Nothing to Envy

Chapter One lays out the rationale for a book that describes everyday life in North Korea and introduces two main characters, Jun-sang and Mi-Ran. Demick begins by discussing North Korea’s literal darkness as viewed from satellite, a phenomenon that began in the 1990s, as the nation’s economy collapsed. Without electricity, there was, as one North Korean put it, “no culture” (4). However, in the darkness, there is a degree of privacy: Jun-sang and Mi-ran are able to go out on dates without the knowledge of families who wouldn’t approve because of their class differences. Demick notes that many outsiders “don’t stop to think that in this middle of this black hole…there is also love” (7).Jun-sang and Mi-ran meet as teenagers in 1986, outside Chongjin. The youngest of four girls, Mi-ran openly rebels against the gender roles her parents expect her to obey, and finds refuge at the cinema. Jun-sang, also a film fanatic, goes to see Birth of a New Government, an anti-Japanese film, where he spots Mi-ran, whose atypical beauty and frustrated demeanor catch his fascination. Although they don’t speak, he can’t get her out of his mind.