North Korea Journal
Ratings6
Average rating3.6
THE BOOK BEHIND THE HIT DOCUMENTARY A glimpse of life inside the world's most secretive country, as told by Britain's best-loved travel writer. In May 2018, former Monty Python stalwart and intrepid globetrotter Michael Palin spent two weeks in the notoriously secretive Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a cut-off land without internet or phone signal, where the countryside has barely moved beyond a centuries-old peasant economy but where the cities have gleaming skyscrapers and luxurious underground train stations. His resulting documentary for Channel 5 was widely acclaimed. Now he shares his day-by-day diary of his visit, in which he describes not only what he saw - and his fleeting views of what the authorities didn't want him to see - but recounts the conversations he had with the country's inhabitants, talks candidly about his encounters with officialdom, and records his musings about a land wholly unlike any other he has ever visited - one that inspires fascination and fear in equal measure. Written with Palin's trademark warmth and wit, and illustrated with beautiful colour photographs throughout, the journal offers a rare insight into the North Korea behind the headlines.
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An ok read with out being great, or providing much in the way of insights. Everyone knows Michael Palin, no he isn't going to be very controversial, but yes he might ask a few awkward questions and make a few jokes that North Koreans won't have context to understand. This is, of course, a tv series tie-in book - ostensibly his 'journal' recording each days events for his 14 day visit to North Korea.
So much of this was predictable or already pretty commonly known - yes the minders were going to leverage some control over what you saw and what you photographed, no most people would not talk to you freely about the restrictions on their everyday life. Michael Palin is still in pretty good health for his age (82 now, this book was published 7 years ago, so circa 75 at the time of travel), and gets around well - surprising the Korean minders who seem to expect him to be geriatric.
On the plus side there are lots of photographs, covering a whole array of topics and people, most of them pretty good, although they are not captioned. They generally refer to the text on the same page though, so the context isn't too hard to pick up.
I would be lying if I thought this would be any different when I bought this (second hand for a few dollars) but I do like Michael Palin and his gentle travelogues.
2.5 stars
