reviews
More Novel Reviews (less)
Deslisle was an animator before he started making comics, and oddly enough, North Korea has been a world leader in cell animation for decades. This meant he was one of the few westerners to live the surreal life in Pyongyang, spending two months on a work visa.
Animation is the most unlikely of North Korea's rare export success stories, and a dying one; cell animation continues to diminish in favor of easier, cheaper and better computer animation. But North Korea's richest domestic crop is fear and paranoia, and what with the insane dicktators and the nuclear bombs and all, it's become their top export as well; now the rest of the world can enjoy cold war-type armageddon-shivers with a spicy Korean flavor. Hey, man... remember the 80's? You haven't lived until you've escaped a post-apocalyptic nightmare of the irradiated, liquified skin & organ variety... Fun shit, but we're nowhere near the glory days of nihilism, circa 1984. Curiously, we have walked ourselves like fucking sheep into a room with no exit, as the sound of a massive steel bolt sliding into place with a 'clunk' behind us signals we're trapped in a real-world version of '1984'. Despite all the glib, cliched references to Orwell - that way too many people consider close enough to actually reading the shit & understanding it - we're in the midst of living our own nightmare, and Millennials, lacking any pre-digital-age context, think they're living Apple-Google-Facebook dream, getting weepy at video of Steve Jobs blathering sales propaganda that makes the iPhone sound like the answer to disease & hunger.
'Pyongyang' is going to be far less dire and dramatic than a native North Korean's account. Westerners, of course, only get vague hints of the clockwork nightmare behind the curtain, though portraits of the fat little wizard and his Pop were everywhere. I guess Big Brother is the proper analogy, since Pyongyang sure as hell isn't the Emerald City, and there's nothing remotely similar to a yellow brick road... unless it's the DMZ, and Em City is Seoul. On the other hand, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un are clearly munchkins.
Although he keeps the atmosphere light and entertaining, and his artwork has a charming, minimalistic style, the creepiness of it all adds up to an unsettling look at the institutionalized madness of North Korea.
More Art-book Reviews
More Comic-book Reviews
More Novel Reviews (less)
All of Guy Delisle's comic books are beguiling, funny and insightful and Pyongyang is extraordinary in this regard. And, in this particular moment, with certain dictatorial presidents trying to legitimize the completely f*cked up regime there (surely the ground-breaking of Trump Pyongyang International Hotel, Casino, and Bordel will happen in 2019-2020), it is a timely read. The author does all the drawing and screenplay and is a pleasure to read due to his perceptiveness but also his deadpan Canadian humor. Yes, he is Canadian so there is another reason to read it now ;-) (less)
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea - originally published as 'Pyongyang' in French - by Canadian cartoonist Guy Delisle, is a travel memoir presented in a graphic novel format. The book presents the authors personal experiences at 'Pyongyang', the capital of North Korea during his two months stay in 2001 working as a coordinator between a French animation company and SEK studio in North Korea. During this stay every movement of Guy Delisle was constantly accompanied and monitored by the state ...more
Sep 19, 2011Addison rated it did not like it
This book should be renamed to A Journey of a Fucking Asshole because the author is an insufferable, racist, whiny dickbag of colossal proportions.
I think I finally snapped after the author talks about how people in North Korea are going without food, only to turn around and complain that he's gaining weight from the oily food they serve him at his hotel. How the fuck can you be so insensitive to complain about being so well fed while others literally starve around you? How do you draw that and then think, "Yes, this is a perfectly reasonable thing to complain about. Woe is me."
Not to mention the racism. Look, if I want to avoid trying to bite through my tongue while casual racism is tossed around like glitter at a child's birthday party, I'll have dinner with my white Southern conservative family. And even they know it's not fucking okay to call children monkeys.
In short: I would probably pay to punch this guy in the dick. (less)
I think I finally snapped after the author talks about how people in North Korea are going without food, only to turn around and complain that he's gaining weight from the oily food they serve him at his hotel. How the fuck can you be so insensitive to complain about being so well fed while others literally starve around you? How do you draw that and then think, "Yes, this is a perfectly reasonable thing to complain about. Woe is me."
Not to mention the racism. Look, if I want to avoid trying to bite through my tongue while casual racism is tossed around like glitter at a child's birthday party, I'll have dinner with my white Southern conservative family. And even they know it's not fucking okay to call children monkeys.
In short: I would probably pay to punch this guy in the dick. (less)
Nov 03, 2016Jon Nakapalau rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Read again because of current events.
Apr 12, 2013Diane rated it really liked it
Shelves: travelogues, graphic-novels, memoirs, north-korea, comics
I've been trying to read more books about North Korea because of recent news events. This is an interesting memoir by a Canadian artist who was sent to Pyongyang for his animation work. (Apparently a lot of animation is now done in Asia.) Delisle has a Western viewpoint, and he shares his cynicism about the endless propaganda and nationalism that is promoted in North Korea. Being a foreigner, he has several privileges that the citizens don't, such as access to more food and electricity, but everywhere he goes he has to have a local guide with him, which was like having a prison guard monitoring his every word and movement.
Because so little is known about North Korea -- most of what we know comes from people who have defected -- I really liked this graphic novel travelogue, and his experience matches other material I've read, so it seemed believable. (less)
Because so little is known about North Korea -- most of what we know comes from people who have defected -- I really liked this graphic novel travelogue, and his experience matches other material I've read, so it seemed believable. (less)
I rated it 2 stars at first simply because I felt bad hating something a friend had lent me... But I've gotta be honest, so this is getting a 1 star and a spot on my "hated list".
I didn't even bother finishing it, I was just too annoyed by the author's tone, his racist and misogynist remarks and the very poor humor.
This is not for me at all and I'd much rather be reading something else.
Give it a try if you're curious (Delisle seems to be a very popular graphic novels writter) and see for yourself. (less)
I didn't even bother finishing it, I was just too annoyed by the author's tone, his racist and misogynist remarks and the very poor humor.
This is not for me at all and I'd much rather be reading something else.
Give it a try if you're curious (Delisle seems to be a very popular graphic novels writter) and see for yourself. (less)
Reading this about the same time I read Persepolis 2 got me thinking about the differences between the experiences each author had traveling/living in another country. In Persepolis 2, the characters are a hodgepodge of flavors; in Pyongyang, there are two types: foreigner and native.
Delisle seems blissfully unaware of his own prejudice and selfishness, which was what really made the book ring true. I mean, honestly - everyone thinks that his or her own belief system and way of life is "right." (Otherwise why do you believe it?!)
However, Delisle doesn't leave it at that. He's a moron with a mission: he's going to convert the country - or at least his guide and his translator - to capitalism. In fact, he gives one of them a copy of 1984, ignoring the possibility that it will be OFFENSIVE as well as subversive.
During his stay in North Korea, the main character is alone simply because he chooses to be. He ignores and/or antagonizes the North Koreans who are working with him rather than connecting with them.
Whether or not you liked the book, if you found it intriguing, you might enjoy A State of Mind. (less)
Delisle seems blissfully unaware of his own prejudice and selfishness, which was what really made the book ring true. I mean, honestly - everyone thinks that his or her own belief system and way of life is "right." (Otherwise why do you believe it?!)
However, Delisle doesn't leave it at that. He's a moron with a mission: he's going to convert the country - or at least his guide and his translator - to capitalism. In fact, he gives one of them a copy of 1984, ignoring the possibility that it will be OFFENSIVE as well as subversive.
During his stay in North Korea, the main character is alone simply because he chooses to be. He ignores and/or antagonizes the North Koreans who are working with him rather than connecting with them.
Whether or not you liked the book, if you found it intriguing, you might enjoy A State of Mind. (less)
Jun 18, 2017Sebastien rated it liked it
I generally like Delisle's work. I like his drawing style, I find it rather charming and I like his slice of life stuff that informs the work. He is adept at throwing in little touches of humor, both visual and verbal, which I enjoy. But I gotta be honest here, there were points in this book where he came across as very smug and condescending towards North Koreans. Dehumanizing. It was surprising and disappointing, I guess I didn't expect that from him, and I found it disrespectful and I think it reflected poorly upon him. His actions and thoughts often manifested a sort of smug elitist western attitude that was off-putting, I don't know if I only just realized it in this work or if this is also in his other work and maybe I'm just more keyed into this kind of thing? I actually liked various scenes in the comic but the disrespectful smugness and moments where he acts incredibly self-righteous brings the work down a couple notches for me. One can make a critique of totalitarianism and state violence without dehumanizing and disrespecting its victims.
There is a sort of ironical symmetry where Delisle critiques a regime for dehumanizing its people while often manifesting his own dehumanizing attitude towards its victims. Hmmm. (less)
There is a sort of ironical symmetry where Delisle critiques a regime for dehumanizing its people while often manifesting his own dehumanizing attitude towards its victims. Hmmm. (less)
I have to agree with some of the other reviews that call Delisle on his racism and misogyny. It wasn't even the kind of over-the-top, look-at-how-ridiculous-I-am-being, poking-fun-at-racism kind of racism that I've come to expect from so-called comedians and authors today. It was plain, old boring thinly veiled racism and misogyny. Objectifying women, calling them bitches, calling Korean children "monkeys", generalizing about "these" countries and all of Asia as if there is no diversity to be found there.
Despite the racism, I read on. The small glimmers of North Korea were interesting (although clearly coloured by his racism) and if it wasn't so coloured by his typical privileged white Western male bullshit I think it could have been humorous. It can't be used (clearly) to generalize about North Korea, but it was still interesting to see those glimmers. If I could somehow black out the racist, sexist bullshit I'd recommend it for being a decent graphic novel. As it stands, it was simply okay and I don't feel quite right about recommending it due to the racism and sexism. (less)
Despite the racism, I read on. The small glimmers of North Korea were interesting (although clearly coloured by his racism) and if it wasn't so coloured by his typical privileged white Western male bullshit I think it could have been humorous. It can't be used (clearly) to generalize about North Korea, but it was still interesting to see those glimmers. If I could somehow black out the racist, sexist bullshit I'd recommend it for being a decent graphic novel. As it stands, it was simply okay and I don't feel quite right about recommending it due to the racism and sexism. (less)
I am amazed at all the 4 and 5 star reviews about this book. I just generally do not like Delisle's work, maybe. He as a "character" in his own memoir I certainly do not like, or haven't yet. Second book I read, and the only reason I read it was because I had just read Our Twisted Hero, a story by a Korean author about Korea in the fifties, a political parable I really liked, and found moving and insightful, so I thought: oh, Delisle was there in recent years, he may give me some deep insights into contemporary North Korean totalitarianism that we don't already know, because he spent a little time there doing animation with Koreans who are going to be used for sub-contracting jobs for very little money compared to their French (artistic) collaborators. After all, how many of us get to North Korea? We see Dennis Rodman there making an idiot of himself, befriending the dictator, unaware of his vicious and idiotic reign. But no! We learn very little we didn't already know about North Korea, totalitarianism, even Delisle. Or: we get to know Delisle a little too well, really. Totally unlikable, shallow person, racist and misogynistic. Nasty, whining, dull. Enough time spent on this one. But I am curious to know why my friend jamie LOVES DeLisle! Gave this same book five stars... I guess I just don't get it. As an artist, he is clearly talented, something very attractive about his somewhat cartoony style, deftly suggestive of character. And we do see some things we wouldn't see because he is there. If you travel, what do you learn? With Craig Thompson's "travelogue," Carnet De Voyage, we get a real sense of anguish and sorrow in places. Here we never get anything more than meh and ugh. (less)
This book is a true account of a French animator (Guy Delisle) who travels to North Korea to oversee a cartooning project. Since North Korea is one of the most closed nations on earth and is run by a totalitarian government, this insight into North Korean life is amazing and somewhat shocking. This is a graphic novel and Delisle’s drawings are simple but fun. The lack of freedom is at times heartbreaking, but there are plenty of humorous moments. Delisle also throws in some facts about the world of animation, which is also interesting.
The book follows him on his two-month stay. The entire time a “guide,” who is really there to keep tabs on him, shadows him and there are only a few times he and the other few visiting Westerners give the guides the slip and go adventuring without them. The amount of propaganda produced by the government will shock you—they go on a picnic in the countryside and the name of the “Great Leader” is carved into the side of a mountain. This book will not only give you a peek into a strange world, it will make you appreciate the freedoms we have. (less)
The book follows him on his two-month stay. The entire time a “guide,” who is really there to keep tabs on him, shadows him and there are only a few times he and the other few visiting Westerners give the guides the slip and go adventuring without them. The amount of propaganda produced by the government will shock you—they go on a picnic in the countryside and the name of the “Great Leader” is carved into the side of a mountain. This book will not only give you a peek into a strange world, it will make you appreciate the freedoms we have. (less)
Mar 15, 2008serena rated it did not like it
Go read Lilburninbean's review. She pretty much does an excellent job summing up.
I forced myself to finish this graphic novel and felt like smacking the guy upside the head... Boo hoo hoo, poor French Canadian dude has to spend a few months in North Korea, living what is a very good life and eating very well compared to other North Koreans, but whining through it. Acting like a pretty standard spoiled, holier-than-thou Westerner. It is a poor, unenlightening account that doesn't bring you any closer understanding of the people or how much more he really has to learn.
Of course his next book in on China (Shenzhen)! (less)
I forced myself to finish this graphic novel and felt like smacking the guy upside the head... Boo hoo hoo, poor French Canadian dude has to spend a few months in North Korea, living what is a very good life and eating very well compared to other North Koreans, but whining through it. Acting like a pretty standard spoiled, holier-than-thou Westerner. It is a poor, unenlightening account that doesn't bring you any closer understanding of the people or how much more he really has to learn.
Of course his next book in on China (Shenzhen)! (less)
Jul 09, 2015Elizabeth rated it did not like it · review of another edition
I wanted to like this. I expected to like this, honestly. I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't. I really enjoy graphic novels, I enjoy them when they are non-fiction, and I have been wanting to read travel memoirs since it's am unexplored and fascinating topic for me. This should have been a good fit.
The art was enjoyable in a simplistic way and there was a moment or two I smiled at a bit. I did learn a nit about North Korea that I didn't already know, which is always a plus. It did make me want to read a bit more on it.
Unfortunately none of that was enough to salvage this for me. Much of the writing felt like the writer thought he was being funny when he was not. The writer displaying human emotion felt either like it wasn't genuine or like the emotions came from a condescending place. This didn't have much heart or humour, which made it extremely difficult to actually make myself read. I took a long time to get through it because it was hard to just want to pick it up knowing that not much of it was going to suck me in.
As I said, Delisle came off as condescending. It felt like he had a bad attitude instead of feeling like he disagreed with what was going on politically it felt like he was being culturally insensitive, and bordering on racist and sexist. Basically the entire time.
This was a really frustrating read and I didn't enjoy a lot of it. I probably wouldn't recommend it. Before I had read it I was looking forward to it and planning on reading some of his other works (especially the one on his time in Burma) and now I just feel like reading more would piss me off. (less)
The art was enjoyable in a simplistic way and there was a moment or two I smiled at a bit. I did learn a nit about North Korea that I didn't already know, which is always a plus. It did make me want to read a bit more on it.
Unfortunately none of that was enough to salvage this for me. Much of the writing felt like the writer thought he was being funny when he was not. The writer displaying human emotion felt either like it wasn't genuine or like the emotions came from a condescending place. This didn't have much heart or humour, which made it extremely difficult to actually make myself read. I took a long time to get through it because it was hard to just want to pick it up knowing that not much of it was going to suck me in.
As I said, Delisle came off as condescending. It felt like he had a bad attitude instead of feeling like he disagreed with what was going on politically it felt like he was being culturally insensitive, and bordering on racist and sexist. Basically the entire time.
This was a really frustrating read and I didn't enjoy a lot of it. I probably wouldn't recommend it. Before I had read it I was looking forward to it and planning on reading some of his other works (especially the one on his time in Burma) and now I just feel like reading more would piss me off. (less)
Bit different than other graphic novels I read. There is no classical storyline, plots twists or punchline.This is kind of memoir from one of not many foreigners who had visited North Korea and brief window into bleak realty of country surgically removed from the rest of the world.
Dec 12, 2018Lauren rated it liked it · review of another edition
Read as a trenchant political satire, I thought this had some hilarious parts and I liked Delisle's "take" on his time in North Korea. I wonder how/if the country has shifted since the time of this writing.
3/5 stars - entertaining, informational, with some laugh out loud moments.
3/5 stars - entertaining, informational, with some laugh out loud moments.
Oct 23, 2018Tisha rated it liked it
This is a travelogue from cartoonist Guy Delisle who went to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea to work on a French Project regarding some animation film. He illustrated his two months long stay in that supreme city of supreme leaders in this graphic novel.
Every single thing in that city was weird for a foreigner like MR. Guy! Whenever any outsider enters the city, they must be accompanied by a guide always and they must follow the instructions of their guides! Even they cannot hire a taxi on their own! The foreigners must start their visit within the city by showing their respect to the 22 meters, bronze statue of Kim Il-Sung! Every building in the city, every room of those buildings (Except the toilets!) has the photo of Kims hanging to glorify the whole nation! Every person working for the Government must wear a pin on their shirts featuring the Kims photo! Ridiculous!
People there are divided into groups and according to their rank, they are given rations! Therefore, the defense people get a large amount of foods, but people in lower ranks don’t even get any food from the government! They have to earn their own food! Pathetic!
Guy Delisle illustrated quite a lot of bizarre rules he had experienced and those are mandatory for the city dwellers to follow! I liked it because I got to know some more weird facts about North Korea. But in some places, the wittings felt a bit indistinct to me. Otherwise, it was okay!(less)
Every single thing in that city was weird for a foreigner like MR. Guy! Whenever any outsider enters the city, they must be accompanied by a guide always and they must follow the instructions of their guides! Even they cannot hire a taxi on their own! The foreigners must start their visit within the city by showing their respect to the 22 meters, bronze statue of Kim Il-Sung! Every building in the city, every room of those buildings (Except the toilets!) has the photo of Kims hanging to glorify the whole nation! Every person working for the Government must wear a pin on their shirts featuring the Kims photo! Ridiculous!
People there are divided into groups and according to their rank, they are given rations! Therefore, the defense people get a large amount of foods, but people in lower ranks don’t even get any food from the government! They have to earn their own food! Pathetic!
Guy Delisle illustrated quite a lot of bizarre rules he had experienced and those are mandatory for the city dwellers to follow! I liked it because I got to know some more weird facts about North Korea. But in some places, the wittings felt a bit indistinct to me. Otherwise, it was okay!(less)
I see a lot of quibbling here about whether or not the author is an asshole. Mostly it's along the lines of "he called the water delivery woman a bitch; he's an asshole" vs. "no he didn't and no he isn't." And so on. Y'all are missing the point* -- he's an epic, amoral, complicit asshole just for taking the job in the first place. The reason for widespread boycotting of North Korea, even by aid organizations, is that economic activity doesn't help the people. Bringing economic activity to North Korea just props up the regime that made the country a brutal dystopian hell and is keeping it that way. Companies that can't be bothered by this reality do contract there because labor is cheap; i.e. miserably exploited. If you work in North Korea for a company like that, you are complicit, you are part of the problem, and you are a bad person. All the assholish things the author thinks and does in the book are just symptoms of this sort of willfully blind not-my-problem just-doing-my-job attitude, which is toxic anywhere, but is effectively sociopathic under autocidal totalitarian regimes. He thinks it's hilarious to give his translator "1984" without warning him what it's about? You know what would be super hilarious? If it was found out, and the translator and his whole family were sent to a concentration camp (and forced to produce two more generations of imprisioned children who would live there from birth to death.) What a funny joke! It's also super funny how he keeps complaining about the food, and gains weight while casually mentioning from time to time how most of the country is starving (including his underlings, who are paid partly in rice). Does he offer to send any of this super gross but high-calorie food home with any of his hungry co-workers? Does he even know if their families have enough to eat? Does he actually think North Koreans exist for any other reason than to serve/annoy him? Apparently not!!!
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Apr 01, 2008Christopher Pulleyn rated it really liked it
Recommended to Christopher by: Kaitlin Grott
I have a real interest in the very secretive communist country of North Korea and this illustrated book was a very original and suitably quirky way of providing the reader with an insight into the life of a foreign worker in NK's capital city Pyongyang.
The book was really easy to pick up and read, although a little hard to put down with a lack of clear chapter divides. Considering that photographs and reports of the country are so heavily censored and restricted, Delisle very creatively illustrates his time spent working for an illustration company in the city.
The novel is very witty, humorous and satirical from start to end, providing the reader with an insight into what the North Korean's often believe, and what is actually the truth. There is always a danger of personal opinion getting in the way of reporting the facts when it comes to such a strongly deposed regime. Delisle might often slip up into personal bias and opinion, perhaps forgetting to consider a more deeper insight into the motivation and understanding of the North Korean people - perhaps I'm being too optimistic or sympathetic.
Another interesting excerpt is when Delilse asks another illustrator to produce a two page example of an incident that he experienced whilst working in North Korea. To juxtapose the two styles of illustration and story-telling produces a more well-rounded impression to the reader of the same things occuring to every person that visits the country.
Very interesting and very funny - a novel way of story-telling. (less)
The book was really easy to pick up and read, although a little hard to put down with a lack of clear chapter divides. Considering that photographs and reports of the country are so heavily censored and restricted, Delisle very creatively illustrates his time spent working for an illustration company in the city.
The novel is very witty, humorous and satirical from start to end, providing the reader with an insight into what the North Korean's often believe, and what is actually the truth. There is always a danger of personal opinion getting in the way of reporting the facts when it comes to such a strongly deposed regime. Delisle might often slip up into personal bias and opinion, perhaps forgetting to consider a more deeper insight into the motivation and understanding of the North Korean people - perhaps I'm being too optimistic or sympathetic.
Another interesting excerpt is when Delilse asks another illustrator to produce a two page example of an incident that he experienced whilst working in North Korea. To juxtapose the two styles of illustration and story-telling produces a more well-rounded impression to the reader of the same things occuring to every person that visits the country.
Very interesting and very funny - a novel way of story-telling. (less)
Jun 03, 2012Veeral rated it liked it
Shelves: non-fiction, sequential-art, 북한의, travelogue, read-in-2012, totalitarianism
Not bad. The graphics are good. But having said that, Guy Delisle's work fails to shed any new light about the life of people living in North Korea. It might have been a revealing work when it was first published but almost all the things mentioned in the book about North Korea could be found easily on the internet in present times.
Being a cartoonist, Guy Delisle visited North Korea for 2 months on a work visa to supervise the animation of a children's cartoon show.
And yes, it also seem to me as some reviewers have pointed out here that he was not open enough towards people of different ethnicity than him (i.e. Non-Westerners such as, the Chinese, Mongols, Egyptians and especially the North Koreans he met there). But I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as this was his first work and I am planning to read his other graphic novels Burma Chronicles and Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China pretty soon. I might be able to develop a firm opinion about him after that.
3.5 stars
Further reading about North Korea:
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (which in my opinion is the best book written about North Korea that I have read)
The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag by Chol-Hwan Kang
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden. (less)
Being a cartoonist, Guy Delisle visited North Korea for 2 months on a work visa to supervise the animation of a children's cartoon show.
And yes, it also seem to me as some reviewers have pointed out here that he was not open enough towards people of different ethnicity than him (i.e. Non-Westerners such as, the Chinese, Mongols, Egyptians and especially the North Koreans he met there). But I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as this was his first work and I am planning to read his other graphic novels Burma Chronicles and Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China pretty soon. I might be able to develop a firm opinion about him after that.
3.5 stars
Further reading about North Korea:
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (which in my opinion is the best book written about North Korea that I have read)
The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag by Chol-Hwan Kang
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden. (less)
A lot of interesting observations, but not much insight, in this comic-book-memoir. Guy Delisle was a French-Canadian cartoonist, working for an animation company in North Korea. As a rare Western glimpse inside that country, the book is valuable, and Delisle's spare cartooning creates a feeling of other-worldly bleakness. But as a story, there's not much to it, and Delisle and his European friends come off as bitter, smug jerks who joke constantly at the expense of their Korean guides and interpreters. On one level, it's an outgrowth of a political system that keeps the Western expatriates from having any contact with the Korean people. But Delisle seems less interested in using his experience to gain empathy with oppressed people than in mocking these silly people who believe the lies their government tells them. I might have cut Delisle a little more slack if he didn't repeatedly remind us that he was reading '1984', as though some of that book's gravitas would rub off on him. Nope, sorry, if you're gonna write as a Westerner in a foreign land and invoke Orwell, you're setting the bar for yourself pretty high, and while this book features some classically Orwellian situations, there's precious little of the 20th-century writer's humanism -- and humanity -- to be found in this overly slick 21st century memoir. (less)
this whole thing was pretty callous and insufferable. we have a french-canadian doing contracting work in one of the most economically depressed societies on earth - and the story (although there really isn't one) is about how this makes *him* feel. we have a guy who offers up no traces of humanity in north koreans, not to the ones he's witnessing doing indentured service along the highways or in the parks, to his guides, to his translators, to nobody at all. we have a westerner who condescends the ensemble of staff who work with him to make sure he and his troupe of expats all get paid and eat melons while they likely go home with a few grains of rice. furthermore, on the topic of food, he makes no insightful remarks on the injustices of how rations are distributed, like how millions of civilians are left to fend for themselves while he has the arrogance to complain about greasy tablecloths, the 86 on carrot salad, and a poorly-executed plate of french toast.
some would argue he makes "poignant" observations about pyongyang but he eschews nothing by way of acknowledging the interlocking machinery of isolationism, indoctrination, and propagandist mobilization that the citizenry is literally saturated in from birth. there is no unpacking of the very real psychological impact this has on north koreans, because it's much easier to infantilize and degrade them as a people than it is to concede to his own very real set of privileges. there's nothing observational about this beyond his glaring racism, his egregious mediocrity, and his unduly misogyny (he makes NO positive comments about a woman anywhere, the only ~considerably inoffensive thing he says turns out be thoroughly offensive when he makes a comment about how his museum guide is totally attractive and how he wouldn't mind sexually torturing her while... she is literally... showing them images of actual torture). this book is all about a cheeky fuckboy who is being objectively foul in an authoritarian state while marketing it as an "insider's journey" making "observations" on the culture and capital of a "fortress-like country." get fucked tbh (less)
some would argue he makes "poignant" observations about pyongyang but he eschews nothing by way of acknowledging the interlocking machinery of isolationism, indoctrination, and propagandist mobilization that the citizenry is literally saturated in from birth. there is no unpacking of the very real psychological impact this has on north koreans, because it's much easier to infantilize and degrade them as a people than it is to concede to his own very real set of privileges. there's nothing observational about this beyond his glaring racism, his egregious mediocrity, and his unduly misogyny (he makes NO positive comments about a woman anywhere, the only ~considerably inoffensive thing he says turns out be thoroughly offensive when he makes a comment about how his museum guide is totally attractive and how he wouldn't mind sexually torturing her while... she is literally... showing them images of actual torture). this book is all about a cheeky fuckboy who is being objectively foul in an authoritarian state while marketing it as an "insider's journey" making "observations" on the culture and capital of a "fortress-like country." get fucked tbh (less)
While the trip described in this book was taken at least 16 years ago, these vignettes, presented in graphic style, ring true with more contemporary literature.
Delisle shows the massive empty buildings, the “volunteers” planting crops, the many portraits of and monuments to of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Wherever he goes he is followed by at least a minder and usually a translator and a guide. The translator has internalized the country’s propaganda, and Delisle has several portrayals of how those that don’t disappear.
The lack of available light at night, the limited menus at cavernous empty restaurants and the annoying music of patriotic songs are similar motifs.
I recently read Delisle’s more recent take on Burma. Burma has a bit of filler so I gave it 4 stars; no filler here, so 5 stars.(less)
Delisle shows the massive empty buildings, the “volunteers” planting crops, the many portraits of and monuments to of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Wherever he goes he is followed by at least a minder and usually a translator and a guide. The translator has internalized the country’s propaganda, and Delisle has several portrayals of how those that don’t disappear.
The lack of available light at night, the limited menus at cavernous empty restaurants and the annoying music of patriotic songs are similar motifs.
I recently read Delisle’s more recent take on Burma. Burma has a bit of filler so I gave it 4 stars; no filler here, so 5 stars.(less)
Oct 18, 2015Brown Girl Reading rated it liked it · review of another edition
Recommends it for: Those who like graphic novels set abroad.
I finished this during the Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon in October 2015. This is the second Delisle graphic novel I've picked up. I enjoyed The Chronicles of Jerusalem a lot more than this one. I was lucky to have read it in French so I must say the tone of this graphic novel is a bit too snide at times. I found the information on North Korea very interesting and the artwork is really good too. Dells is definitely a very creative artist of graphic novels. However he should have toned down the sarcasm a bit. At times he made derogatory comments towards certain people that just wasn't necessary. I think he got carried away with this one. All in all I gave it 3 stars because it is good but it's not great. Pick it up if you're interested in learning some captivating things about North Korea. (less)
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In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
It's an incredible yet heartbreaking book.
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I have. It was okay, though not my favourite graphic memoir.
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Our guide is an attractive woman and the contrast of these ...more
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