''Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea'' is a

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

by the Canadian Québécois author

Guy Delisle Guy Delisle (, born January 19, 1966) is a Canadian cartoonist and animator, best known for his graphic novels about his travels, such as '' Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China'' (2000), '' Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea'' (2003), '' Burma Chro ...

, published in 2003. The novel details the months Delisle spent in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

while working for a French animation company.

Overview

''Pyongyang'' documents Delisle's experiences in

, the capital of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, where he stayed for two months. Acting as the liaison between a French

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

producing company ( ProtécréaNestruck, J. Kelly (September 7, 2005)
"Rogue statements: Guy Delisle's behind-the-scenes account of life in North Korea's capital almost didn't see the light of day"
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

''. working for

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

An animator's novel experience
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea and Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China by Guy Delisle'', reviewed by Fraser Newham,

Asia Times ''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kongbased English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...

, 20 January 2007.) and the

SEK Studio Korean April 26 Animation Studio (), also known as SEK Studio (abbreviation of "Scientific Educational Korea"), is a state-owned North Korean animation studio, based in Ot'an-dong, Central District, Pyongyang. History The studio started oper ...

(Scientific Educational Korea) company, he struggles with the difficulties of

outsourcing Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another ...

and the bureaucracy of the totalitarian closed state. The book has 176 pages, two of them drawn by a French colleague ("Fabrice"). It was drawn in Ethiopia, where Delisle's wife was working for

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

. Delisle does not expect to return to North Korea, writing: "I don't think I would be welcome there anymore."

Summary

Delisle arrives in Pyongyang, bringing, in addition to the items that he was authorized to bring into the country, a copy of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...

'', that he judged appropriate for a

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...

state, CDs of

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

, and presents like

Gitanes Gitanes (, " Gypsy women") is a French brand of cigarettes, owned and manufactured by Imperial Tobacco following their acquisition of Altadis in January 2008, having been owned by SEITA before that. History Gitanes was launched in 1910 in f ...

cigarettes and

Hennessy Jas Hennessy & Cie., commonly known simply as Hennessy (), is a French producer of cognac, founded in 1765 by Richard Hennessy which has its headquarters in Cognac, France. It is one of the best-known cognac houses, along with Martell, Courvo ...

cognac. Delisle encounters former colleagues working at

on an adaptation of the ''

Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' ( ; ) is a series of adventure comics named after the character Corto Maltese, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most arti ...

'' comics. He also meets foreign diplomats,

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

workers in the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

and businessmen, such as French engineers installing an

HDTV High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...

transmitter. During his two-month visit, he stays at the Yanggakdo International Hotel, and visits other foreigners in the

Koryo Hotel The Koryo Hotel (or Pyongyang Koryo Hotel) is the second largest operating hotel in North Korea, the largest being the Yanggakdo International Hotel, Yanggakdo Hotel. The Ryugyong Hotel is larger than both, but is not yet operating. The twin-tow ...

. Accompanied by his guide, he visits the massive statue of

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

, the

Pyongyang Metro The Pyongyang Metro () is the rapid transit system in Pyongyang, the capital and largest city of North Korea. It consists of two lines: the Chollima Line, which runs north from Puhŭng Station on the banks of the Taedong River to Pulgŭnbyŏl ...

, the legation quarter, the Diplomatic Club (former Romanian embassy), the

Arch of Triumph Arch of Triumph may refer to: * Triumphal arch, a monumental structure in the shape of an arch Structures * Arc de Triomf, an 1888 structure in Barcelona, Spain * Arc de Triomphe, an 1836 structure in the Place Charles de Gaulle, Paris, France * ...

, the ''Juche'' Tower, the

International Friendship Exhibition The International Friendship Exhibition is a large museum complex located at Myohyangsan, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. It is a collection of halls that house gifts presented to former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il from various forei ...

, the USS ''Pueblo'', the enormous

Ryugyong Hotel The Ryugyong Hotel (; sometimes spelled as Ryu-Gyong Hotel), or Yu-Kyung Hotel, is a tall unfinished pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name ( "capital of willows") is also one of the historical names for Pyongyang. The ...

, the Taekwondo Hall, the Children's Palace and the Museum of Imperialist Occupation. Delisle notes things such as

tightrope walking Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

, the absence of disabled and elderly people,

North Korean music North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

propaganda, the

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

for past leader Kim Il Sung and his son

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

, the required presence of his translator and guide, nearly-expired water from the South,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

and

kimjongilia Kimjongilia is a flower named after the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. It is a hybrid cultivar of tuberous begonia, registered as ''Begonia'' × ''tuberhybrida'' 'Kimjongilhwa'. When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, the flower was us ...

s. He also notes the extreme level of apparent brainwashing in the citizens of Pyongyang, perhaps prompted by the oppressive atmosphere of the area. When questioned regarding the lack of

disabled people Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

in Pyongyang, his guide asserts and seems to genuinely believe that North Korea has none, and that the children of the " Korean race" are all born healthy, strong and intelligent.

Publication

The English version was translated from French by Helge Dascher, and published by Canadian publisher

Drawn & Quarterly Drawn & Quarterly (D+Q) is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic con ...

. A new English version with new cover design and introduction by

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing ''Mouse Hunt'', '' The Ring'', the first 3 ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, and '' Rango''. For '' ...

has been published.

Cancelled film

New Regency New Regency Productions is an American-British-Luxembourgish entertainment company formed by Arnon Milchan. It was founded in 1991 as the successor to Regency International Pictures (formerly known as Embassy International Pictures N.V.). Hist ...

was working on a film version of ''Pyongyang'', with Steve Conrad to write the script and

to direct the film, and to star

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Michael Scott in the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2011, 2013), and also worked at several points as a producer, executive producer, writer, a ...

. This was cancelled in December 2014 in the wake of response to the film ''

The Interview ''The Interview'' is a 2014 American political satire action comedy film produced and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their second directorial work, following '' This Is the End'' (2013). The screenplay was written by Dan Sterling ...

'', when the film's production company was hacked by North Korean operatives and threats were made against cinemas planning to show the film. Pre-production had begun in October 2014, and at the time of cancellation was still without a title. New Regency revealed that the scheduled distributor, Fox, cancelled their participation in the project after the incidents with ''The Interview''.

References

External links

''Pyongyang Too''
a photographic recreation of the graphic novel by

Andy Deemer Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of real individuals and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist ...