How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Panel)
Quote #7
A sword of Damocles hangs over every head, waiting for one false move, striking both the “guilty” and their entire families. (5.77-5.78)
The sheer level of paranoia the people of North Korea must live with every day is unlike anything we can imagine. We’re not sure anyone else on the planet would know what that was like. Former residents of the Soviet Union, perhaps?
Quote #8
The International Friendship Exhibition was dug into the side of the mountain to withstand nuclear attack. (7.19)
Paranoia runs high in North Korea. Anything that’s worth anything—the IFE, the subway—doubles as a nuclear fallout shelter. It’s like they actually think people might want their worthless stuff...
Quote #9
As a student, [Kim Jong-Il] apparently published no less than 1,200 works, including a number of specialized military treatises. And in his first golf game, he hit 11 holes in one. (9.4)
This sounds like something out of a South Park parody, but it’s real. It’s incredible how much value North Korea puts onto its leader, as though one man can completely and totally embody an entire nation.