'The Accusation' by Bandi

The Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch recently moved its Reading Club meetings from the Jongno District Office's library in Susong-dong to gentrified Waryong-dong, and the quiet basement of North Terrace Building, a fancy book cafe with a stimulating editorial line, consistent with the club's focus on Korean literature in translation*.

On the menu yesterday: Bandi's 'The Accusation'...

'The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea' by Bandi

... as translated by Deborah Smith, so footnote-free, and easy to read for Westerners who don't know much about Korea, let alone North Korea. 

Don't get me wrong: this easy-read is a must-read! Furthermore, I applaud the choice to spread Bandi's words as far as possible to help more people understand what living under the most oppressive and corrupt regime on Earth means.

I simply wish (and I'm not alone) the opportunity had been seized to make a few key concepts more widely known. For instance, why keep 'Bowibu' (State Security), but not use 'songbun' (DPRK's 'cast' system), which plays a much more important role all across the book? If it helps, picture the cover of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 'Forced Labor Camp Archipelago'... anyway, it doesn't matter much, and certainly doesn't change the realities described in this brilliant fiction.

Written between 1989 and 1995, the manuscript could only be smuggled out of North Korea in 2013. And Bandi may never escape the land where you're not allowed to think out loud. The author's daily job, as an official writer, is to hammer the regime's doctrine and myths home through edifying fiction, but as an anonymous 'firefly' (the 'Bandi' pseudonym), she/he finds the courage to set her/himself free, and to expose its impostures by pulling the same tricks against it, delivering powerful insights far beyond the usual 'rare glimpses' into Pyongyang.

Actually, oppression can be felt even more acutely in small town Kimilsungistan, even on that remote field, high up in the mountain. The heroes? Simple people struggling to survive as decent family members and citizens in a dystopian system. The villains? The very ones supposed to lead as role models. Each one of Bandi's seven short stories respects the official moral fable topics and structures, but instead of teaching why the system is the answer, the climactic moment of revelation exposes why it is the mother of all problems.

While reading, I thought a lot about Song Byeok, that propaganda painter turned satirist artist after defecting to the South:

Song Byeok's 'Marilyn Monroe' has the face of movie fanatic Kim Jong-il

Except, of course, that Bandi's literature uses a far more subtle and diverse palette. Even through the biases of edition, translation, and that very special para-propaganda genre, I believe Bandi to be not only one unique person**, but also a true humanist, and a great author.

The editors cleverly dropped the manuscript's chronological order, starting 'The Accusation' with stories showing how trust can be a challenge even within the most intimate familial circle, and ending with 'The Red Mushroom', a masterpiece linking modern times to the grand Korean tales tradition, a farce and a tragedy, complete with a Kafkaian trial***, the Saint figure of a hero, and a narrator I suspect to be among the most autobiographical in the whole book: a disillusioned official scribbler compelled to serve the regime because he needs to survive, but also a compassionate soul marveling at how great humans can remain or become, even in this Pandemonium.

Frankly, I don't care if Bandi is 'Mr Bullshit Reporter' or 'Mrs Bullshit Writer'. I care that Bandi cares.

And so should we.


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* yet reaching far beyond - among my favorites:

'Sipping Waryong-dong coffee in a book lover's lair. Among the odd volumes, this 'Pictorial Chosen and Manchuria' (Bank of Chosen 1919) (20180627 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1011933015843336193)

** some think there are various contributors, I presume because of the way Bandi convincingly carries male as well as female voices, or ventures into farce as easily as into tear-jerkers, but the risks would have been even more extreme, and the author's own 'voice' / vision remains consistent. 
*** not just K's. Because of KO Inshik's figure, that trial also brought memories of the one in Iain Pears' 'An Instance of the Fingerpost', which Bandi probably never had a chance to read.

Gwanghwamun Plaza - The Aftermath

Following last year's presentation ("Gwanghwamun Square") and last month's sneak peek ("Gwanghwamun Square - Preview"), a few more comments on Seoul's new landmark as a neighbor and frequent user :

- As expected, Gwanghwamun Plaza "reinstates downtown's traditional center and shorten distances between major cultural places. Passers-by will again own the heart of the city, and enjoy a better view on its most prestigious and beautiful perspective". Thanks to new crosswalks, tourists can seamlessly walk between all major monuments, and Gyeongbokgung doesn't look anymore like an island lost in a see of cars. Instead of taking a taxi to hop from one spot to another, many may plan day-long walks from say Deoksugung to Samcheong-dong via Cheonggyecheon. Even Seoulites are already changing habits : instead of sitting at a cafe or sweating in a health club, they pick up a drink and take a long walk before work or at lunch break. Soon, they will discover the pleasure of riding a bike across Seoul's historical center.

- Once again, this a giant leap, but not the last step. Many other changes are under way both sides of Sejongno : from hardware (ie many construction sites in Shinmunro, Susong-dong, or Cheongjin-dong) to software (ie places like KT Art Hall or Kyobo Bookstore are getting too crowded, new cultural spaces will necessarily multiply in the vicinity). The atmosphere is changing really quickly West of the boulevard : Sejong Cultural Center area is swarming with people most of the time, its food alleys remain lively on week-ends (neither food nor drink for sale on the square), and further afield, Shinmunro confirms its spectacular revival. The Prada Transformer operation had already put Gyeonghuigung back on the map for younger generations, and the small square in front of Seoul Museum of History attracted very diverse crowds. Now the museum itself decides to draw new visitors : yesterday it inaugurated a giant map of Seoul (scale 1:1,500 - over 70,000 buildings represented), and unlike model house phantasm replicas most Seoulites are used to, you don't see gigantic Amazonian forests nor totemic subway stations popping up from nowhere. Of course, don't look for detailed compounds around Cheongwadae or Yongsan Army Base...

- As pointed out earlier, the square itself cruelly lacks natural shade. It was a deliberate choice for security reasons : like Seoul Plaza, the area might be used as a demonstration spot, but this time right in front of the Government's headquarters. On the other hand, no more gingko trees means that you can enjoy the panorama on the mountain from any point. But this flat area will be as chilly in winter as it is mercilessly hot in summer. More than the embarrassing sea of flowers covering the Northern section of Gwanghwamun Plaza, waterworks do provide some welcomed refreshment, and flower pot benches do grow a few useful metallic umbrellas... but under a scorching sun, it's safer to bring your own shade.

- The slope leading to Gwanghwamun Station confirms its essential role, but Haechi Madang proves to be rather a disapointment (I won't even comment on the new Haechi "cute" character revealed during the inauguration - you will prefer the photo exhibition at the other end of the plaza). I think it would be wiser to install doors, as discrete as possible not to ruin the overall architecture, to mark the transition between the subway and the square, improve the exhibition experience, and save energy / air conditioning in all seasons.

- The most upsetting experience remains the closeness of cars, particularly at night. I was scared to see kids running in the fake streams on each side of the square : they can slip anytime or simply be hit by a rearview mirror, the only protection being the 10-20 cm high and 20-30 cm wide border of the streamlets. The authorities quickly dispatched one cop every 100 m or so to limit the risks but just two days after the inauguration, an overspeeding taxi trying to avoid a collision entered the plaza and landed in the dead middle of the flower beds. Luckily enough the place was empty at that time of the day, so a real tragedy was avoided (except for the gardener). The "longer term quick fix plan" is to add flower blocks on each side. Likewise, I wouldn't be surprised to see new fences prevent people from falling into the descent...

- ...

Anywhere else, this kind of risks would have been carefully taken into account... but that's the surprising way major projects are usually carried out here. And somehow, it fits a city that never ceases to evolve, do, undo, and redo. Seoul is alive and kicking, and Gwanghwamun Square will breathe, grow new features*, catch a cold, develop new cures, adapt and improve.

The first thing that struck me for Cheonggyecheon was the narrowness of sidewalks : the place really seemed to ban couples or wheelchairs ! But since it was not life threatening, it took three and a half years to consider enlarging the sidewalks. Now it's done, and not only around the former mayor's masterpiece. This administration seems to have a better grasp on the details that change everyday life.

But it's not only about what Seoul can do for you, folks. This vast Gwanghwamun Square is what Seoul citizens will make of it.


* and don't count out King Sejong, still getting ready for October