By Alek Sigley. In the last instalment on the novel Friend by Paek Nam Ryong we looked at how Ri Sŏk Ch’un, the lathe operator, met his wife, the singer, Ch’ae Sun Hŭi. The story is told through a flashback to the past. Now they are married, have a young son, and are seeking divorce through the local People’s Court judge Chŏng Jin U. The narrative also contains a section where Chŏng Jin U recounts how he met his now-wife, Han Ŭn Ok. It provides many an insight into North Korean society, in particular, the outlook of North Korea’s educated class. In the section where Chŏng Jin U gives his thesis presentation, I have directly translated much of the text, rather than summarise it, as in the rest of the post. This is because it is a considerably unique look at North Korean historiography and social science, and therefore might be… [Read More]
Archives for January 2018
Two North Korean Love Stories which Put the “Cute” into “Meet Cute” (Pt. 1)
By Alek Sigley I very recently finished reading the North Korean novel Friend (벗) by Paek Nam-Ryong (백남룡). The novel was published in the 1980s, and was apparently a best seller in North Korea. It was published in South Korea too where it garnered acclaim from literary critics. The story takes place in a city in the DPRK’s mountainous northern region. Part of what made it the subject of such interest in South Korea and overseas was that it dealt with the topic of divorce—which had been seldom if ever dealt with in North Korean fiction previously. The main characters are a married couple, the husband, Ri Sŏk Ch’un, and wife, Ch’ae Sun Hŭi, who have run up against the shoals of marital “disharmony”, and seek divorce through the local people’s court. The judge overseeing the case, Chŏng Jin U, becomes personally involved in both trying to discern the root… [Read More]
