Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this. A short travelogue of life in North Korea for a foreigner in 2003. Well drawn, the graphic novel is the perfect medium for this story, I enjoyed all of it.

I like to travel and I doubt I will get to North Korea, or would want to. I appreciated the outsiders perspective, it felt like I was there experiencing these things. The author wrote well and welcomed people into the story. I am not very familiar with communist regimes in practice and this was a great introduction.

Lots of great tidbits like only one floor of the 47 story hotel has power, the ones with the foreigners on it. The only place in downtown you will see lights at night are the lights illuminating the statues of the Great Leader. Indoctrination messages are painted on the sides of mountains. And the work week in North Korea is six days per week, with "volunteer" time on the seventh day. "Volunteer" activities include things like sweeping a highway or painting a bridge.

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