North Korea Story Notes

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80,000 words

four story lines

20,000 words each

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Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korea, forced to teach English

American soldier who defects

North Korean spy

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Kimiko (“Empress”) – Walking to school and is kidnapped by strange men, taken on boat; forced to teach spies at a special school; forced to marry a man whom she doesn’t love (rapes her?); her two children are taken from her; one of her spy students, Soo-hyun, is to be involved in a terrorist attack on South Korea; Kimiko gives Soo-hyun a postcard to mail to tell her parents she’s alive ; a new teacher at the school, an American; she is given to him as a wife.

Soo-kyung / Soo-hyun – The terrorist goes to school, befriends her Japanese teacher, who is about her age; Soo-hyun, is to be involved in a terrorist attack on South Korea; travels through Britain and must decide whether to send Kimiko’s postcard; decides not to but keeps the postcard; goes on plane and blows it up; is captured and taken to South Korea, where she realizes everything she was taught was a lie. She killed innocent people. Her only way to atone is to turn over the postcard — but when she tries to, she realizes it has been switched by her partner, as his last gift to her.(?)

Roy / “Dae Ho” – Soldier at the DMZ; Terrorist attack coincides with riots in South Korea; learns of US role in propping up corrupt South Korean dictators; disgusted with American imperialism, decides to defect; is hailed as hero in NK but soon sees bad side; is given a “Korean” wife, who actually turns out to be Japanese – Kimiko; he is kind to her; they both confess they are prisoners together; she has a dream of uniting her parents again, with their grandchildren; he says he doesn’t think the postcard was delivered because he would have heard of it (timing?); vows to help her find her children

Jung Hwa (righteous & rich) / Myung Dae (“right and great”) and Myung Hee / Myung Ok (“Bright Girl/Bright Pearl”) – They live with their father and stepmother; famine hits North Korea; their mother is a spy on their father and stops them from escaping North Korea; their father is disappeared; they are taken to the hills and abandoned. They decide they must leave for China; start the journey, two among thousands of homeless beggars; cross the river; arrive in China; are betrayed and sold back to North Korea

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The Winter River

Language of the Fox People

Frog in a Well