North Korea

My friend Joanie's father disappeared, believed to be taken by Communists shortly before she was born at the cusp of the Korean War. She was adopted by non-Korean Americans, grew up, and married Tom, a chef from Hawaii who was willing to adopt Korean cuisine. When I wanted to learn how to cook Korean food, they set up a party, provided the kimchi and some other amazing side dishes, and gave me the job of making the japchae. They didn’t just throw me in blind. They told me where to buy the sweet potato noodles (at the Hana Asian Market on Waterman in San Bernardino), listed what else I should pick up, and invited me into their kitchen where Tom showed me the right way to julienne the carrots. Here’s a recipe if you want to give it a try: https://futuredish.com/moms-japchae-recipe-fast-simple-delicious/

Joanie also took me to Kobunga, a little Korean place across from University of Southern California, where I again was able to eat kimchi and all those other great sides! When my friend Christina, also adopted by Americans two generations later, wanted to explore her Korean heritage, we all went to the Los Angeles Korean Festival, saw the art, enjoyed the performances, and again ate those amazing side dishes. Here are some recipes: https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/korean-side-dishes/

Whether north or south of that arbitrary line, Korean food is the same. The line however, has been dividing families for 70 years now. The documentary Tiger Spirit follows a few families in Korea who have been permitted to have brief reunions, illustrating the psychic scars of a country divided. Tiger Spirit can be found both on Kanopy and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwA8kz4z9VQ

Tiger Spirit reminded me that when we travel to North Korea while staying at home, we are traveling to see the people, eat the food, listen to the music, and find the common humanity. I did review some history and politics, however, to give myself some context. I’ll list them here before I move on to some surprisingly fun options:

· I watched M*A*S*H in reruns every day after school while I was growing up. Rewatching several episodes this week on Hulu reminded me of the serious content of what I remembered as a comedy.

· The Frozen Hours by Jeff Shaara taught me more about the battles of the Korean War which set the current boundaries of the divided Korea. I listened to it on CD from the San Bernardino County Library.

· Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick introduced me to life in North Korea as presented by interviews with several defectors. I found it interesting to learn that some young couples appreciate the lack of electricity as they can meet each other at night without being caught by their parents. I also enjoyed the story of the mother who was tricked by her daughter into defecting. The famine, of course, was horrible. I listened to Nothing to Envy on CD from the Los Angeles County Library.

· National Geographic’s documentary Inside North Korea gave me a more recent perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EexZjx3YOuQ

On the other hand, did you think there was nothing fun to watch about North Korea? I did, but I was so, so wrong! Netflix has a totally bingeable series called Crash Landing on You in which a South Korean business woman is blown over the North Korean border while paragliding and is protected by a North Korean soldier. Oh wow, it’s good!

Another really fun option to watch is Dennis Rodman's Big Bang in Pyongyang. It follows the efforts of Dennis Rodman to set up a basketball game to improve relations between North Korea and the United States. It is entertaining and showed me even more about North Korea as it is today. You can find it on Kanopy or here: https://tubitv.com/movies/327021/dennis-rodmans-big-bang-in-pyongyang

North Korean created entertainment includes the following:

· Mass Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzqQkWZcpAg

· Choir Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq54msMu3Sc

· Mass Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67T9-43hb5I

There are tours that go into North Korea and there are places to go as illustrated here https://www.youngpioneertours.com/top-20-things-north-korea-20-11/ but I’m pretty sure your travel advisor will tell you that individuals may not use a United States passport to travel to North Korea without a special validation from the Department of State. Even so, I continue to hope that we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in North Korea and throughout the world.

Photo credit: Thomas Evans https://unsplash.com/photos/VxIU5WLzFmU