Pyongyang and Traveling in North Korea

In Pyongyang, we follow our author as he travels to North Korea and the events he encounters there. This excerpt and story tell us a lot about North Korea that I for one had no idea about. The fact that he had to leave his cell phone at the air port and then he could pick it back up when he left shocked me. I knew that you could not take pictures everywhere and that is why North Korea is such a mystery to most of the world, but I had no idea they were as strict as that. When he was going through the airport at the very beginning and the officer was checking his stuff and asking so many questions, it was a great way to begin because it gives the reader the sense of how important this trip and national security is for the people of North Korea. It leaves the reader on edge and makes it seem like at any moment something terrible could happen and our author would be jailed or worse. I think it is super important to use graphic novels/ comics as a median for news reporting and journalism because it can give an image to a place that words might not be able to. In places like North Korea where pictures can not be taken, it is useful for the writers and authors to take mental pictures and draw them out for the audience to be able to step into their shoes and see what they are seeing. It is also a good medium for places that are war stricken because it is easier for the general public to digest. To me, it is very difficult to see pictures of pain and suffering which makes me not want to look at is and learn about it. If it is drawn, the audience can still receive the message without being desensitized to it.

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ENG 4433: Topics in World Lit

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