Nothing to Envy

This chapter concludes Mi-ran and Jun-sang’s romance. As compared to other North Koreans, Mi-ran’s integration is easy because of the South Korean heritage that had given her family such a low social standing in her childhood. Jun-sang, by contrast, has difficulty making his way to South Korea, or adjusting once he arrives. After Mi-ran’s departure, he moves back to Chongjin to avoid government surveillance, and spends years saving money. After crossing the border into China, he works at a brick factory, and contemplates returning to North Korea—until he discovers the Internet. Online, he finds help, and, like Hyuck, goes through Mongolia. Once he arrives in South Korea, he learns that Mi-ran is married, and hesitates to contact her. A year after his arrival, he runs into her brother, and then contacts her. Upon reuniting, Mi-ran asks him, “‘if you were going to come to South Korea, why didn’t you come sooner?’” (282). Now married and a mother, it is too late for their romance to thrive. 

Demick concludes by turning to the situation of North Korea at the time of the book’s publication in 2010. She notes that, despite years of predictions that the regime would fall, it shows no sign of doing so. After a disastrous attempt to confiscate all currency circulating and crack down on markets, the government was forced to apologize to its people, but the regime remained. Foreign journalists including Demick continued to be treated to displays of wealth and power—lavish buffets, a city lit up with electricity—but after their departure, they learned that these were indeed for their benefit only. She concludes by noting that, whenever travelling to North Korea, she and others observe citizens sitting “for hours on their haunches…[t]hey stare straight ahead as though they are waiting…just waiting for something to change” (296). It is implied that they are waiting for the fall of the regime.