Day 79: A Kim Jong-Il Production

Yesterday I spent some time looking through by BOB or Book of Books looking for “out there” books for @melstodd . I have kept a BOB of one sort or another since 1989, but the one I still have I started in 2018. I thought I might be able to find books I read in the past and post a picture and a short review of the book on a regular basis. I saw one person tried to do this everyday for each day of the @dothe100dayproject ; I am not that ambitious.

Paul Fischer’s book is a non-fiction account of the experiences of the South Korean actress Choi Eun-Hee and her ex-husband the film director Shin Sang-Ok. The two were, separately, lured to Hong Kong, kidnapped, and exfiltrated against their will (some, unconvincingly, in my opinion believe they defected) to North Korea where, after a couple years in prison, they made movies for the future monarch and dictator of North Korea, Kim Jon-Il. After two years in prison and reeducation programs, the two made seven movies including the monster movie Pulgasari. I have not seen the film, but Wikipedia summarizes it as the story of “a blacksmith's daughter who brings to life a metal-eating monster her late father created to defeat the monarchy.” In 1986, after almost eight years, the two managed to evade their handlers and escape to the United States embassy in Vienna, Austria.

My records say that I read this book in December 2015. The story still has a place in my memory which should tell that this is a book worth reading. You might also consider reading Guy DeLisle’s graphic novel memoir Pyongyang about his time working in the animation industry in North Korea, although it should be noted that DeLisle went of his own volition and was able to leave when his job ended without any issues.

Have you read any stories or books set in North Korea?

#bookstagram #scottlivesinjerseynow #picturesofbooks #books #goodreadswithaview #literature #instabooks #currentlyreading #kindle #libby #library #junkjournal #firstlines

#bookstagram #scottlivesinjerseynow #picturesofbooks #books #goodreadswithaview #literature #instabooks #currentlyreading #kindle #libby #library #junkjournal #firstlines #truecrime #northkorea