[Cankor] Report #242

[cankor at cankor.ca]

Dear subscriber,

Welcome to issue #242 of the CanKor Report.

In this week's QUIDNUNC, Charles Burton responds to the question:
South Korean and international media use a great variety of forms when 
transliterating North Korean names but rarely the traditional Korean way 
preferred in the DPRK. Why?

In light of President Bush's nuclear agreement with India and recent 
assessments that we may have to live with a nuclear North Korea, one reader 
asks:

Has the Six Party Talks process run its course?

Please do not hesitate to send to editor at CanKor.ca not only replies, but 
also QUESTIONS that may stump or amuse our many expert contributors.

The CanKor team.

For articles not original to CanKor, direct links are available in the 
Contents section, should you wish to consult the originals on the internet.

If the links no longer function, you may refer to the full text articles 
appended to the issue.

For back issues, archives and other content, please visit our website: 
http://www.cankor.ca
*************************************************
CANADA-KOREA ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICE

CanKor # 242

Friday, 24 March 2006
*************************************************

Chinese and Russian leaders include a plea to their Six Party Talk 
colleagues for patience and flexibility in dealing with the DPRK nuclear 
issue. Following a recent nuclear deal between the USA and India (under 
which the USA promised nuclear know-how and atomic fuel, even though New 
Delhi is not an NPT signatory), the DPRK asks the USA to consider "nuclear 
cooperation". It also responds to the recent US report on national security 
strategy by stating, "A preemptive attack is not the monopoly of the USA." 
Meanwhile, the DPRK asks Norway to mediate in its ongoing dispute with the 
USA.

The EU Parliament decides to link humanitarian aid to the issue of DPRK 
Human Rights. The decision coincides with the opening of a human rights 
conference in Brussels, led by activist groups from the USA and across 
Europe. Meanwhile, some 100 students and civil activists from the South are 
in the Belgian capital on an "Expedition for Peace on the Korean Peninsula" 
to protest against what they see as a hidden agenda behind the conference.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres travels to Beijing to 
discuss the issue of DPR Korean asylum-seekers. Although he gives no 
indication about whether China agrees to drop its refusal to accord them 
refugee rather than migrant status, he does say that China is creating its 
first legal asylum system, which might help to resolve the conflict.

The ROK press corps stands united in protest at the DPRK authorities' 
interference with their coverage of an ongoing divided family reunion event.

In the CanKor BOOK REVIEW section, Erik Mobrand of Princeton University 
reviews two unusual books: A graphic novel, "Pyongyang: A Journey in North 
Korea" by Canadian Guy Delisle, and "North Korea in Quotation: A Worldwide 
Dictionary, 1948-2004" by Steve Shipp. Bill Drucker adds his take on the 
Delisle book in a review that appeared in the Korean Quarterly Winter 2006 
issue.
*************************************************

Contents:
1.   CHINA, RUSSIA JOINT STATEMENT CALLS FOR FLEXIBILITY
     http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/03/23/200603230014.asp

2.   DPRK WANTS 'NUCLEAR COOPERATION' FROM USA
     http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/international/asia/news/20060321p2g00m0in053000c.html

3.   DPRK PROTESTS AGAINST US PREEMPTIVE ATTACK POLICY
     Direct to CanKor from DPRK Permanent Mission to the UN in New York

4.   DPRK ASKS NORWAY TO BROKER NUCLEAR DEAL
     http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/17/AR2006031700627.html

5.   EU FOCUSES ON DPRK RIGHTS AT CONFERENCE
     http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200603/200603230007.html

6.   UN OFFICIAL CONSULTS CHINA ON DPRK ASYLUM-SEEKERS
     http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?no=281221&rel_no=1

8.   ROK PRESS WALK OUT OF FAMILY REUNIONS
     http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200603/200603230020.html

BOOK REVIEWS

9.   ALTERNATIVE LENSES ON NORTH KOREA
     "Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea" by Guy Delisle, Montreal: Drawn & 
Quarterly Books, 2005.
     "North Korea in Quotation: A Worldwide Dictionary, 1948-2004" by Steve 
Shipp, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2005.
     Reviewed by Erik Mobrand, 
http://newsblaze.com/story/20060303193512nnnn.nb/newsblaze/BOOKPUBL/Book-Publishing.html

10.  TWO-DIMENSIONAL TRAVELOGUE
     "Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea" by Guy Delisle, Montreal: Drawn & 
Quarterly Books, 2005.
     Review by Bill Drucker, (Copyright Korean Quarterly, 
www.koreanquarterly.org)

QUIDNUNC: Readers ask and respond to common and uncommon questions.
QUESTION ANSWERED THIS WEEK:
South Korean and international media use a great variety of forms when 
transliterating North Korean names but rarely the traditional Korean way 
preferred in the DPRK. Why?
*************************************************

1.   CHINA, RUSSIA JOINT STATEMENT CALLS FOR FLEXIBILITY
     Korea Herald, 23 March 2006

In Beijing, Chinese and Russian leaders on Tuesday urged patience and 
flexibility in dealing with North Korea's nuclear confrontation, including 
the issue in their summit joint statement. The statement appealed to members 
of the six-party talks to engage in negotiations with a "constructive" 
attitude for a peaceful resolution of the row and for the denuclearization 
of the Korean Peninsula.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, capping his two-day visit to Beijing, met 
Chinese leader Hu Jintao to discuss issues ranging from energy cooperation 
to non-proliferation, Iran and North Korea. Both countries are members of 
the six-way negotiations that also involve South and North Korea, the US and 
Japan. Beijing is the host of the multilateral forum aimed at removing all 
nuclear weapons and programs from the divided Korean Peninsula. China and 
Russia, ideological supporters of North Korea, have been urging Pyongyang 
and Washington to make concessions and move forward with the six-party 
talks.

Tuesday's statement reaffirms that the multilateral forum is the "practical 
and effective" approach to solving the nuclear issue. The two leaders also 
agreed to cooperate to enhance international nuclear non-proliferation 
mechanisms and promote a diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear row. 
The US State Department said yesterday North Korea should stop making 
"inflammatory" comments and return to the six-nation talks as soon as 
possible.

"The president, secretary of state and others have made it very clear that 
the United States has no plans to invade or attack North Korea," State 
Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington. The US wants North 
Korea to "engage in serious discussions, as opposed to making these kinds of 
inflammatory statements."

His remark came after North Korea said Tuesday it has the ability to carry 
out a pre-emptive strike, according to the official Korea Central News 
Agency. Military exercises conducted by the USA and South Korea on the 
Korean peninsula have compelled North Korea to strengthen its self-defense 
capability, KCNA said yesterday. North Korea "has the right to preempt an 
attack as the most effective and positive act for self-defense," the army 
said in its statement. South Korea's new nuclear envoy left yesterday for 
the United States to hold talks with his US counterpart on how to jump-start 
the stalled talks.

"I plan to grasp the atmosphere in Washington and listen to the US stance on 
the current situation," Chun Young-woo said. He didn't elaborate.

Earlier this month, Chun held his first talks with the US chief nuclear 
negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, when the 
secretary made a brief stop-over here on his return to Washington from a 
trip to Indonesia. Chun has already traveled to China and Japan for similar 
talks since becoming Seoul's top nuclear negotiator last month.
*************************************************

2.   DPRK WANTS 'NUCLEAR COOPERATION' FROM USA
     Associated Press, 21 March 2006

North Korea reconfirmed on Tuesday that it has nuclear weapons and demanded 
the United States give it "nuclear cooperation" instead of seeking to disarm 
it. The announcement risked escalating tensions in the prolonged standoff 
over the North's nuclear program, clouding the prospect of resumption of 
six-nation talks on the dispute.

"We have built nuclear weapons for no other purpose than to counter US 
nuclear threats," said a spokesman for the North's Foreign Ministry, 
according to the North's Korean Central News Agency. It's rare for North 
Korea to mention its nuclear capabilities in such an explicit manner. The 
communist state usually refers to its nuclear arsenal as its "nuclear 
deterrent force." North Korea first declared last year that it has nuclear 
weapons, although the claim could not be confirmed independently.

"If the US is truly interested in finding a realistic way of resolving the 
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, it would be wise for it to come out on the 
path of nuclear cooperation with us" even though the North is not currently 
a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, he said.

The spokesman was apparently referring to a recent nuclear deal between the 
United States and India, under which the US will provide India with nuclear 
know-how and atomic fuel, even though New Delhi has not signed the global 
anti-nuclear weapons treaty. North Korea has condemned the US for giving 
India "preferential" treatment by formally recognizing it as a nuclear 
power. North Korea backed out of the NPT in early 2003, right after the 
outbreak of the nuclear crisis in late 2002.

The North's spokesman also said his country has the right to launch a 
pre-emptive strike, saying it will strengthen its war footing ahead of South 
Korea-US military exercises scheduled this weekend. The spokesman's comments 
came on the heels of the US national security report, which among other 
things, reaffirmed US President George W. Bush's strike-first policy against 
terrorists and enemy nations and said North Korea poses a serious nuclear 
proliferation challenge.
*************************************************

3.   DPRK PROTESTS AGAINST US PREEMPTIVE ATTACK POLICY
     DPRK Permanent Mission to the UN Press Release, KCNA, 23 March 2006

A pre-emptive attack is not the monopoly of the United States, warns a 
spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry in an answer given to a question put 
by KCNA Tuesday in connection with the fact that the USA in a recent "report 
on national security strategy" designated the DPRK as an "outpost of tyranny 
" and a "target of pre-emptive attack" once again. The Bush administration 
singled out those countries which are not meekly following it from an 
independent stand, including the DPRK, as "outposts of tyranny," revealing 
its undisguised attempt to realize its wild ambition to realize "regime 
change" through a "pre-emptive attack", he said, and went on:

The above-said "report" reveals the US intention to start a war to prevent 
nuclear proliferation, "combat terrorism" and "spread democracy." It is, 
therefore, nothing but a brigandish document declaring a war as it is an 
indication that the Bush regime will not rule out even a war to bring down 
those countries which refuse to follow its ideology and view on value by 
branding them as enemies without exception. Today the Bush regime is to 
blame for unhesitatingly committing war and military intervention, stepping 
up the modernization of nuclear weapons and encouraging the spread of 
weapons of mass destruction, defying all the principles of international law 
and unbiased public opinion to meet its narrow-minded partisan purpose. It 
is the root cause of aggression, war and arms race.

Such aggressive nature of the Bush administration finds a more striking 
manifestation in its policy towards the Korean Peninsula. The Bush 
administration again cried out for a "pre-emptive attack" at a time when it 
let loose a string of balderdash against the DPRK after labeling it part of 
an "axis of evil" and an "outpost of tyranny" and is increasing such 
physical pressure as financial sanctions and joint military exercises 
against it. This brings to light the Bush administration's intention to 
invariably pursue its hostile policy toward the DPRK. The Bush 
administration is talking about the "six-party talks" and the like but, in 
actuality, is not interested in them at all. It is the calculation of the 
USA that it will evade the fulfillment of such commitment as the provision 
of light water reactors it made in the September 19 joint statement even if 
the talks are resumed. We made nuclear weapons to cope with the US nuclear 
threat. The Bush administration is sadly mistaken if it thinks the DPRK will 
yield to the outside pressure and surrender to it when Pyongyang is steadily 
driven to a tight corner. It is our traditional fighting method to react to 
the increasing pressure head-on, without making any detour. The same method 
will be applied to countering the USA. A pre-emptive attack is not the 
monopoly of the USA.
*************************************************

4.   DPRK ASKS NORWAY TO BROKER NUCLEAR DEAL
     Reuters, 17 March 2006

North Korea wants Norway to mediate in its nuclear standoff with the 
international community, a newspaper reported on Friday, but Oslo said it 
favored a resumption of stalled multi-lateral talks. North Korea says it has 
nuclear weapons, though the United States has been unable to confirm this, 
and six-party talks aimed at ending the communist state's nuclear weapons 
program ran aground in November.

"Norway has a good reputation as a peace mediator and very good experience 
in international conflict resolution," North Korea's ambassador to the 
Nordic region, Jon In Chan, told Verdens Gang, Norway's top selling daily. 
"We hope Norway can contribute as conflict solver in the ongoing nuclear 
dispute between the US and North Korea."

Norway played down the offer, however.
"We have no intention of taking unilateral action toward North Korea," 
Deputy Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen told Reuters. He said the country 
backed the six-party talks involving the United States, Russia, Japan, China 
and the two Koreas.

Since talks stalled, the United States has cracked down on firms it suspects 
of helping North Korea in illicit activity such as currency counterfeiting. 
Pyongyang has refused to return to the talks until Washington calls off its 
drive. Norway's Johansen said he would bring up the nuclear question when he 
visited North Korea later in the year to discuss humanitarian aid.

"The international community should urge a six-party agreement, but if there 
is anything any one country can do toward North Korea, we would welcome it."

He said North Korea's ambassador had not raised the question when they spoke 
on Wednesday. The North Korean embassy in Stockholm, where the ambassador is 
based, declined to comment. Norway, a member of NATO but not of the European 
Union, has a reputation as a peace mediator after involvement in seeking to 
end conflicts from the Middle East to Sri Lanka. It is also the home of the 
Nobel Peace Prize and in 1999 the committee, which is independent of the 
government, gave the award to South Korea's former President Kim Dae-jung 
for his efforts to mediate a peace with North Korea, still technically an 
enemy since the 1950-53 war.
*************************************************

5.   EU FOCUSES ON DPRK RIGHTS AT CONFERENCE
     Chosun Ilbo, 23 March 2006

International pressure on North Korea to improve its dismal human rights 
record increased on Wednesday, when the European Parliament decided to link 
humanitarian aid to the issue while a conference highlighting abuses in the 
North opened in the EU capital Brussels. Thursday sees the first hearing on 
North Korean human rights before the European Parliament.

At the conference, which was led by activist groups from the US and across 
Europe, Hungarian member of the European Parliament Istvan Szent-Ivany said 
the bloc has been too passive on the question of human rights in North Korea 
but is awakening to the seriousness of the issue. Szent-Ivany said he 
disapproved of providing unconditional aid to the North the way the South 
Korean government does. He stressed any humanitarian aid from the EU must 
reach those who need it most, including political prisoners in concentration 
camps, and expressed hope that monitoring and control of aid distribution to 
the North can be tightened.

The Japanese Ambassador for Human Rights Fumiko Saiga highlighted the issue 
of Japanese abducted by the North in the 1970s and 80s, which she said was a 
"top priority" of Tokyo's policy. She called on the international community 
to join hands in resolving the problem of human rights in the North. Kang 
Chol-hwan, a Chosun Ilbo reporter and defector from North Korea, told the 
conference North Korea "abuses the South Korean government's unconditional 
aid," and called on Seoul to stop aid separately from the international 
community, which insists on stricter monitoring. On Thursday, the conference 
will adopt a "Brussels Declaration" calling for greater international 
solidarity in improving North Korean human rights conditions.

Meanwhile, some 100 students and civil activists from the South are in the 
Belgian capital on an "Expedition for Peace on the Korean Peninsula" to 
protest against what they see as a hidden agenda behind the conference to 
further US hegemony. They distributed leaflets and held various protest 
performances at university campuses and elsewhere in Brussels.
*************************************************

6.   UN OFFICIAL CONSULTS CHINA ON DPRK ASYLUM-SEEKERS
     by Joe McDonald, Associated Press, 23 March 2006

The top UN refugee official said Thursday he pressed Chinese officials on 
the status of North Korean asylum-seekers in talks this week but gave no 
indication Beijing had agreed to drop its refusal to treat them as refugees. 
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said, however, that China 
is creating its first legal asylum system, which might help to resolve the 
conflict. The former Portuguese prime minister said North Korean 
asylum-seekers were "at the center of our debates" during his five-day 
visit, the first to China in nine years by a head of the UN refugee agency.

But Guterres wouldn't give details of the talks and didn't respond directly 
to questions about whether China changed its stance on North Koreans who are 
fleeing famine and repression. Beijing says they are economic migrants and 
has refused them refugee status.

"It is a question both sides recognize exists and both sides want to face 
and to solve together," Guterres said at a news conference. He said both 
sides had "a lot of homework" to do in coming months but didn't say whether 
they would hold more talks.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans live in hiding in China after fleeing 
famine at home and repression under the Stalinist dictatorship of North 
Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Several thousand have been allowed to leave for 
rival South Korea after seeking asylum in embassies and other foreign 
offices. But Chinese security forces have set up barbed wire fences to keep 
asylum-seekers out of diplomatic offices and launch periodic sweeps to catch 
North Koreans living in the country.

"Those DPRK citizens who illegally entered our territory came to China out 
of economic reasons instead of any political reasons," Chinese Foreign 
Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular briefing. "They are not 
refugees."

Guterres said Chinese officials told him they are creating an asylum system 
that will be in line with international law and expect to complete it this 
year. "That, in my opinion, will help a lot in the future in development of 
solutions to these problems," Guterres said. Guterres wouldn't say how many 
North Koreans the UNHCR believes are living in China or whether he had asked 
to meet with any. The commissioner said he met with State Council Tang 
Jiaxuan, a Cabinet official, as well as officials of China's Foreign 
Ministry and ministries of commerce, civil affairs and public security.
*************************************************

8.   ROK PRESS WALK OUT OF FAMILY REUNIONS
     Chosun Ilbo, 23 March 2006

The South Korean press corps on Thursday decided to leave North Korea in 
protest at authorities' interference with their coverage of an ongoing 
reunion event of families divided between North and South. Pyongyang on 
Tuesday took umbrage at reports in the South Korean press that accurately 
described some of those from the North Korean side as "abducted" by North 
Korea.

Seoul and the press pool said Pyongyang on Tuesday threatened to expel 
reporters who used the offensive terminology. The North gave an unnamed 
reporter "30 minutes" to leave or face being dealt with "according to North 
Korean law." It also threatened South Korean authorities, saying it would 
end the reunion prematurely if the reporter stayed. North Korean security 
forces barged into the press room and confiscated tapes recorded by the SBS 
TV network and others. However, following behind-the-scenes negotiations, it 
returned them the next day.

The wrangling delayed the return of the first group of South Korean family 
members, most of whom are in their 80s or 90s, some nine hours after their 
reunions ended. They were to leave Mt. Kumgang at 1 p.m. on Wednesday after 
saying goodbye to their North Korean families in the morning. As a result, 
the buses carrying the 149, including 50 who accompanied their elderly 
relatives, did not leave until after 10 p.m. The South Korean press corps in 
a statement on Thursday said, "The North has obstructed our reporting and 
failed to respond to our demand for free press activity, let alone 
apologized. We interpret that to mean the North will continue to curb South 
Korean press activities during the second part starting on Thursday, and 
have decided to leave."

Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok expressed deep regret that North Korea 
obstructed South Korean press activities and prevented the first group of 
South Korean families from coming back home on time. He said he protested to 
Pyongyang "and stressed that the attitude the North has shown does not help 
improve inter-Korean relations and is undesirable from the humanitarian 
perspective." He added he urged the North to remedy the situation.
*************************************************

BOOK REVIEWS

*************************************************

9.   ALTERNATIVE LENSES ON NORTH KOREA

     "Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea" by Guy Delisle, Montreal: Drawn & 
Quarterly Books, 2005.

     "North Korea in Quotation: A Worldwide Dictionary, 1948-2004" by Steve 
Shipp, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2005.

     Reviewed by Erik Mobrand, News Blaze, 3 March 2006

Finding itself in the middle of an international dilemma over its nuclear 
program, North Korea is a country that the world needs to know about. But 
famed for its secrecy, North Korea is difficult for observers to penetrate. 
How can we learn what is really going on in that country?

Guy Delisle and Steve Shipp, authors of two recent books on North Korea, 
offer unconventional ways of presenting information on the subject - by 
cartoon and by quotation. Delisle, a cartoonist for a French animation 
company, found himself dispatched to Pyongyang for two months for a job. His 
graphic novel, one of the most fun books on North Korea published to date, 
documents his stay in the North Korean capital. In Pyongyang: A Journey to 
North Korea, Delisle gives us more or less just what he sees, from his 
arrival (the first frame is the airport) to his departure. The author spends 
those two months trying to get along with locals, keep himself entertained, 
and help the cartoonists under his direction make an animated bear's hand 
wave instead of vibrate.

>From Pyongyang the reader gets plenty of observations that match what others 
have written about North Korea: shortages of power and food, inefficiency, 
and the ubiquitousness of images of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. (An optical 
trick even causes a startled Delisle to see the face of the Dear Leader in 
the mirror at one point.) Delisle tries to find out what kind of music 
people are interested in, sharing rhythms with some humorless interlocutors, 
only to discover that "North Korea isn't a reggae kind of country" (p. 71). 
Special treatment of foreigners prevents Delisle from interacting much with 
North Koreans, apart from the guides who follow him at all times.

North Korea in Quotation: A Worldwide Dictionary, 1948-2004, brought to us 
by the compiler of a biographical dictionary of Latin American and Caribbean 
artists and a directory of rainforest organizations, is a very different 
read. The book is a reference work of two- or three-sentence snippets about 
North Korea taken from the utterances of all sorts of people. In the 
preface, Shipp tells us the volume's goal is "to provide an easily accessed 
collection of the most historically important, well known and interesting 
statements about North Korea" (p. 2).

The quotations are organized under 20 topical headings. The book opens with 
a section on sayings about North Korea's relationship with China, and closes 
with one on North Korea and the United States. In between, subjects like 
"Daily Life," "Economy," "Korean War," "Nuclear Program," and 
"Reunification" are covered. The quotations come from speakers ranging from 
journalists to scholars, US administrators to Kim Jong Il, ensuring that 
plenty of different perspectives are heard.

What Delisle and Shipp have done is to throw analysis to the wind. Neither 
author is an expert observer of North Korean affairs - nor do they try to 
be. Delisle has no agenda, and doesn't pretend to know much more than what 
he sees. This is North Korea deliberately from an outsider's perspective, 
though in the rare guise of a visitor's eye. Shipp, too, withholds judgment 
from his material, providing no guide to the quotations he has compiled.

Both books' humble, intentionally-superficial treatment of North Korean 
issues is refreshing. By reporting only what is seen (in the case of 
Delisle) or heard (in the case of Shipp), the authors keep politics out of 
interpretation, avoiding a problem that plagues writing on North Korea. 
Because we have so little to go on when it comes to North Korea, getting 
"just the facts" can be more helpful than getting over-ambitious analyses.

Pyongyang offers touches of daily life, like people enjoying a stroll 
backwards - an exercise that could just as easily be seen on early mornings 
in Seoul parks. Signs of hope for North Koreans shine through at a few 
points, as when Delisle recognizes genuine individual talent (p. 151) and 
when a person flatly criticizes the country (p. 153). Delisle's refusal to 
judge what he sees is admirable. As a collection of reflections by an 
unbiased visitor, his book is valuable to those interested in North Korea.

The best way to use North Korea in Quotation is through its speaker index. 
If you want to know what a particular American leader has said on North 
Korea, then the volume is quite handy. But if readers page through the book 
cover to cover then they are likely to be more confused than before they can 
began, because so many conflicting views are presented with no help in 
assessing them. The compiler claims that the "varied opinions of statesmen, 
analysts and journalists... over the decades have produced a balanced 
critical assessment of North Korea and its relationship to the world" (p. 
2). What, then, are we to believe when we read, on one hand, that "There is 
still very little evidence that the political elite in either Korea is 
willing to sacrifice any important interest for the broader goal of 
reunification" (entry 1666), but also that "Seoul has long wanted 
reunification" (entry 1662)? Drawing conclusions from the list of statements 
is difficult without knowing something about the background, expertise, and 
motives of the speakers.

These books are welcome additions to the literature on North Korea, because 
they present their elusive subject in new ways. North Korea in Quotation 
should be used cautiously as a reference on the statements of particular 
individuals. Pyongyang is worthwhile for entertainment value alone, and 
Delisle's frames with their minimal captions make the graphic novel a 
surprisingly appropriate medium for bringing out the absurdity of passing 
time in that city as a foreigner. Delisle's insights into Pyongyang as a 
place where people live also teaches us about North Koreans.
*************************************************

10.  TWO-DIMENSIONAL TRAVELOGUE

     "Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea" by Guy Delisle, Montreal: Drawn & 
Quarterly Books, 2005.

     Review by Bill Drucker, Korean Quarterly, Winter 2006

Recently when North Korea opened its doors (just a crack) to let in foreign 
investment, a Canadian cartoonist found himself among the foreigners working 
in Pyongyang, the country's capital. He was there representing a French film 
animation company. Several months of observances and experiences are 
summarized by Guy Delisle in the witty and astute cartoon-formatted memoir, 
Pyongyang.

Delisle, a Quebec native, spent ten years, mostly in Europe, working in 
animation. The artist entered North Korea with a smuggled radio and a copy 
of George Orwell's 1984. As with all foreigners, Delisle is provided with a 
North Korean guide and translator.

His first impressions include his feeling of bombardment by images of the 
leaders Il-Sung Kim and his son and present leader Jong-Il Kim. Then, he is 
brought to only the sites and images deemed suitable for foreigners. 
Although he is herded around appropriately, he still sees the austere 
realities of the city, its people, and the country. He observes a state, 
driven by programmatic conditioning and a rigid mindset. His images of girls 
playing accordions with wide, seemingly forced smiles are particularly 
disturbing. A harsher view is that the people and state are motivated by 
fear.

Two things are immediate to Delisle: Rules of behavior, and the honoring of 
the two Kims. And this is for foreigners. He quickly learns what is 
prohibited ---- no radios or cell phones, no pornography, no jokes about the 
leaders, no tipping, no traveling without your guide. In the city, Delisle 
finds that the streets are clean but there are not many cars or people. The 
buildings are well maintained but old. Electricity is restricted. All 
foreigners are given luxury hotel rooms (by North Korean standards) in one 
of two hotels for foreigners.

The whole trip seems doomed to dreariness from the start, but at the North 
Korean Scientific and Educational Film Studio of Korea (SEK), Delisle meets 
an old professional friend, Sandrine, and later David, a fellow animator. 
They find places for foreigners to drink and party, even gamble.

To see anything, Delisle must get permission. After two days, his guide 
takes him to the Pyongyang subway, an engineering marvel. Ninety meters 
underground, the subway can double as a bomb shelter in case of nuclear 
attack. Delisle observes that the structure is a functioning reminder to 
cultivate a constant sense of threat. At the ground level, it resembles a 
subterranean palace, with marble floors and sculpted columns. Heavy with 
propaganda murals, it is one of the few places in Pyongyang to be fully 
electrically powered.

Comic book format aside, Guy Delisle's observations of a surreal Pyongyang 
and the North Korean mindset are similarly striking and disturbing. 
Articulate if not overly conscientious guides, propaganda, a pristine 
façade, and letter-perfect images ---- all that misguided effort. That is 
the real pity of the country.
*************************************************

QUIDNUNC
In this section of CanKor, we invite readers to send questions, answers, or 
responses. Answers should be under 150 words and may be edited for space.

*************************************************
SOUTH KOREAN AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA USE A GREAT VARIETY OF FORMS WHEN 
TRANSLITERATING NORTH KOREAN NAMES, BUT RARELY THE TRADITIONAL KOREAN WAY 
PREFERRED IN THE DPRK. WHY?
*************************************************

All North Korea publications including those in foreign languages are 
subject to strict guidelines and review as to content and form. This 
includes enforced standardization of the format for transliteration of names 
and standardized rendering of hangul into English equivalents. Whether or 
not this format is "traditional" is debatable, but it unquestioningly leads 
to consistency that is sorely lacking in transliteration of Korea names in 
the ROK and abroad. In this aspect of clarity of transliteration of names 
into English the DPRK's system has demonstrated objectively verifiable 
superior results.

Charles Burton, Brock University, St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada
*************************************************
WHAT NOW?

Has the Six Party Talks process run its course?

[Questions or Answers should be e-mailed to: editor at CanKor.ca]
*************************************************

End CanKor # 242

*************************************************
CanKor is an electronic information service for readers interested in the 
issues of peace and security on the Korean peninsula, published by 
Weingartner Consulting. Financial support is received from the Canadian 
International Development Agency (CIDA). Views expressed on the CanKor 
website or weekly digest are those of the respective authors, and do not 
necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of CanKor, CIDA or 
Weingartner Consulting. CanKor accepts no liability for inaccuracies, errors 
or omissions.  Copyright of all items listed or reprinted rests with the 
original publishers.  CanKor provides links to originals when available. To 
subscribe or unsubscribe, and for all other communication, please address 
the CanKor editorial team by e-mail at editor at CanKor.ca. Editor: Erich 
Weingartner; Managing Editor: Miranda Weingartner; Research: Marion Current, 
Ilene Solomon, Danielle Goldfinger; Web developer: David Seguin. Please 
visit our website at: www.CanKor.ca
*************************************************