The Orphan Master's Son

The new Ga continues to plan for the Americans’ arrival. At the site of the fake Texas ranch, Comrade Buc gives him the pair of cowboy boots he tried on in Texas. He is distracted by the possibility that the real Commander Ga is not dead, since he wasn’t able to see clearly in the darkness of the mine. Mongnan had told him to crush the commander’s head with a rock, but instead, he had simply rolled the commander’s body into a mine shaft.

Buc shows him a branding iron that the Dear Leader had made for the visit, which would print “PROPERTY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF KOREA” (321). It was nearly a meter long, and Ga observes that it will kill whatever animal was branded with it. Buc wants some reassurance that things will be all right for his family when the Americans leave. After some urging, Ga tells him his plan to leave with Sun Moon and the kids on the Americans’ plane. Buc tells him that there is a greater probability of success if Ga is not on the plane with Sun Moon and the kids—although that means he’ll “absolutely be around to pay the price for this” (323).