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See You Again in Pyongyang: A Journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea
From ballistic missile tests to stranger-than-fiction stories of purges and assassinations, news from North Korea never fails to dominate the global headlines. But what is life there actually like?
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 29, 2018
101 people are currently reading
1518 people want to read
About the author
Travis Jeppesen
24 books102 followersTravis Jeppesen is the author of Settlers Landing, Victims, Wolf at the Door, The Suiciders, All Fall, 16 Sculptures, and See You Again in Pyongyang, among other books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
July 8, 2018
I have extremely mixed feelings on this book. The writing itself is excellent, as the author is a gifted novelist, and the trip he takes to North Korea - the premise of which is to study Korean, which is basically just an excuse to spend a month there out of curiosity - is fascinating. He also fills in a lot of 20th-century general Korean history which is missing from a lot of books on North Korea that focus on refugee stories because the refugees themselves don't know the real history, so that's a big plus. It should be a very good book.
The author is a self-defined "Leftist" who is not a fan of American propaganda about Eastern European history and lives in Berlin. His mild sympathy to the North Korean regime (or at least its idea of Nationalist Socialism) makes for an interesting take. But again, this is North Korea. Around 1% of the entire population is sitting in real life concentration camps. Their human rights record is the worst in the world. While he acknowledges all of this in the beginning ... he still goes to North Korea, basically taking language lessons and jetting between luxury resorts for the North Korean elites, who have become very rich through corruption and laughable workarounds to international sanctions. He runs into a community of expats who think North Korea is awesome as a human spectacle - or at least a good place to get drunk in. While he tells the story of at least one survivor who made it to South Korea and has her own harrowing tale, he spends much more time on how poorly North Koreans integrate into South Korean society then what led them to flee and be sold into sexual slavery in China in the first place. His priorities are questionable at best. His visit to Pyongyang is a bit like a visit to Berlin in 1938 if he spent most of it drinking heavily, hanging around with Nazi elites, and skiing, then came home to write a book about how they were people, too. Which they were, but still.
The author is a self-defined "Leftist" who is not a fan of American propaganda about Eastern European history and lives in Berlin. His mild sympathy to the North Korean regime (or at least its idea of Nationalist Socialism) makes for an interesting take. But again, this is North Korea. Around 1% of the entire population is sitting in real life concentration camps. Their human rights record is the worst in the world. While he acknowledges all of this in the beginning ... he still goes to North Korea, basically taking language lessons and jetting between luxury resorts for the North Korean elites, who have become very rich through corruption and laughable workarounds to international sanctions. He runs into a community of expats who think North Korea is awesome as a human spectacle - or at least a good place to get drunk in. While he tells the story of at least one survivor who made it to South Korea and has her own harrowing tale, he spends much more time on how poorly North Koreans integrate into South Korean society then what led them to flee and be sold into sexual slavery in China in the first place. His priorities are questionable at best. His visit to Pyongyang is a bit like a visit to Berlin in 1938 if he spent most of it drinking heavily, hanging around with Nazi elites, and skiing, then came home to write a book about how they were people, too. Which they were, but still.
August 30, 2018
A fascinating, balanced, multifaceted, genuine and thoughtful description of the author's personal experience in North Korea.
Definitely one of the best books on the subject, it does not limit to the analysis of the undoubtedly sinister aspects of this bizarre and secluded regime (an authoritarian political system encompassing a pathological mixture of Stalinist personality-cult, hereditary monarchy influenced by Confucian legacies of respect for tradition and given authority, and an ultra nationalistic and militaristic ideology predicated on a racially exclusive concept of nation state), but it delves into the underlying cultural and historical elements that contributed to the development of the unique and Orwellian nature of such regime.
The author did not spend just a few days as a tourist, but he had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time as a foreign student there, thus gaining more than just a quick, impressionistic and superficial encounter with life in the DPRK.
His empathy towards the human nature of his Korean acquaintances and the survival and coping mechanisms contrived by them, together with his tireless efforts to investigate matters below the surface (a pretty rare occurrence in much of the political pornography affecting much of the reporting on North Korea), are truly praiseworthy and contribute to deliver a fascinating, vivid, original and informative account.
From the author: "I believe that there is a fundamental and flawed humanity that unites the people I have met there with those I have encountered elsewhere, a humanity that is often overlooked in the opportunistic pursuits of warspeak and political advantage"
Highly recommended.
Definitely one of the best books on the subject, it does not limit to the analysis of the undoubtedly sinister aspects of this bizarre and secluded regime (an authoritarian political system encompassing a pathological mixture of Stalinist personality-cult, hereditary monarchy influenced by Confucian legacies of respect for tradition and given authority, and an ultra nationalistic and militaristic ideology predicated on a racially exclusive concept of nation state), but it delves into the underlying cultural and historical elements that contributed to the development of the unique and Orwellian nature of such regime.
The author did not spend just a few days as a tourist, but he had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time as a foreign student there, thus gaining more than just a quick, impressionistic and superficial encounter with life in the DPRK.
His empathy towards the human nature of his Korean acquaintances and the survival and coping mechanisms contrived by them, together with his tireless efforts to investigate matters below the surface (a pretty rare occurrence in much of the political pornography affecting much of the reporting on North Korea), are truly praiseworthy and contribute to deliver a fascinating, vivid, original and informative account.
From the author: "I believe that there is a fundamental and flawed humanity that unites the people I have met there with those I have encountered elsewhere, a humanity that is often overlooked in the opportunistic pursuits of warspeak and political advantage"
Highly recommended.
June 7, 2018
I’ve read several books about the DPRK and this was one of the best. The author weaves a Western perspective into the narrative of everyday life for those in Pyongyang and the surrounding area, while providing much-needed historical context into how modern-day North Korea came to be. I appreciated his objectivity as an American. He describes the people’s bitterness toward Americans, but also provides dimension as to how that bitterness came to be without pandering to either side. (As he says, propaganda can work both ways). Everything is provided in such context and the short vignettes made for easy and accessible reading.
July 17, 2020
[3+] Jeppesen was the first American to study in North Korea and I enjoyed his insights into North Korean culture. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough first hand material from his 1 month, heavily guarded visit, so he filled the pages with a chatty history of North Korea. If that is what you are looking for - I recommend this book.
July 26, 2018
Given the lack of information we in the U.S. have about day-to-day life in this nation that is supposed to be our mortal enemy, I am happy to read any first-hand account of North Korea. The ordinariness of the everyday people Jeppesen meets is poignant and humanizing. But where he really succeeds is in outlining the unknowable for us outsiders—both because we are blinded by our own propaganda and because of the constant stream of official lies from the handlers, minders, and state media in the DPRK. I also appreciate the historical context Jeppesen provides for the current diplomatic debacle we’re in, the way we’ve broken our own promises and the point of view of a nation that sees itself as under siege. Previously unknown to me also was his description of the difficulties defectors face in South Korea once they have made the arduous journey out.
March 24, 2019
This was a very interesting book, but it made me anxious reading it. I felt like I was going through all the author's experiences alongside him and damn was I nervous and scared about what was going to happen next! Travis Jeppesen becomes the first American to study Korean for 1 month through a tour company in North Korea. He spends his time constantly accompanied (something that sets of my anxiety all on its own!) by Korean guides whose job it is to make sure he only sees the version of North Korea that foreigners are allowed to experience. Even though it's a lot of the same-old with regards to NoKo, this book is a bit different from the defector's narrative that is most commonly published. This isn't the story of why citizens leave North Korea....it's the story of why foreigners go there and what they find when they do. Very interesting attempt to explore a place most of us will never see.
July 22, 2018
****Goodreads Giveaway Win****
I enjoyed this book much more than I had expected. The author struck an almost perfect balance between factual/historical data and personal memoir-like anecdotes. He also struck a fine balance between which part of foreign views of North Korea are propaganda a which part are accurate. The author beautifully depicted the absurdity of that country. That said, he didn't fail to discuss how the US helps to contributed to that absurdity - we are not innocent bystanders. Finally, Travis Jeppesen, while trying to give some insights into North Korea made clear that a foreigner can never know that country. Great book.
I enjoyed this book much more than I had expected. The author struck an almost perfect balance between factual/historical data and personal memoir-like anecdotes. He also struck a fine balance between which part of foreign views of North Korea are propaganda a which part are accurate. The author beautifully depicted the absurdity of that country. That said, he didn't fail to discuss how the US helps to contributed to that absurdity - we are not innocent bystanders. Finally, Travis Jeppesen, while trying to give some insights into North Korea made clear that a foreigner can never know that country. Great book.
June 10, 2018
3.5 stars
Although North Korea is a difficult place to visit—especially for anyone holding a U.S. passport—there are a good number of newspaper and magazine articles that recount the authors’ short trips to the “Hermit Kingdom.” I’ve read a lot of those articles, and after a while they all blur together: when all of the authors are going on near-identical package tours, highly scripted and closely monitored by North Korean authorities, it’s difficult to say anything new or surprising. There are some changes over time, particularly since Kim Jong Un has permitted very slight economic liberalization and a new class of Pyongyang nouveau riche has emerged, but most tourists go to the same places and are told the same stories.
Travis Jeppesen, an American writer who lives in Berlin, made several of those short visits to the DPRK starting in 2012 before signing up for a month-long study tour, one of the new opportunities now available under Kim Jong Un. In See You Again in Pyongyang, Jeppesen describes the four weeks he spent in North Korea learning Korean during the summer of 2016, interspersing the narrative of that month with anecdotes from his previous trips to the country, as well as short explanations of Korean history from pre-modern times to the present.
Since he was in the DPRK for a longer period of time than most Western tourists, Jeppesen sees more of the country and has more of a chance to deepen his relationships with the North Korean minders assigned to watch over his small group. As he admits toward the end of his story, though, Jeppesen can’t really claim to “know” North Korea, and while he has come to think of his language teachers and minders as “friends,” they aren’t, really. See You Again in Pyongyang is more fleshed-out than most North Korean travelogues, but Jeppesen is still constrained in his movements and unable to have any sort of free exchange with the people he encounters along the way.
Though he sometimes slips into making over-stated claims about what it’s like to live in North Korea, for the most part Jeppesen is aware of how limited his understanding of the country and its people is, and he sticks to telling stories about his language classes and the tours he and his two fellow students take. Jeppesen’s tone toward the North Koreans he encounters is respectful and sympathetic; he tries to be conscious of his status as a guest in their country and doesn’t attempt to “teach” them that their system is wrong. The one aspect of the book’s style that I quickly tired of is Jeppesen’s fondness for sentence fragments. We all have our writing tics and quirks, of course, but this one feels like an author trying too hard to sound profound.
Jeppesen finished his manuscript before the 2018 roller-coaster of U.S.-DPRK relations got underway, so his epilogue is pessimistic about the prospects for improved ties between the two countries. With a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un getting underway in Singapore as I write this review, we might soon see changes that Jeppesen didn’t anticipate when he was working on this book. And if more Americans are soon able to visit North Korea, more books like See You Again in Pyongyang will probably appear on bookstores’ shelves in the next few years.
Review copy obtained via NetGalley.
Although North Korea is a difficult place to visit—especially for anyone holding a U.S. passport—there are a good number of newspaper and magazine articles that recount the authors’ short trips to the “Hermit Kingdom.” I’ve read a lot of those articles, and after a while they all blur together: when all of the authors are going on near-identical package tours, highly scripted and closely monitored by North Korean authorities, it’s difficult to say anything new or surprising. There are some changes over time, particularly since Kim Jong Un has permitted very slight economic liberalization and a new class of Pyongyang nouveau riche has emerged, but most tourists go to the same places and are told the same stories.
Travis Jeppesen, an American writer who lives in Berlin, made several of those short visits to the DPRK starting in 2012 before signing up for a month-long study tour, one of the new opportunities now available under Kim Jong Un. In See You Again in Pyongyang, Jeppesen describes the four weeks he spent in North Korea learning Korean during the summer of 2016, interspersing the narrative of that month with anecdotes from his previous trips to the country, as well as short explanations of Korean history from pre-modern times to the present.
Since he was in the DPRK for a longer period of time than most Western tourists, Jeppesen sees more of the country and has more of a chance to deepen his relationships with the North Korean minders assigned to watch over his small group. As he admits toward the end of his story, though, Jeppesen can’t really claim to “know” North Korea, and while he has come to think of his language teachers and minders as “friends,” they aren’t, really. See You Again in Pyongyang is more fleshed-out than most North Korean travelogues, but Jeppesen is still constrained in his movements and unable to have any sort of free exchange with the people he encounters along the way.
Though he sometimes slips into making over-stated claims about what it’s like to live in North Korea, for the most part Jeppesen is aware of how limited his understanding of the country and its people is, and he sticks to telling stories about his language classes and the tours he and his two fellow students take. Jeppesen’s tone toward the North Koreans he encounters is respectful and sympathetic; he tries to be conscious of his status as a guest in their country and doesn’t attempt to “teach” them that their system is wrong. The one aspect of the book’s style that I quickly tired of is Jeppesen’s fondness for sentence fragments. We all have our writing tics and quirks, of course, but this one feels like an author trying too hard to sound profound.
Jeppesen finished his manuscript before the 2018 roller-coaster of U.S.-DPRK relations got underway, so his epilogue is pessimistic about the prospects for improved ties between the two countries. With a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un getting underway in Singapore as I write this review, we might soon see changes that Jeppesen didn’t anticipate when he was working on this book. And if more Americans are soon able to visit North Korea, more books like See You Again in Pyongyang will probably appear on bookstores’ shelves in the next few years.
Review copy obtained via NetGalley.
April 27, 2018
See You Again in Pyongyang is one of those books that doesn't fully affect while you are reading it. You find yourself later, however, thinking about the people the author has met in the country, and about what reality is truth. For instance, defectors are often told to cry real tears when telling their stories, or people will think the stories are fake. They finally made it out of their own personal hell, then they are asked to put on a show for the rest of the world, going from one false reality to another. Do any of us REALLY know what's real in our world and what is not? Most of the time we think we know until a book like this comes along and makes us take a good hard look at it. I was a bit disappointed in the book only because I had been hoping for more stories of the people met along the way during the author's journey and less of the history, but it is an excellent merging of a history book and travel guide. I did find it a bit long, but probably because it was a different book than the one I thought I would be reading. As I said however, it is something that continues to niggle at your mind as you go about your life, seemingly a world away from North Korea.
January 1, 2022
Most books about North Korea are written by people trying to get out of the country. This one is written by someone trying to get in--not just into its political boundaries, but into the culture and mindset of the most bizarre place on the planet.
June 10, 2019
Part blog, part critique, mostly apologia.
Wavering between 2 1/2 and 3 stars. While Jeppesen provides an interesting look at the nouveau riche elite culture in Pyongyang and North Korea in general that has arisen under Kim Jong Un, his being limited to this perspective (both by his hosts and his own choice) means that he doesn't and can't possibly find out the whole story of what life is truly like in the DPRK. He claims to maintain strong skepticism and caution about the regime, keeping the gulags, the repression, the pervasive state control and corruption in mind at all times, but this stance is muddled by his half-praising, half-wary travelogue-style writing about the hotels, resorts, museums (esp. the Atrocity Museum in Sinchon), state universities and monuments that form the world he lives in during his month-long tour. His descriptions of the "fundamental and flawed humanity" that he finds in individual North Koreans throughout his stay, although breaking with the top-down, incomplete, arguably biased reporting and analysis that dominates Western views of the DPRK, don't change this fact.
What troubled me most was his use of composite characters; while changing names is accepted practice in journalism and indeed any type of writing in order to maintain the safety of sources, blending persons together (some of whom he admits to only hearing about) means the "humanity" of any of the actual people he encountered can't ever be truly determined. Furthermore, although he mentions interviewing a number of defectors (and prudently avoiding those who want to be paid for the interview), only one is explored in any depth, and he appears to cast her (and the defector community as a whole) as pitiable dupes at best and opportunists at worst, bullied or encouraged by greedy South Korean media conglomerates. This is a blatant generalization in my opinion, and further undermines his allegedly trying to provide a more nuanced view of the DPRK and its people.
For a better (albeit slightly dated) look at the DPRK in general and its people in particular, I recommend Barbara Demick's 2010 Nothing to Envy. This book did provide some fascinating insight into a potentially new era and society emerging since Kim Jong-il's death in 2011. Nevertheless, it does not give a truly neutral on-the-ground view of the DPRK as its author claims, and the attempts at historical background and other academic support can't make up for this, which has in turn encouraged me to find what (recently-published) historical studies exist.
Wavering between 2 1/2 and 3 stars. While Jeppesen provides an interesting look at the nouveau riche elite culture in Pyongyang and North Korea in general that has arisen under Kim Jong Un, his being limited to this perspective (both by his hosts and his own choice) means that he doesn't and can't possibly find out the whole story of what life is truly like in the DPRK. He claims to maintain strong skepticism and caution about the regime, keeping the gulags, the repression, the pervasive state control and corruption in mind at all times, but this stance is muddled by his half-praising, half-wary travelogue-style writing about the hotels, resorts, museums (esp. the Atrocity Museum in Sinchon), state universities and monuments that form the world he lives in during his month-long tour. His descriptions of the "fundamental and flawed humanity" that he finds in individual North Koreans throughout his stay, although breaking with the top-down, incomplete, arguably biased reporting and analysis that dominates Western views of the DPRK, don't change this fact.
What troubled me most was his use of composite characters; while changing names is accepted practice in journalism and indeed any type of writing in order to maintain the safety of sources, blending persons together (some of whom he admits to only hearing about) means the "humanity" of any of the actual people he encountered can't ever be truly determined. Furthermore, although he mentions interviewing a number of defectors (and prudently avoiding those who want to be paid for the interview), only one is explored in any depth, and he appears to cast her (and the defector community as a whole) as pitiable dupes at best and opportunists at worst, bullied or encouraged by greedy South Korean media conglomerates. This is a blatant generalization in my opinion, and further undermines his allegedly trying to provide a more nuanced view of the DPRK and its people.
For a better (albeit slightly dated) look at the DPRK in general and its people in particular, I recommend Barbara Demick's 2010 Nothing to Envy. This book did provide some fascinating insight into a potentially new era and society emerging since Kim Jong-il's death in 2011. Nevertheless, it does not give a truly neutral on-the-ground view of the DPRK as its author claims, and the attempts at historical background and other academic support can't make up for this, which has in turn encouraged me to find what (recently-published) historical studies exist.
April 9, 2019
There are many books about North Korea, as it's one of the most unknown and interesting countries in the world. This one is written about Travis's month-long experience as a student in North Korea. There were also mentions of his previous visits to the country (this is his 4th time). I like that he tries to present a more balanced view of the country. He's there with 2 other foreigners, an Australian and a Frenchman. Because of the amount of time they're there, they get to visit places not in the usual tourist itinerary.
He also met foreign diplomats who live and work in Pyongyang. There's also a story of a North Korean defector. Through her story, we find that North Korean defectors tend to have a difficult time in South Korea. They are exploited and discriminated against.
North Korea is like another world, at least to us here in the West. It seems everything we see here is negative. But, we have to remember that to North Koreans, this is their home. Their worldview will be very different.
He also met foreign diplomats who live and work in Pyongyang. There's also a story of a North Korean defector. Through her story, we find that North Korean defectors tend to have a difficult time in South Korea. They are exploited and discriminated against.
North Korea is like another world, at least to us here in the West. It seems everything we see here is negative. But, we have to remember that to North Koreans, this is their home. Their worldview will be very different.
January 15, 2019
I was initially expecting this would be closer to a travelogue - specifically just the people and places "on the ground". But Jeppesen's done an incredible amount of research to pull in a lot of historical information and combine it with the travelogue aspects so you get the context to understand why it is the way it is. As much as you can, that is.
March 1, 2019
I've never read a book by an apologist for a despotic regime who is has so little concern for comprehending the bias he is expiriencing beyond simply pointing it out. This book is well written and as interesting as any travel memoir you will read.
February 22, 2021
Extremely interesting and frequently depressing, but ultimately a human and considered account of a month spent in DPRK exploring all of the lows associated with that regime while also giving explanations about art, culture, family separations and the various human aspects of life there
July 29, 2018
Abandoned 26% in. Meh.
October 10, 2025
Unlike the last two books that I have read, I decided to read on a subject that is a little more contemporary: North Korea under Kim Jong Un. Here, Berlin-based American author Travis Jeppesen decides to live as a foreigner in the capital city of Pyongyang for a month to participate in a Korean-language course at one of its universities. Of course, he is not alone in this endeavor as he partakes in this program with a restless Frenchman and an entrepreneurial Australian who seeks to promote his own North-Korea-centric tour company.
Although the official objective was to learn Korean, the author embarks on a trip into the surreal atmosphere that pervades North Korean society. Throughout the month, he goes on different trips to different parts of Pyongyang as well as other cities and resorts throughout the country. The author is exceptional at being able to weave the history of the Korean Peninsula and the North Korean regime with the different attractions that he, his classmates, and his guides visit. From these historical lessons and vivid images, I was able to learn more about the aftermath of the Korean War as well as the dynamics that turned a Soviet client state into a monarchic dynasty.
On the other hand, I got to know more the lives of the author, his classmates, and guides. I became acquainted with their desires, their dreams, and their goals. At the same time, I could not help but feel heartbroken for the North Korean guides who would remain trapped in their society having to constantly maintain a facade of optimism for the Communist monarchy that they were born into. Unfortunately, I would have liked to have learnt more about the daily homework assignments and the process of learning Korean, but clearly the author was understandably more concerned about life outside of the classroom.
I would recommend this book to those who want to read about contemporary East Asian geopolitics or about North Korean politics and history.
Although the official objective was to learn Korean, the author embarks on a trip into the surreal atmosphere that pervades North Korean society. Throughout the month, he goes on different trips to different parts of Pyongyang as well as other cities and resorts throughout the country. The author is exceptional at being able to weave the history of the Korean Peninsula and the North Korean regime with the different attractions that he, his classmates, and his guides visit. From these historical lessons and vivid images, I was able to learn more about the aftermath of the Korean War as well as the dynamics that turned a Soviet client state into a monarchic dynasty.
On the other hand, I got to know more the lives of the author, his classmates, and guides. I became acquainted with their desires, their dreams, and their goals. At the same time, I could not help but feel heartbroken for the North Korean guides who would remain trapped in their society having to constantly maintain a facade of optimism for the Communist monarchy that they were born into. Unfortunately, I would have liked to have learnt more about the daily homework assignments and the process of learning Korean, but clearly the author was understandably more concerned about life outside of the classroom.
I would recommend this book to those who want to read about contemporary East Asian geopolitics or about North Korean politics and history.
August 28, 2019
Первый американец, изучавший корейский язык в университете Пхеньяна, Трэвис Джеппсен рассказывает о своей последней поездке в Северную Корею. Он отводит немало времени истории (честно говоря, это самая скучная часть, особенно потому, что она постоянно прерывается занудными сносками переводчика, корректирующего автора - мол, в России принят другой взгляд на этот вопрос. Мне пофигу, какой у нас взгляд), но постепенно приходит к выводу о невозможности адекватно передать, например, все происходившее во время гражданской войны в Корее.
Джеппсен не демонизирует Северную Корею - он понимает, что это самый примитивный способ создать врага и держаться от него подальше. Но он видит, в какой чудовищной обстановке живут обычные корейцы и в какой лжи им приходится ежедневно вращаться - и почти опускает руки. Он тусит с экспатами, поражаясь их цинизму, отчаянно ищет уединения, но в Северной Корее к каждому туристу приписан сопровождающий, и без гида он не может ступить ни шагу.
Порой на Трэвиса накатывает паранойя: он чувствует слежку и опасается, как бы не ляпнуть лишнего. И тут же одергивает себя: включая внутреннюю цензуру, он как бы становится местным и начинает ощущать эмпатию по отношению к жителям страны.
Но главный посыл книги - в ее последней фразе. Страны это страны. А люди это люди. Джеппсен пишет о людях, и это самое классное. Когда он открывает для себя художников, которые пишут картины совсем не так как требует того государство, это один из самых мощных моментов книги.
Хайли рекоммендед.
Джеппсен не демонизирует Северную Корею - он понимает, что это самый примитивный способ создать врага и держаться от него подальше. Но он видит, в какой чудовищной обстановке живут обычные корейцы и в какой лжи им приходится ежедневно вращаться - и почти опускает руки. Он тусит с экспатами, поражаясь их цинизму, отчаянно ищет уединения, но в Северной Корее к каждому туристу приписан сопровождающий, и без гида он не может ступить ни шагу.
Порой на Трэвиса накатывает паранойя: он чувствует слежку и опасается, как бы не ляпнуть лишнего. И тут же одергивает себя: включая внутреннюю цензуру, он как бы становится местным и начинает ощущать эмпатию по отношению к жителям страны.
Но главный посыл книги - в ее последней фразе. Страны это страны. А люди это люди. Джеппсен пишет о людях, и это самое классное. Когда он открывает для себя художников, которые пишут картины совсем не так как требует того государство, это один из самых мощных моментов книги.
Хайли рекоммендед.
April 20, 2022
There's simply not a lot of solid information available about the DPRK so any addition to that information is welcome. When it's well-written and attempts to be balanced, it's even more welcome.
As with so many terrible political situations in the world today, it's one that has only been further exacerbated by a failing US-led sanctions policy. Despite proof over and over and over again across multiple examples that sanctions never punish the elite, who find ways around them, but the poor people at the bottom, the world seems content to let the North Korean people pay for the absolutely crazy regime that runs that country.
Travis took the time to spend a month in the DPRK so as to go deeper than so many other casual "tourists" can, and his summary of how the Kims came to power is a very useful frame to understand all that came after.
As with so many terrible political situations in the world today, it's one that has only been further exacerbated by a failing US-led sanctions policy. Despite proof over and over and over again across multiple examples that sanctions never punish the elite, who find ways around them, but the poor people at the bottom, the world seems content to let the North Korean people pay for the absolutely crazy regime that runs that country.
Travis took the time to spend a month in the DPRK so as to go deeper than so many other casual "tourists" can, and his summary of how the Kims came to power is a very useful frame to understand all that came after.
July 18, 2018
A fascinating read about North Korea that provided a lot of history and context I hadn't know previously. His writing style was lacking, and this book is not a page turner, but it is very informative. He challenges preconceived ideas about North Korea we hear about in the news media ("The brain-cleansing properties of propaganda operate, after all, in both directions") and shares about the difficult experiences defectors face, including those encouraging them to exploit their stories for profit. His experiences were simultaneously crazier and less crazy than what you would expect. A challenging read at times, but informative for those who wish to know more about this country we hear about in the news so frequently.
May 1, 2024
Amazing book. Really recommend. Seems relatively unbiased and the author tries to explain what he learned from his experience in DPRK in a way we (outsiders) can understand, trying to maintain a neutral stance, while also confessing that it is impossible to do so. Still, his travel stories and his including pieces of historic and social context make it hard to put this book down.
August 17, 2019
3.5 ⭐️
August 19, 2024
It was fine, pretty well written but I think I’m just not as interested in North Korea and all the little details as I thought. Still good if you are though.
October 1, 2018
Read Lankov first, then read this. Super dope.
July 6, 2025
This was a random library find. I appreciated it because I learned more about the politics between North Korea, South Korea, China, and Russia. I also learned more details about the Korean War and overall Korean history. The narrative was well-written. I am still thinking about if it’s possible to visit, write about, and love North Korea while at the same time condemning its human rights violations. For me, the duality exists when it comes to the US, but can it for the DPRK? What made me consider this further was the defector’s story about wanting to go back to North Korea after living in South Korea due to all of the discrimination she faced in South Korea and other parts of Asia.
January 19, 2020
It is interesting to read the variety of opinions on this book. Like most people, I am curious about North Korea, not only because it is mysterious to Westerners but because I have read about other countries that have/had communism in Asia and the results were horrifying (Cambodia, in particular). With that said, I thought this was an excellent look (as good of one as you can get in a repressed country anyway) into what the average person's life is like in Pyongyang, North Korea which is something that is not easy to find.
I strongly disagree with the idea floated in other's reviews that the author is a leftist biased in favor of the current regime. He doesn't spend a lot of time condemning them but his disapproval is easy to see. There is no love for them expressed in this book, if anything, the author is discouraged that they are likely going to remain in control of the country for the foreseeable future. It is also worth noting that this book is not a light travelogue but closer to literary non-fiction. It invites you to think and the author shares with you some of the deepest revelations he had about North Korea. The narrative is tense and there are plenty of sad stories but Travis Jeppesen gets at the complexities too. As he rightly points out, the US (with help from other world powers) have had a major part in creating North Korea but have also been quick to cut off all relations which arguably hasn't helped either country. The way that defectors of North Korea are treated in their neighboring country is reprehensible and the fact that there is an industry of people creating propaganda about North Korea in a way that doesn't help anyone is disconcerting. These were things that I had either forgotten or never knew and I think demonstrate the depth in the writing as well.
What resonated with me is that Jeppesen shows the humanity in North Korea and successfully argues why cutting North Korea off is not working. The places he visits are bizarre to a Westerner but rarely in the ways you expect. For example, empty restaurants and hotels in the capital are at times eerie but normal there. The exception is probably Sinchon Museum of American Atrocities which is truly a horrific and disturbing exercise in propaganda that I cannot believe exists but the many of the other locations show you what life is really like there. It is sometimes sad, always a bit scary, and tense but still humanizing. You feel for the people in North Korea and the world they have to live in. And that is another sign of great writing.
This is a long-winded review because I think knowing what this book is and isn't, might help you decide if it is for you. I also had a lot to say after reading it because it is very affecting and made me think a lot. I found the book hard to put down and it was a fast read at only 300 pages. I'd highly recommend this to anyone wanting to know what modern North Korea is like. This book reminded me how good literary non-fiction can be and I am thankful I had the opportunity to read it.
I strongly disagree with the idea floated in other's reviews that the author is a leftist biased in favor of the current regime. He doesn't spend a lot of time condemning them but his disapproval is easy to see. There is no love for them expressed in this book, if anything, the author is discouraged that they are likely going to remain in control of the country for the foreseeable future. It is also worth noting that this book is not a light travelogue but closer to literary non-fiction. It invites you to think and the author shares with you some of the deepest revelations he had about North Korea. The narrative is tense and there are plenty of sad stories but Travis Jeppesen gets at the complexities too. As he rightly points out, the US (with help from other world powers) have had a major part in creating North Korea but have also been quick to cut off all relations which arguably hasn't helped either country. The way that defectors of North Korea are treated in their neighboring country is reprehensible and the fact that there is an industry of people creating propaganda about North Korea in a way that doesn't help anyone is disconcerting. These were things that I had either forgotten or never knew and I think demonstrate the depth in the writing as well.
What resonated with me is that Jeppesen shows the humanity in North Korea and successfully argues why cutting North Korea off is not working. The places he visits are bizarre to a Westerner but rarely in the ways you expect. For example, empty restaurants and hotels in the capital are at times eerie but normal there. The exception is probably Sinchon Museum of American Atrocities which is truly a horrific and disturbing exercise in propaganda that I cannot believe exists but the many of the other locations show you what life is really like there. It is sometimes sad, always a bit scary, and tense but still humanizing. You feel for the people in North Korea and the world they have to live in. And that is another sign of great writing.
This is a long-winded review because I think knowing what this book is and isn't, might help you decide if it is for you. I also had a lot to say after reading it because it is very affecting and made me think a lot. I found the book hard to put down and it was a fast read at only 300 pages. I'd highly recommend this to anyone wanting to know what modern North Korea is like. This book reminded me how good literary non-fiction can be and I am thankful I had the opportunity to read it.
November 13, 2021
Solid; but it's tough to decide whether to give this a 3 or a 4. Let's say a 3.5. The book is structured as a nonfiction novel, recounting the author's month spent learning Korean at a university in Pyongyang, but with frequent extended digressions into straight nonfiction breaking up the narrative. While it's an easy and amiable read, this unfortunately results in a book that kind of falls in between two stools.
As a book of nonfiction reportage on the workings of North Korea, the attitudes of its people, and so on, it was informative and readable. Jeppesen is clearly knowledgeable and well-read on the subject, in addition to his firsthand experience in the country. He's not a gung-ho anti-NK writer, eager to find and print the most sensational or salacious details or rumors about the country; and equally he's not remotely an apologist- he doesn't shy away from depicting the impositions and absurdities of life in North Korea, and while he provides context for why the government's ideology and functionings work the way they do, he never apologizes for them. He always makes it clear when he knows he's being lied to by his guides or by propaganda. But- as a nonfiction work, this feels kind of slight, leavened as it is with the narrative stuff; and it lacks citations, an index, and the original work of synthesis and interpretation one would want from a straight nonfiction book on the subject. The most interesting material, inevitably, has to do with Jeppesen's firsthand experience in the North Korea of Kim Jong Un, more recent and topical than the information about the 20th century North Korea he re-presents in the book.
As a nonfiction novel, I think it also comes up somewhat short. Almost all the analysis and interpretation happens in the factual digressions, and while Jeppesen is a competent writer, he doesn't really use the novel format to achieve any feats of characterization, drama, or epiphany. Perhaps this is inevitable, given the pretty mundane circumstances of the visit he recounts. But that kind of makes it not very interesting as a way of framing the nonfiction material. It makes it more palatable for the average reader, I guess, than a dry unsensational book of history and analysis would be.
Anyway. A decent book, probably a good book for people casually interested in the subject of North Korea. Not really very good as a reference work or a narrative, though.
As a book of nonfiction reportage on the workings of North Korea, the attitudes of its people, and so on, it was informative and readable. Jeppesen is clearly knowledgeable and well-read on the subject, in addition to his firsthand experience in the country. He's not a gung-ho anti-NK writer, eager to find and print the most sensational or salacious details or rumors about the country; and equally he's not remotely an apologist- he doesn't shy away from depicting the impositions and absurdities of life in North Korea, and while he provides context for why the government's ideology and functionings work the way they do, he never apologizes for them. He always makes it clear when he knows he's being lied to by his guides or by propaganda. But- as a nonfiction work, this feels kind of slight, leavened as it is with the narrative stuff; and it lacks citations, an index, and the original work of synthesis and interpretation one would want from a straight nonfiction book on the subject. The most interesting material, inevitably, has to do with Jeppesen's firsthand experience in the North Korea of Kim Jong Un, more recent and topical than the information about the 20th century North Korea he re-presents in the book.
As a nonfiction novel, I think it also comes up somewhat short. Almost all the analysis and interpretation happens in the factual digressions, and while Jeppesen is a competent writer, he doesn't really use the novel format to achieve any feats of characterization, drama, or epiphany. Perhaps this is inevitable, given the pretty mundane circumstances of the visit he recounts. But that kind of makes it not very interesting as a way of framing the nonfiction material. It makes it more palatable for the average reader, I guess, than a dry unsensational book of history and analysis would be.
Anyway. A decent book, probably a good book for people casually interested in the subject of North Korea. Not really very good as a reference work or a narrative, though.
June 12, 2020
I had to recommit myself to reading the book a few times, but it was worth it .
Let me start by listing one ethical concern that this book raised for me that I did not factor into my rating of it . It’s simply this. If as Mr. Jeppsen claims he was one of only three people who participated in this program in its first run ( and I have no reason to doubt that he was) then it’s going to be very obvious to any North Korean government official who reads the book who he was and which minders , drivers & teachers he had. Even though the author states that his characters like Comrade Kim were an amalgamation of several different people he’d met in his time in the DPRK and with the defector community in South Korea. I’m not sure that government officials are going to take that nuance into account. I had a genuine fear that the government who are notably hostile to people writing these exact types of accounts would punish his government minders & teachers despite them being a literary device .
As to the book itself, I really enjoyed it. Don’t judge it by its introduction which is quite dry, read past it and you’ll find a lot of very interesting information especially relating to the art and culture ( and especially the art) of North Korea’s especially as it does or doesn’t conform to their socialist and Juche ideology. This book along with Without You There Is No Us are as close to a genuine perspective of the elite of North Korea as a non native is ever going to get. The information the author has access to along with any foreign visitor to the DPRK is limited to the experience you have with the mandatory government minders and how comfortable and open they are and of course that any visitor is limited to seeing things mostly in Pyongyang and the general area. When visitors are taken outside of Pyongyang they are generally taken to their destination directly and only allowed in areas designated for foreigners for the most part . Because the author was there for a month and as part of an education program he was able to see much more than the standard one to two week itineraries and was able to interact with staff at the university. I found that the book really hit its stride in the final third of the book, but overall I found the entire book enlightening and enjoyable .
Let me start by listing one ethical concern that this book raised for me that I did not factor into my rating of it . It’s simply this. If as Mr. Jeppsen claims he was one of only three people who participated in this program in its first run ( and I have no reason to doubt that he was) then it’s going to be very obvious to any North Korean government official who reads the book who he was and which minders , drivers & teachers he had. Even though the author states that his characters like Comrade Kim were an amalgamation of several different people he’d met in his time in the DPRK and with the defector community in South Korea. I’m not sure that government officials are going to take that nuance into account. I had a genuine fear that the government who are notably hostile to people writing these exact types of accounts would punish his government minders & teachers despite them being a literary device .
As to the book itself, I really enjoyed it. Don’t judge it by its introduction which is quite dry, read past it and you’ll find a lot of very interesting information especially relating to the art and culture ( and especially the art) of North Korea’s especially as it does or doesn’t conform to their socialist and Juche ideology. This book along with Without You There Is No Us are as close to a genuine perspective of the elite of North Korea as a non native is ever going to get. The information the author has access to along with any foreign visitor to the DPRK is limited to the experience you have with the mandatory government minders and how comfortable and open they are and of course that any visitor is limited to seeing things mostly in Pyongyang and the general area. When visitors are taken outside of Pyongyang they are generally taken to their destination directly and only allowed in areas designated for foreigners for the most part . Because the author was there for a month and as part of an education program he was able to see much more than the standard one to two week itineraries and was able to interact with staff at the university. I found that the book really hit its stride in the final third of the book, but overall I found the entire book enlightening and enjoyable .
April 26, 2023
See You Again in Pyongyang: A Journey into Kim Jong Un’s North Korea by Travis Jeppesen documented the author’s month-long trip to the country in 2016 where he studied the Korean language at Kim Hyong Jik University of Education in Pyongyang. Jeppesen was the first American to study at a North Korean university, yet was no stranger to the country, as he had visited the DPRK on four previous, yet shorter, trips.
I took an immediate liking to this book, as I could identify with Jeppesen. We are both queer language lovers who have visited the DPRK, and I shared many of the same experiences during my lengthy trip to the country in 2011. His remark about tourists was precise, especially considering that I have a desire to return to the country to study the language just as he did:
“It seems strange. Then again, everything is a bit strange here. Not just the place but the people–and not just the local people but the tourists who willingly choose to come here. And especially, it follows, the ones like us–the moths who keep flocking back to the flame, overtaken by the mystery.”
Whether I was reading between the lines or tuning into my astute gaydar when looking at Jeppesen’s photo on the end flap, I could pick up on the sexual orientation of the author way before he came out on page 201. While in the DPRK Jeppesen and I both had to endure questions rooted in heteronormativity about our personal lives. I was asked on many occasions if I had a wife back home in Canada. Creating a closet for myself, and inventing ex-girlfriends to tell my minders about was humiliating for my self-esteem. I reasoned that countries that have dismal human rights records usually don’t treat their LGBT citizens well either, so I hid in the closet to save my skin. For the rest of the trip I genuinely worried that I might get into trouble if they should find out that I had been lying.
Although the author was a student with homework (yet no other classmates) he also partook in regular excursions throughout the country with students enrolled at different language levels. What I found endearing about Jeppesen was his empathy towards the North Korean people and nation. He didn’t turn his travel and educational experiences into a Stalinist freakshow diary wherein he ridiculed everyone and everything from his American pulpit. We both went to the DPRK with the same purpose: to observe, learn and listen. I was on a personal mission of “chocolate diplomacy”, using Toblerone to bridge the divide between our nations. I took some heat from a small minority of friends who accused me of contributing to Kim Jong Il’s nuclear program through my travel fees. No amount of explaining my reasons for visiting the country could convince them otherwise. Yet I believe that Jeppesen and I had the same desire to see the country for ourselves, and while we were both led along planned itineraries always with guides, when you travel throughout the entire country as I did for nineteen days, there is plenty that you see that is not part of any planned excursion and the “off-script” encounters tell the real story.
Jeppesen interspersed episodes of Korean history within the text. This helped to explain certain situations and I commend the author for making it interesting, yet because I have read so much about Korea already I felt that these sections slowed down the text. This is not a criticism but rather a case of encountering the same histories yet again.
I had a laugh at the progressive levels of exasperation that foreign residents of the country have:
“Seven European countries have diplomatic missions in the DPRK, while two more have ‘cooperation offices.’ I fall into conversation with one weathered ambassador. ‘In my experience,’ he says, ‘the embassy people working here tend to go through three phases. The first is where you think you finally get it and understand how this country really operates. The second, where you get frustrated and realize you don’t understand anything. And the last is when you realize you don’t understand anything and no longer care because you’ll be out of here soon.'”
The author wrote about defectors and their hardships in learning to adapt to a new way of life in South Korea. He is critical of those who have taken on the role as professional defectors and social media stars. While he did not name Yeonmi Park directly, I knew immediately that he was referring to her. In her struggle to make it in free South Korea, Park has sadly taken her self-promotion to the level of virtual prostitution, painting herself as the quintessentially girlish yet sexually starved eastern goddess. Check out her YouTube videos where she coos like Angelyne and practically solicits herself to men whose fetish is to sleep with “unattainable” women. I even travelled with at least one such (admitted) tourist in 2011; his sexual bucket list included bedding a North Korean woman.
Jeppesen visited the DPRK only after Kim Jong Un took power while my visit preceded the death of Kim Jong Il by only a few months. If I do return to the country, should it reopen after COVID, I wonder what will be different. I can at least prepare myself in advance of any Korean language class, even though I would be enrolling as a beginner.
September 24, 2024
I continue my fascination with North Korea....and I am GRATEFUL to have found and finally read this book. The author travels to NK to attend language classes- as one of the first international students enrolled in this language program. He is there for about a month and enrolled alone in the beginner Korean level- but there are two other men in his program. This is not his first time to NK- and the book is about his time spent in NK, the visits he has had- the people he has met (names often changed) and the current program he is enrolled in. He also provides the history of the Korean war- and testimonies from a close friend that was able to escape and her experience in South Korea (not as wonderful as one would hope) and how she plans to return to NK one day.
I though the information and first hand experience were fascinating- but I also REALLY appreciated his reminder of the fact that shock/horror sells- and often stories/memoirs are collaborations of multiple people- and to be aware that not everything is as it seems. He also explains that that does NOT mean NK is a great place- it is as bad as we have read- but the West loves a escape and achieve happy ending story- and that is not often the case. The travel from NK to SK is hard and also horrible and the treatment of people who get to SK is not a life of flowers and baby kittens.
I also appreciated insight into the reigns of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un.
Read if you are fascinated with NK and the politics surrounding this country. This author is able to provide more than one perspective- which is helpful to better understanding that area of the world.
M&L Reading Challenge 2024: a travel memoir
I though the information and first hand experience were fascinating- but I also REALLY appreciated his reminder of the fact that shock/horror sells- and often stories/memoirs are collaborations of multiple people- and to be aware that not everything is as it seems. He also explains that that does NOT mean NK is a great place- it is as bad as we have read- but the West loves a escape and achieve happy ending story- and that is not often the case. The travel from NK to SK is hard and also horrible and the treatment of people who get to SK is not a life of flowers and baby kittens.
I also appreciated insight into the reigns of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un.
Read if you are fascinated with NK and the politics surrounding this country. This author is able to provide more than one perspective- which is helpful to better understanding that area of the world.
M&L Reading Challenge 2024: a travel memoir
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