Yesterday I was at Barnes and Noble, the only big chain bookstore left in America, asking about a book on North Korea. With Dear Leader's demise there's obviously been an increased interest in the country, and I've had my own interest piqued in both Koreas since moving to Japan. I've been reading more articles about the post-war friction between Japan and South Korea, particularly the tension surrounding the issue of comfort women, and I'm slowly collecting titles of books I want to read.
I had wanted to pick up Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick, a book about the lives of some North Korean defectors, but they were out of stock. My mentioning the country was apparently some random woman's cue to start talking to me.
"Oh you're interested in North Korea? Why is that?"
I thought it was kind of a dumb question considering who had just died, but I politely answered, "I moved to Japan and I'm trying to learn more about the politics of the region."
"I used to live in North Korea!"
"Oh, really? Are you a defector?"
She gave me a coy smile. "Oh no, I lived there for four years. My husband was the head of the UN there. We used to have dinner with Kim Il-sung all the time. My husband used to be on TV every night and people would recognize him and think he was a god, since he was seen with Kim Il-sung."
About then was when I reached my maximum bullshit level for the day, so I politely excused myself. I tried to find a list of UN people in hopes of finding a photo or something but I couldn't, most likely because this woman was lying.
Supposing all your claims are true, random lady from Barnes and Noble, do you really think I care about your husband's former title? Did you want a gold star sticker for all the wine you had to drink and food you had to eat at Mr. Kim's table while his Communist regime allowed his own people to starve to death? Did you or your husband ever do anything to try to alleviate the suffering of everyday citizens? Do you care that most people there are brainwashed into thinking the entire Kim family are immortal gods who control the weather? Do you even care about some of the horrific things that are written in the very book I was asking about?
About then was when I reached my maximum bullshit level for the day, so I politely excused myself. I tried to find a list of UN people in hopes of finding a photo or something but I couldn't, most likely because this woman was lying.
Supposing all your claims are true, random lady from Barnes and Noble, do you really think I care about your husband's former title? Did you want a gold star sticker for all the wine you had to drink and food you had to eat at Mr. Kim's table while his Communist regime allowed his own people to starve to death? Did you or your husband ever do anything to try to alleviate the suffering of everyday citizens? Do you care that most people there are brainwashed into thinking the entire Kim family are immortal gods who control the weather? Do you even care about some of the horrific things that are written in the very book I was asking about?
Obviously it doesn't matter how many titles you acquire in your lifetime, you can still be a complete idiot. Nonetheless, thank you random lady for reaffirming the advice my mother gave me as a child: don't talk to strangers.
They might make you that much dumber for having to talk to them.
