Mirae’s Fascination

A barmaid at the Pyongyang Hotel looked on with fascination as I deconstructed the recent thoughtful book on capital by Jed Emerson. Could the setting have been more peculiar?

I was perched sitting on a stool at the bar on Level 5 of the Pyongyang Hotel with Mirae (name changed for privacy) looking on.

Mirae was the barmaid on duty at that station nightly, although I had only just arrived in her country. North Korea was at that time still very much an enigma to me. It was unknown, and more than mysterious. Then, I sensed a possibility of danger to myself, and I expected strict controls in terms of what I could or could not do.

To be honest, after I came through customs and the border guard searched my hand luggage for contraband material, I was concerned that having a copy of Jed’s book might itself be risky. A book about capital. The purpose of capital, no less! Writ large across the title. What more of a provocation was needed?!

I had left a bible which I travel with in Beijing. That was certainly not permitted in North Korea. I was half expecting that I might lose Jed’s book and have to explain that to him in a sheepish manner after the fact. It’s not much of story to write that a book had been confiscated. It speaks of a sort of totalitarianism that will not tolerate free thought.

The guard opened the transparent satchel containing my copy of Jed’s book in photocopied pages. I had downloaded it for free in its PDF version off the internet long before departing Australia (you can too! well, you can download it for free, whether you are in Australia is not important).

He looked at the book and the title. My North Korean minder who I had just met and had been with me since after passing through customs and collecting my luggage was standing nearby, reassuring me that everything was under control. “You don’t have a bible or anything like that?” he casually asked with a casual and relaxed expression, confirming my compliance and lowering the perception of tension.

I started explaining what the book was about. It was alongside the notes and handout I was using for my keynote presentation about ecotourism. “It’s a book about how we should question the economic system we operate in rather than just ask how we might be more effectively deploying money” I offered, in an unrehearsed explanation of the book. I thought about what I had just said. Maybe I should just keep quiet and let them work it out for themselves.

The guard skipped past the book and studied my handouts to be given to the delegates of the conference. “What’s this?” he demanded curtly.

I turned to my minder and explained that it was important for the presentation I had arrived in North Korea to deliver. The minder calmly motioned to me gently with a smile and reassuring hands. “Don’t worry about any of this”, he said. “Please understand it is just part of the procedure. He’s just doing his job.”

I was more than satisfied. It was a very real examination of what I had brought into North Korea, but entirely with respect to myself and my property. The staff were all professional and acted with a welcome sense of urgency, sadly missing from some other airports. There was no malice, and no menacing threats of any kind. If anything, they were polite and considerate, courteous in all their actions.

As quickly as they had inspected the bag, the guard was helping me to zip it back up, with a friendly gesture as he waved me off, effectively welcoming me into his country.

It was perhaps the first observation I had about North Korea in relation to this book written by Jed Emerson. The North Koreans were professional and had strict guidelines which defined how their country operated. But they weren’t anti-intellectual or scared of new ideas. It was an early adjustment to my assumptions about this country.

I didn’t come to review this book as it related to North Korea. I knew I would probably have time to read it, as I had found that it was an engaging read that deserved more attention than I was giving it between train rides across Sydney.

And so I opened the book onto the bar with Mirae looking on. She was fascinated to see so many words in English, a cue for her to practice some of her English which otherwise she might have little opportunity to practice.

I was fascinated to read more of this book. But more about that in my next post as I begin to unpack a North Korean reading of The Purpose of Capital.

You can download your own copy of Jed Emerson’s The Purpose of Capital for free here: https://www.purposeofcapital.org/the-purpose-of-capital

Feel free to read along and compare notes as I review the book through these pages. I’d be interested in your thoughts too. So I guess on that note there is little more to say other than ‘welcome to the inaugural gathering of the Pyongyang Book Club!’

Have questions? Please leave a comment. Let’s make this a good conversation which is always better shared together.