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Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
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, Delisle observed what he was allowed to see of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered; his findings form the basis of this graphic novel.
Guy Delisle was born in Quebec City in 1966 and has spent the last decade living and working in the South of France with his wife and son. Delisle has spent ten years, mostly in Europe, working in animation, an experience that taught him about movement and drawing. He is now currently focusing on his cartooning. Delisle has written and drawn six graphic novels, including "Pyongyang," his first graphic novel in English.
Guy Delisle was born in Quebec City in 1966 and has spent the last decade living and working in the South of France with his wife and son. Delisle has spent ten years, mostly in Europe, working in animation, an experience that taught him about movement and drawing. He is now currently focusing on his cartooning. Delisle has written and drawn six graphic novels, including "Pyongyang," his first graphic novel in English.
192 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2003
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18.9k people want to read
About the author
Guy Delisle
36books1,750followersBorn in Quebec, Canada, Guy Delisle studied animation at Sheridan College. Delisle has worked for numerous animation studios around the world, including CinéGroupe in Montreal.
Drawing from his experience at animation studios in China and North Korea, Delisle's graphic novels Shenzen and Pyongyang depict these two countries from a Westerner's perspective. A third graphic novel, Chroniques Birmanes, recounts his time spent in Myanmar with his wife, a Médecins Sans Frontières administrator.
Drawing from his experience at animation studios in China and North Korea, Delisle's graphic novels Shenzen and Pyongyang depict these two countries from a Westerner's perspective. A third graphic novel, Chroniques Birmanes, recounts his time spent in Myanmar with his wife, a Médecins Sans Frontières administrator.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,401 reviews
May 16, 2018
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 inspired me to seek out other graphic novels about foreign countries, and I've already read and enjoyed Sacco's and Delisle's .
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 , 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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March 18, 2020
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.]
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.]
May 27, 2017
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...
7/10
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...
7/10
June 11, 2016
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 ŷ 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.
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.
October 4, 2023
Guy Delisle takes us to a place most of us will never see or be allowed to see. His journey through NK can only be described as 'surrealler' than surrealism. My gut tells me NK is a flashpoint; a long fuse is just coiled up around the whole country; one spark of misunderstanding could light it up. Hope I'm wrong.
June 21, 2017
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.
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.
April 13, 2015
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.
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.
April 9, 2024
Read again because of current events. Still think that this is a very important work that should be read by anyone interested in current events.
May 3, 2021
Guy Deslisle's 'Pyongyang' provides a still-rare look at N.Korea, the 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 Jongs' 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 Wiki-references to Orwell - which way too many people consider close enough to actually reading the shit & understanding it - we're in the midst of living our own autocratic nightmare (buffoons like Trump & Biden & Trudeau are just sideshow attractions & distractions, so no one spares a thought for who's really behind the iron curtain), and Millennials, lacking any pre-digital-age context, think they're living the Apple-Google-Facebook dream, getting weepy at video of Steve Jobs blathering sales propaganda that makes the iPhone sound like the techno-panacea for all the ills of the postmodern world.
'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.
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 Wiki-references to Orwell - which way too many people consider close enough to actually reading the shit & understanding it - we're in the midst of living our own autocratic nightmare (buffoons like Trump & Biden & Trudeau are just sideshow attractions & distractions, so no one spares a thought for who's really behind the iron curtain), and Millennials, lacking any pre-digital-age context, think they're living the Apple-Google-Facebook dream, getting weepy at video of Steve Jobs blathering sales propaganda that makes the iPhone sound like the techno-panacea for all the ills of the postmodern world.
'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.
July 14, 2015
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 author’s 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 sponsored translators and guides and like any foreign visitor he was limited to access only a pre-select choice of sights and monuments to enjoy.
The book is narrated in a straightforward, matter-of-fact tone, which can seem insensitive and even rude at the first glance. Guy Delisle records the routine life that he faced during his stay in Pyongyang as sharp notebook sketches brimming with his thoughts and opinions on whatever sights and people he was allowed to encounter. While conveying these opinions the author is so candid and full of cynicism that these comments and thoughts borders the realms of being classified as racist, tactless, egocentric and arrogant. He is not at all concerned about being politically correct and this is the point which makes ‘Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea� a worthy read.
The sketches are done entirely in black-and-white with a plain, unadorned pencil drawing style and this shows the author’s intent on reflecting the bleak dullness and monotony of a totalitarian regime, which he experienced during his stay. This book was written during a period when North Korea was opening it’s doors for foreign economic investments after a long period of isolation and this is mused upon by the author in some of his sketches.
This is not a book on the daily life of North Korean people or a judgmental study of the moral atrocities related to the authoritarian system of the country. The �author intent� was to showcase the personal viewpoints and thoughts of a foreigner who was experiencing such a strange controlled environment for the first time as candidly as possible and in this ‘Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea� succeeds.
The book is narrated in a straightforward, matter-of-fact tone, which can seem insensitive and even rude at the first glance. Guy Delisle records the routine life that he faced during his stay in Pyongyang as sharp notebook sketches brimming with his thoughts and opinions on whatever sights and people he was allowed to encounter. While conveying these opinions the author is so candid and full of cynicism that these comments and thoughts borders the realms of being classified as racist, tactless, egocentric and arrogant. He is not at all concerned about being politically correct and this is the point which makes ‘Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea� a worthy read.
The sketches are done entirely in black-and-white with a plain, unadorned pencil drawing style and this shows the author’s intent on reflecting the bleak dullness and monotony of a totalitarian regime, which he experienced during his stay. This book was written during a period when North Korea was opening it’s doors for foreign economic investments after a long period of isolation and this is mused upon by the author in some of his sketches.
This is not a book on the daily life of North Korean people or a judgmental study of the moral atrocities related to the authoritarian system of the country. The �author intent� was to showcase the personal viewpoints and thoughts of a foreigner who was experiencing such a strange controlled environment for the first time as candidly as possible and in this ‘Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea� succeeds.
November 17, 2019
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 ;-)
March 16, 2013
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.
March 17, 2019
توی اتوبوس برگشتن از کاشان شروع کردم به خوندنش.
پرچهکوه� عزیز این کتاب رو بهم کادو داد. در عروسی علی و فاطمه.
اما کتاب.
خوندنش تجربه جدیدی بود. گاهی فکر میکرد� که آیا روایت کاملا مستند هست یا به نفع شوخیها� داره واقعیت رو عوض میکنه�
تصاویر جذاب و ساده بودند. فضا رو خوب منتقل میکر� و جنس شوخیها� هم آروم و دوستداشتن� بود. میش� گفت که سیاسی نبود، بلکه به روایت کردن عینی چیزهایی که باهاشون روبرو میش� پرداخته بود.
اما مگه میش� از کرهشمال� حرف زد و سیاسی نبود؟
تاکیدش روی جزئیات روزمره جذاب بود.
ممنون از نشر اطراف، بابت حسن انتخاب!
پرچهکوه� عزیز این کتاب رو بهم کادو داد. در عروسی علی و فاطمه.
اما کتاب.
خوندنش تجربه جدیدی بود. گاهی فکر میکرد� که آیا روایت کاملا مستند هست یا به نفع شوخیها� داره واقعیت رو عوض میکنه�
تصاویر جذاب و ساده بودند. فضا رو خوب منتقل میکر� و جنس شوخیها� هم آروم و دوستداشتن� بود. میش� گفت که سیاسی نبود، بلکه به روایت کردن عینی چیزهایی که باهاشون روبرو میش� پرداخته بود.
اما مگه میش� از کرهشمال� حرف زد و سیاسی نبود؟
تاکیدش روی جزئیات روزمره جذاب بود.
ممنون از نشر اطراف، بابت حسن انتخاب!
June 7, 2022
این اولین سفرنام ی مصوری بود که خوندم. از این ژانر خوشم اومد و دوست دارم خوندن از این دست کتاب ها رو بیشتر تجربه کنم. اول کتاب از جهت حجم اطلاعاتی که از پیونگ یانگ و فضای حاکم بر اون بهمون میداد، غنی تر بود. رفته رفته حرف های نویسنده روی دور تکرار میافتا� و چاشنی طنز سفرنام بیشتر میش�. اما طنز از نوع طنازی شخص گی دولیل. از نظر من مسخره کردن نوع لباس پوشیدن خانم ها و آقایان کره ی شمالی اون طور که گی دولیل بهش میخندید، خنده دار نیست. امثال این سکانس ها در کتاب کم نیست. سکانس هایی که وقتی بهشون نگاه میکردم، حسم این بود که گی دولیل یک نگاه از بالا به پایین به «مردم» کره شمالی داره و شرایط سیاسی و فرهنگی جامعه اونها رو در نظر نگرفته. جایی از سفرش به مترجم کره ای، یک روزنامه فرانسوی نشون میده و میگه «اینکه آدم ها آزادانه نقد کنن خیلی اوضاع رو بهتر میکنه، البته که میتون� نظرات مختلف رو بخونی و بعد خودت تصمیم بگیری.» اینجای کتاب به جای اینکه دلم به حال مترجم بسوزه، دلم به حال خود گی دولیل سوخت. چرا که فلسفه غرب به خصوص فرانسه، مهد سانسور ادیان و سکولاریسم، که با قوانین شدید جلوی انتشار صدای حق از ناقوس کلیساها و منبر مساجد رو گرفته، بلایی بر سر گی دولیل ها آورده که فکر میکنن� در کشورشون آزادی بیان دارند و کره ای ها رو مسخره میکنن�. درسته که قدیمی بودن کتاب باعث میشه اطلاعات سفرنام به روز نباشه اما خوندن این کتاب ۱۷۵ صفحه ای مصور، برای آشنایی کمی بیشتر، با این کشور منزوی خالی از لطف نبود.
November 7, 2017
Una manera fácil y amena de aprender un poco más sobre el terrible régimen norcoreano.
En este reportaje Delisle nos cuenta su propia experiencia en este país y resulta tan surrealsita que a veces no puedes evitar soltar alguna carcajada... pero luego lo piensas y te dan ganas de llorar.
En este reportaje Delisle nos cuenta su propia experiencia en este país y resulta tan surrealsita que a veces no puedes evitar soltar alguna carcajada... pero luego lo piensas y te dan ganas de llorar.
July 1, 2020
Якщо ви цікавитесь тоталітаризмом, абсурдом і взагалі іншими позаземними життями - вам сюди. Ґі Деліль зумів передати усі видими й невидимі аспекти ідеологічного дискурсу Північної Кореї, транслюючи їх крізь призму власного біографічного досвіду. Формат мальованої історії просто ідеально пасує для цього, адже Деліль часто перемикає візуальні регістри для того, щоб ще більше загострити, підкреслити усю неможливість свого перебування у цій країні. Неможливо, але факт: Делілю вдалося зафіксувати ключові аспекти життя у Північній Кореї, зберігаючи здоровий глузд і спроможність передати власний досвід усьому світові.
Головний герой, тобто сам Ґі Деліль, потрапляє у соціалістичний рай для завершення мультиплікаційного проєкту, до якого залучені більшою мірою корейці. Його поселяють у величному (тут усе величне як і в кожній тоталітарній державі) готелі, де з кожного кутка лунає хвалебна ода або Кім Ір Сену, або Кім Чен Іру. Утім, тут нема "або", бо ці дві божественні особи сприймаються як єдине ціле в колективній свідомості. Вони ж дивляться на тебе зі значків, портретів, серіялів, кінофільмів, плакатів, утворюючи типовий паноптикон у дусі Мішеля Фуко, тобто всеприсутність влади для кожного живого тіла, щоб навчити послушності й покірності. Деліль щоразу фіксує абсурдність і фантастичність усієї соціокультурної ситуації, у якій йому доводиться опинятись віж епізоду до епізоду: ось вимкнене світло в усьому готелі, адже влада немає коштів і потреб для таких витрат; ось вам однакове взуття у магазині, то��то типова відсутність вибору, позаяк нагромадження однакових речей справді нагадує інсталяцію із тиражованими предметами у сучасних музеях; ось "волонтери", які серпом рівняють травичку чи метуть віниками на автостраді посеред пустелі; ось ще одні "волонтери", які фарбують міст у кольори північно-корейського прапору, і тут же його полишають, дозволяють символічно пробитись іржі крізь дешеву фарбу.
Відчуття безглуздості, якоїсь безвиходної екзистенційної бентеги не полишає жодну секунду, нависає від однієї сірої панелі до іншої. Чи не вперше зловив себе на думці, що ця лаконічність сірих панелей не тільки пасує історії, але й задає настрій безвиході, якоїсь позачасової міфологічної порожнечі, де існують лики двох святих і мовчазна згода усіх інши��, знеособлена й деіндивідуалізована. Видається, що це насправді страшна й моторошна історія, але Ґі Деліль не обирає такий фокус зумисне, а часто подає усе із гумором і наївним спостереженням (цим нагадує «Персеполіс», ще одне сатиричне висловлювання завдяки коміксу). Тут не йдеться про якусь антиімперську стратегію, адже в країні із покроковим нівелюванням людських прав це виглядатиме як лицемірна підміна понять, а швидше про елементарне намагання зрозуміти як взагалі це все працює і чи справді північні корейці та кореянки вірять в увесь цей фантасмагоричний спектакль.
Усе ж, є деякі епізоди, які справді викликають тривогу, і обидва стосуються дітей. Перший зовсім невеликий, який лише на одній панелі показує малюків, які відрами носять воду, щоб підлити газон. Система називає це забавою, але з боку це примусова експлуатація дитячої сили. Другий дещо більший. Він фокусується на дівчатах, які грають на акордеонах. Вони широко посміхаються, механічно виконуючи однакові жести в однакових сукнях на великій сцені. Ця моторошна гримаса також підкреслює жорстокість, байдужість тоталітаризму до живого як такого, яке є черговим матеріалом для підживлення міфологеми безсмертних вождів. Єдина панель із "щасливими" акордеоністками запам'ятається вам надовго.
Звісно, що для свідомого українського читача історія Деліля сильно резонуватиме в контексті привиду сталінізму, який так чи так дає про себе знати у наших реаліях. Монументальні споруди, пам'ятники, монолітна ідентичність радянського чєловєка -- усе це про нас, а не Північну Корею. Водночас усе це про те, як штучно створена ідеї величі окремої людини (а чи людини взагалі?) позбавляє критичності, адекватності, множинності точок зору, поваги й, основне, свободи. Робота Деліля -- це тонкий візуальний скальпель, який так чи так торкається колективних травм будь-яких тоталітарних чи посттоталітарних суспільств, змушуючи озирнутись і придивитись: а чи не пильнує тебе великий вождь?
Головний герой, тобто сам Ґі Деліль, потрапляє у соціалістичний рай для завершення мультиплікаційного проєкту, до якого залучені більшою мірою корейці. Його поселяють у величному (тут усе величне як і в кожній тоталітарній державі) готелі, де з кожного кутка лунає хвалебна ода або Кім Ір Сену, або Кім Чен Іру. Утім, тут нема "або", бо ці дві божественні особи сприймаються як єдине ціле в колективній свідомості. Вони ж дивляться на тебе зі значків, портретів, серіялів, кінофільмів, плакатів, утворюючи типовий паноптикон у дусі Мішеля Фуко, тобто всеприсутність влади для кожного живого тіла, щоб навчити послушності й покірності. Деліль щоразу фіксує абсурдність і фантастичність усієї соціокультурної ситуації, у якій йому доводиться опинятись віж епізоду до епізоду: ось вимкнене світло в усьому готелі, адже влада немає коштів і потреб для таких витрат; ось вам однакове взуття у магазині, то��то типова відсутність вибору, позаяк нагромадження однакових речей справді нагадує інсталяцію із тиражованими предметами у сучасних музеях; ось "волонтери", які серпом рівняють травичку чи метуть віниками на автостраді посеред пустелі; ось ще одні "волонтери", які фарбують міст у кольори північно-корейського прапору, і тут же його полишають, дозволяють символічно пробитись іржі крізь дешеву фарбу.
Відчуття безглуздості, якоїсь безвиходної екзистенційної бентеги не полишає жодну секунду, нависає від однієї сірої панелі до іншої. Чи не вперше зловив себе на думці, що ця лаконічність сірих панелей не тільки пасує історії, але й задає настрій безвиході, якоїсь позачасової міфологічної порожнечі, де існують лики двох святих і мовчазна згода усіх інши��, знеособлена й деіндивідуалізована. Видається, що це насправді страшна й моторошна історія, але Ґі Деліль не обирає такий фокус зумисне, а часто подає усе із гумором і наївним спостереженням (цим нагадує «Персеполіс», ще одне сатиричне висловлювання завдяки коміксу). Тут не йдеться про якусь антиімперську стратегію, адже в країні із покроковим нівелюванням людських прав це виглядатиме як лицемірна підміна понять, а швидше про елементарне намагання зрозуміти як взагалі це все працює і чи справді північні корейці та кореянки вірять в увесь цей фантасмагоричний спектакль.
Усе ж, є деякі епізоди, які справді викликають тривогу, і обидва стосуються дітей. Перший зовсім невеликий, який лише на одній панелі показує малюків, які відрами носять воду, щоб підлити газон. Система називає це забавою, але з боку це примусова експлуатація дитячої сили. Другий дещо більший. Він фокусується на дівчатах, які грають на акордеонах. Вони широко посміхаються, механічно виконуючи однакові жести в однакових сукнях на великій сцені. Ця моторошна гримаса також підкреслює жорстокість, байдужість тоталітаризму до живого як такого, яке є черговим матеріалом для підживлення міфологеми безсмертних вождів. Єдина панель із "щасливими" акордеоністками запам'ятається вам надовго.
Звісно, що для свідомого українського читача історія Деліля сильно резонуватиме в контексті привиду сталінізму, який так чи так дає про себе знати у наших реаліях. Монументальні споруди, пам'ятники, монолітна ідентичність радянського чєловєка -- усе це про нас, а не Північну Корею. Водночас усе це про те, як штучно створена ідеї величі окремої людини (а чи людини взагалі?) позбавляє критичності, адекватності, множинності точок зору, поваги й, основне, свободи. Робота Деліля -- це тонкий візуальний скальпель, який так чи так торкається колективних травм будь-яких тоталітарних чи посттоталітарних суспільств, змушуючи озирнутись і придивитись: а чи не пильнує тебе великий вождь?
August 1, 2008
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.
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.
June 19, 2017
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.
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.
April 21, 2013
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.
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.
September 15, 2022
Who needs SciFi when the world already has NoKo?
A place where everything is controlled. There is no outside information. Hell, there is no inside information. Every song is about the Dear Leader or the Great Leader. Time has even been altered to start at the time of Kim Il Sung’s conception. Yup - when he was conceived.
Everything is clean, so clean. Well, everything outside, apparently not the restaurants in the largely empty tourist hotels, they sound disgusting, but outside? Landscaping is done by hand, with scissors, by “volunteers�. Yes, it is what they want to do with their few, official non-work hours. Children carry buckets of water, to water the grass - for fun.
Guy Delisle, the graphic memoirist, traveller, parent, storyteller who tells of his brief and not so brief stints abroad while working in animation. This time in Pyongyang, he is teaching and correcting what appears to be an absurdist Saturday morning cartoon:
“Oh no, the children are lost in the snowstorm! How terrible! They’ll freeze to death!�
SCENE 201: IMPORTANT!
When the father finds out the children are lost, he should not be smiling.
We see a smiling cartoon (apparently paternal) bear face with an X through it, next to a cartoon bear face looking concerned.
In North Korea, starvation is always present at varying levels of severity. In 1995 the regime needed to ask for outside help, which arrived. Unfortunately and predictably, the regime then distributed the food aid based on “loyalty and usefulness�. This resulted in the majority receiving less than half of the portion received by people living in UN refugee camps elsewhere in the world. Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and other NGOs refused to continue participating in this fraud. They left. Other NGOs stayed to effectively prop up the hierarchy.
It really isn’t subtle. The Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il said publicly in 1996:
”Only 30% of the population would need to survive to reconstruct a victorious society.�
This is North Korea’s astounding situation to evolve or resolve, certainly not any other nation's to intervene - but everything I read makes me wonder how much they fear versus how much they believe. One scene:
“One thing that strikes you after weeks of looking at the immaculate streets of Pyongyang is a complete absence of handicapped people�
the answer I get?�
‘There are none…We’re a very homogenous nation. All North Koreans are born strong, intelligent and healthy.�
And from the way he says it, I think he believes it.�
This North Korea arose from the complete devastation left by the USA during the Korean war. During that dystopia, a huge number of civilians were killed, an estimated 12�15% of the North Korean population, about 10 million - a number close to or more than the proportion of Soviet citizens killed in World War II. Essentially every important building in the country was destroyed. A population with deep, understandable hatred, fear and resentment remained, led by a zealous guerrilla leader. Who created North Korea?
A place where everything is controlled. There is no outside information. Hell, there is no inside information. Every song is about the Dear Leader or the Great Leader. Time has even been altered to start at the time of Kim Il Sung’s conception. Yup - when he was conceived.
Everything is clean, so clean. Well, everything outside, apparently not the restaurants in the largely empty tourist hotels, they sound disgusting, but outside? Landscaping is done by hand, with scissors, by “volunteers�. Yes, it is what they want to do with their few, official non-work hours. Children carry buckets of water, to water the grass - for fun.
Guy Delisle, the graphic memoirist, traveller, parent, storyteller who tells of his brief and not so brief stints abroad while working in animation. This time in Pyongyang, he is teaching and correcting what appears to be an absurdist Saturday morning cartoon:
“Oh no, the children are lost in the snowstorm! How terrible! They’ll freeze to death!�
SCENE 201: IMPORTANT!
When the father finds out the children are lost, he should not be smiling.
We see a smiling cartoon (apparently paternal) bear face with an X through it, next to a cartoon bear face looking concerned.
In North Korea, starvation is always present at varying levels of severity. In 1995 the regime needed to ask for outside help, which arrived. Unfortunately and predictably, the regime then distributed the food aid based on “loyalty and usefulness�. This resulted in the majority receiving less than half of the portion received by people living in UN refugee camps elsewhere in the world. Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and other NGOs refused to continue participating in this fraud. They left. Other NGOs stayed to effectively prop up the hierarchy.
It really isn’t subtle. The Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il said publicly in 1996:
”Only 30% of the population would need to survive to reconstruct a victorious society.�
This is North Korea’s astounding situation to evolve or resolve, certainly not any other nation's to intervene - but everything I read makes me wonder how much they fear versus how much they believe. One scene:
“One thing that strikes you after weeks of looking at the immaculate streets of Pyongyang is a complete absence of handicapped people�
the answer I get?�
‘There are none…We’re a very homogenous nation. All North Koreans are born strong, intelligent and healthy.�
And from the way he says it, I think he believes it.�
This North Korea arose from the complete devastation left by the USA during the Korean war. During that dystopia, a huge number of civilians were killed, an estimated 12�15% of the North Korean population, about 10 million - a number close to or more than the proportion of Soviet citizens killed in World War II. Essentially every important building in the country was destroyed. A population with deep, understandable hatred, fear and resentment remained, led by a zealous guerrilla leader. Who created North Korea?
November 25, 2014
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!!!
November 19, 2008
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 .
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 .
September 22, 2019
به عنوان کسی که توی ایران بزرگ شده و مدام به صورت تهدید جمله� «چندوقت دیگه� میشی� کره شمالی» رو شنیده، کتاب مهمی بود. حقیقتش من بخشی از اطلاعات داخلش که مثلا شبا برق ندارن و یا وضع کارشون چه شکلیه رو میدونستم� اما چیزی که نمیدونست� این بود که خارجی به کشورشون سفر میکن�. حقیقتش اطلاعاتی که ما از منزویتری� کشور جهان داریم، واقعا محدوده و این کمیک خیلی کمک بزرگی بهم کرد.
فارغ از این، این کتاب بیشتر از شنژن منو میخندوند� زمانی که دولیل با اسما و مخصوصا آقای سین شعر میساخ� و میخون�: «آقای سین قهرمانمونه» و من کلی به اون موضوع میخندید�. نکته جذاب بعدی آزمونایی بود که میگرفت� واقعا نفسگی� بودن. اما چرا ۵ نه؟ چون یه دو سه جا به نظرم محتوای نژادپرستانه داشت، یا حداقل اینطو� به نظر میومد. البته با اون بلاهایی که سر دولیل تو کره شمالی اومده و میزان خشمش، اندکی بتونم بهش حق بدم اما کماکان ۴ به همین خاطر.
فارغ از این، این کتاب بیشتر از شنژن منو میخندوند� زمانی که دولیل با اسما و مخصوصا آقای سین شعر میساخ� و میخون�: «آقای سین قهرمانمونه» و من کلی به اون موضوع میخندید�. نکته جذاب بعدی آزمونایی بود که میگرفت� واقعا نفسگی� بودن. اما چرا ۵ نه؟ چون یه دو سه جا به نظرم محتوای نژادپرستانه داشت، یا حداقل اینطو� به نظر میومد. البته با اون بلاهایی که سر دولیل تو کره شمالی اومده و میزان خشمش، اندکی بتونم بهش حق بدم اما کماکان ۴ به همین خاطر.
March 15, 2008
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)!
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)!
November 5, 2023
Normalmente leio novelas gráficas numa assentada, e esta não foi uma exceção.
Gostei bastante do grafismo do autor e da sua história ao longo de 3 meses na Coreia do Norte, em Pyongyang.
Guy Delisle foi incumbido a supervisionar uma animação e durante o tempo que esteve a trabalhar no país, teve acesso a locais e experiências que maior parte da população norte-coreana desconhece. Falar sobre algumas delas agora iria defraudar a curiosidade de um leitor, por isso recomendo que apostem neste livro para conhecer uma ínfima realidade do que é a Coreia do Norte.
Uma última nota sobre este livro que me incomodou: Guy Delisle sabe contar histórias e não sei se é da personalidade dele mas notei que para além do sarcasmo e crítica a um regime totalitário, estava um certo gozo e desrespeito com um povo que já está formatado pela propaganda. Daí não ter levado as 5 estrelas.
Gostei bastante do grafismo do autor e da sua história ao longo de 3 meses na Coreia do Norte, em Pyongyang.
Guy Delisle foi incumbido a supervisionar uma animação e durante o tempo que esteve a trabalhar no país, teve acesso a locais e experiências que maior parte da população norte-coreana desconhece. Falar sobre algumas delas agora iria defraudar a curiosidade de um leitor, por isso recomendo que apostem neste livro para conhecer uma ínfima realidade do que é a Coreia do Norte.
Uma última nota sobre este livro que me incomodou: Guy Delisle sabe contar histórias e não sei se é da personalidade dele mas notei que para além do sarcasmo e crítica a um regime totalitário, estava um certo gozo e desrespeito com um povo que já está formatado pela propaganda. Daí não ter levado as 5 estrelas.
August 16, 2023
دومین اثری بود که از گای دولیل میخوند�
برای همین معیار ذهنیم از گای دولیل کتاب سرزمین مقدس بود و خب اصلا در حد اون نبود، هم از منظر داستانی و هم از نظر گرافیکی (اصلا جذابیت روایته� و اطلاعات خوب و همچنین تصویرهای فوقالعاده� رو نداشت)
شاید به این دلیل بود که از کرهشمال� داستانه� و کتابها� زیادی خونده بودم و این کتاب خیلی کم به دانستهها� اضافه کرد.
تا حالا چندتا کتاب از بازدید افراد خارجی به پیونگ یانگ خوندم که این روند همراهی مترجم و راهنما و سبک تبلیغ پروپاگاندا توی همهشو� تکرار میشه
ولی نکته جالب کتاب جایی میشه که همه چیزهایی که ما توکتابه� میخوندیم و باید توی ذهنمو� تصویرسازی و تصور میکردی� رو آقای دولیل زحمت کشیده و طراحی کرده که خب دیدنشو� خیلی جالب میشه (مثل برج جوچه، موزهها� مجسمه رهبران و ...)
نکته بامزه� دیگه هم این بود که دولیل توی هتلی بود که «امیرخانی» هم با دوستها� اونجا بودن و خب از یه سری جاهای مشترکی تعریف میکن� که هرکدوم بازدید کردن و خاطرات هتلشو� مشابهت داره.
برای همین معیار ذهنیم از گای دولیل کتاب سرزمین مقدس بود و خب اصلا در حد اون نبود، هم از منظر داستانی و هم از نظر گرافیکی (اصلا جذابیت روایته� و اطلاعات خوب و همچنین تصویرهای فوقالعاده� رو نداشت)
شاید به این دلیل بود که از کرهشمال� داستانه� و کتابها� زیادی خونده بودم و این کتاب خیلی کم به دانستهها� اضافه کرد.
تا حالا چندتا کتاب از بازدید افراد خارجی به پیونگ یانگ خوندم که این روند همراهی مترجم و راهنما و سبک تبلیغ پروپاگاندا توی همهشو� تکرار میشه
ولی نکته جالب کتاب جایی میشه که همه چیزهایی که ما توکتابه� میخوندیم و باید توی ذهنمو� تصویرسازی و تصور میکردی� رو آقای دولیل زحمت کشیده و طراحی کرده که خب دیدنشو� خیلی جالب میشه (مثل برج جوچه، موزهها� مجسمه رهبران و ...)
نکته بامزه� دیگه هم این بود که دولیل توی هتلی بود که «امیرخانی» هم با دوستها� اونجا بودن و خب از یه سری جاهای مشترکی تعریف میکن� که هرکدوم بازدید کردن و خاطرات هتلشو� مشابهت داره.
September 23, 2015
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.
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.
May 7, 2008
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.
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.
April 1, 2023
I enjoyed the art and most of the writing, but was bothered by the author’s prejudicial attitude toward the North Korean people. He says they are “devoid of common sense,� and seeks to correct their way of thinking with his own soliloquies. He depicts each North Korean he meets as an ignorant brainwashed puppet of the regime. Many authors have written about the DPRK with both a critical and respectful approach, without making fun of the people. To say the people are “devoid of common sense� is incredibly reductive and short-sighted.
June 30, 2021
«- Чому США можна робити маріонеткові уряди в чужих країнах, а СРСР ніззя?
� Тому що в США виходить Південна, а в СРСР � Північна Корея»
Дуже-дуже старий анекдот
Якби я прочитала цей мальопис до книги Хардена Блейна «Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West», або хоча б до історії із Отто Уормбіром, я б, можливо, навіть здивувалась. «Тю, ну трішки йобнута країна? Чого її так обструкції-то піддають?»
Але на щастя, на відміну від самого автора, який провів у Північній Кореї кілька місяців, я далека від «щирого зачудовування життям» цієї дивної країни, яку, по суті, і країною назвати важко. Так, жертва абортивного розділу за принципом «мені вершки, тобі корінці». Викидень, життя якого, виявляється, дуже вигідно підтримувати всім.
Спитайте себе, що робив Гі Деліль, мультиплікатор-канадієць, у нещасній Північній Кореї? І з подивом дізнайтесь, що він там керував роботою нещасних мультиплікаторів-північнокорейців, які малювали мультики для західного споживача. Да-да, гроші.
«Китай мусив би занервувати, коли майже всі європейські студії відкрили офіси у Північній Кореї. Просто це дешевше � малюєш у Франції перший і останній кадр анімації, а решту 6, що мають бути посередині, на студії НОК у Північній Кореї. Ви погано передали ось цей типово французький жест � треба перемалювати останні 2 серії».
Вервечка сірих хмурих одноманітних (як ззовні за одягом, так і внутрішню � у своїй безнадії та страху) людей сидить і ретельно малює яскравий повний барв мультик для європейських дітей. Сила фантазії в них має бути просто шокуюча: малювати те, що ніколи не бачили, не відчували, не розуміють. Да і взагалі � їм щодня з усіх сковорідок розказують, що західний світ прогнив і ось-ось паде від власної бідності та безкультур’�, а вони мають малювати щасливі безтурботні мультики, засновані на тій самій начебто прогнилій культурі. Що може бути абсурднішим? Хіба що ціла сцена сірих одноманітних дівчаток із баянами, які старанно розтягують губи у посмішці, показуючи західному гостю, які вони щасливі бути народжені у Північній Кореї, де мудрість безсмертних вождів освітлює їх шлях у безпечне майбутнє.
Деліль жив у Північній Кореї кілька місяців. Гуляв чітко дозволеними місцями під ретельним наглядом своїх няньок � гіда та перекладача. Їв у чітко дозволених ресторанах (один з яких знаходився на єдиному на весь готель поверсі із освітленням). Відвідував (примусово) музеї слави вождів, де мав залишити хвалебні оди у журналі відвідувачів. Так, він помічає дивних «волонтерів» - людей, які виконують глупу неоплачувану роботу, як то підмітають шосе у пустелі, або фарбують міст поганою фарбою, якої по-перше не вистачило на весь міст, а по-друге, іржа починає проступати крізь неї вже через тиждень. Помічає, що світло є тільки на статуї вождю і на єдиному поверсі, де годують іноземців, наявність яких начебто має демонструвати відкритість того суцільного концтабіра світові. Помічає, що скрізь � буквально � розставлені гучномовці, через які лунає кондова пропаганда. Помічає асортимент у магазині, який і асортиментом по суті назвати важко, так, лише два тайтла на всі категорії. І помічає, що навіть дику місцину все одно попсували величезним малюнком вождів, що «прикрашав» скелю десь у непролазних хащах.
І тут же розповідає про вечірки, що їх регулярно закочували іноземці. Розповідає, що погладшав на тій їжі, що подають йому у ресторанах. І навіть не дивується, що інколи люди, що працювали поруч з ним, кудись щезають, як їх і не було.
Навіть не знаю, чого саме я хотіла саме від цього мальопису. Гостроти? Більшої правди? Відвертості? Откровень?
Але я все одно рада, що читогляднула його. Звісно я знала, що Китай підтримує «дзвінкою монетою» режим чучхе задля власних інтересів. Але чесно скажу, роль Франції у підживленні цього монстра стала для мене новиною.
Вкотре ДЯКУЮ «Видавництву» за можливість читати такі штуки українською.
� Тому що в США виходить Південна, а в СРСР � Північна Корея»
Дуже-дуже старий анекдот
Якби я прочитала цей мальопис до книги Хардена Блейна «Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West», або хоча б до історії із Отто Уормбіром, я б, можливо, навіть здивувалась. «Тю, ну трішки йобнута країна? Чого її так обструкції-то піддають?»
Але на щастя, на відміну від самого автора, який провів у Північній Кореї кілька місяців, я далека від «щирого зачудовування життям» цієї дивної країни, яку, по суті, і країною назвати важко. Так, жертва абортивного розділу за принципом «мені вершки, тобі корінці». Викидень, життя якого, виявляється, дуже вигідно підтримувати всім.
Спитайте себе, що робив Гі Деліль, мультиплікатор-канадієць, у нещасній Північній Кореї? І з подивом дізнайтесь, що він там керував роботою нещасних мультиплікаторів-північнокорейців, які малювали мультики для західного споживача. Да-да, гроші.
«Китай мусив би занервувати, коли майже всі європейські студії відкрили офіси у Північній Кореї. Просто це дешевше � малюєш у Франції перший і останній кадр анімації, а решту 6, що мають бути посередині, на студії НОК у Північній Кореї. Ви погано передали ось цей типово французький жест � треба перемалювати останні 2 серії».
Вервечка сірих хмурих одноманітних (як ззовні за одягом, так і внутрішню � у своїй безнадії та страху) людей сидить і ретельно малює яскравий повний барв мультик для європейських дітей. Сила фантазії в них має бути просто шокуюча: малювати те, що ніколи не бачили, не відчували, не розуміють. Да і взагалі � їм щодня з усіх сковорідок розказують, що західний світ прогнив і ось-ось паде від власної бідності та безкультур’�, а вони мають малювати щасливі безтурботні мультики, засновані на тій самій начебто прогнилій культурі. Що може бути абсурднішим? Хіба що ціла сцена сірих одноманітних дівчаток із баянами, які старанно розтягують губи у посмішці, показуючи західному гостю, які вони щасливі бути народжені у Північній Кореї, де мудрість безсмертних вождів освітлює їх шлях у безпечне майбутнє.
Деліль жив у Північній Кореї кілька місяців. Гуляв чітко дозволеними місцями під ретельним наглядом своїх няньок � гіда та перекладача. Їв у чітко дозволених ресторанах (один з яких знаходився на єдиному на весь готель поверсі із освітленням). Відвідував (примусово) музеї слави вождів, де мав залишити хвалебні оди у журналі відвідувачів. Так, він помічає дивних «волонтерів» - людей, які виконують глупу неоплачувану роботу, як то підмітають шосе у пустелі, або фарбують міст поганою фарбою, якої по-перше не вистачило на весь міст, а по-друге, іржа починає проступати крізь неї вже через тиждень. Помічає, що світло є тільки на статуї вождю і на єдиному поверсі, де годують іноземців, наявність яких начебто має демонструвати відкритість того суцільного концтабіра світові. Помічає, що скрізь � буквально � розставлені гучномовці, через які лунає кондова пропаганда. Помічає асортимент у магазині, який і асортиментом по суті назвати важко, так, лише два тайтла на всі категорії. І помічає, що навіть дику місцину все одно попсували величезним малюнком вождів, що «прикрашав» скелю десь у непролазних хащах.
І тут же розповідає про вечірки, що їх регулярно закочували іноземці. Розповідає, що погладшав на тій їжі, що подають йому у ресторанах. І навіть не дивується, що інколи люди, що працювали поруч з ним, кудись щезають, як їх і не було.
Навіть не знаю, чого саме я хотіла саме від цього мальопису. Гостроти? Більшої правди? Відвертості? Откровень?
Але я все одно рада, що читогляднула його. Звісно я знала, що Китай підтримує «дзвінкою монетою» режим чучхе задля власних інтересів. Але чесно скажу, роль Франції у підживленні цього монстра стала для мене новиною.
Вкотре ДЯКУЮ «Видавництву» за можливість читати такі штуки українською.
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