Elliot Herman

Professor Pagett
English 101
10/13/15
Thriving or Surviving
Post cold war Asia is an extremely diverse place. After the split of
Korea, ones location had certain connotations and denotations. North
Korea became a communist country funded by red china and the
Soviet Union while South Korea was controlled by the US for a while
until the installment of a democratic government. Guy Delisle
demonstrates this very well through the comic Pyongyang. It depicts
his stay in North Korea and the struggle of hostility facing him because
hes an outsider. While this piece of art is a comic, the illustrations
play a great role on letting the reader visually analyze the story. The
artist uses his illustrative style to demonstrate the dismal situation the
main character is faced with.

Based in the illustrations, Delisle is clearly an outsider in North

Korea. By examining the basic concepts of design this is easy to see.
First, look at the lines in the story. All the lines on the narrator are
straight and rigid. He is nervous, never relaxed. His head in particular
has points for a nose and chin. On the other hand, the other people in
North Korea (in the comic) all have rounded more detailed faces. Guy

Delisle chose to do this to demonstrate that his character felt like an

outsider during his time in North Korea. By giving him these hard
features and little detail, the characters in the comic look at his as just
a foreigner and not a regular person. When looking at him, the main
character just doesnt look like an approachable person compared to
the others in the story. He has no friends because natives didnt like
westerners in their country. At this time period, people didnt care
much for foreigners, especially in North Korea. By limiting the detail on
the narrator (especially his face) it sums up his existence. People dont
want to get to know him, and he wont leave a memorable mark when
hes there. Everyone else there is having a good time except him, who
is simply surviving.

One particular panel in the comic was different than all the rest.
That is because it had no lines, it was just a floating picture. Inside the
box, the narrator thinks The only thing missing on the set are the
howling balls that shoot out of the water when you try and escape
(Delisle 156). It is drawn like this because he is talking in his head, but
it has an interesting visual effect to the reader. Without the lines, it
looks like he is free, not entrapped inside the text box. This is because
he is in thought. Unlike a conversation, or books, or the Internet, the
country of North Korea cant regulate his thoughts. In that mindset this
is the only part of the story where he is truly free. Its not as if Guy

Delisle is trapped at any point in the story, but his hotel can be looked
at similar to a jail. It has a golf course and three restaurants (named
No1, No2, and No3) but the biggest take away from the picture is that
its a large island with a concrete wall around it. He is free on the
island, but his mind gives him the power of unregulated freedom
wherever he goes.

The illustrations are meant to evoke sympathy for the main

character from the reader. The narrator is drawn to be clearly sad. He
is away from home and is considered an outcast. Guy Delisle wants the
readers to feel bad for him so they connect more to the story. By
rooting for a character in the story, a reader will become more invested
and have a better reading experience. On page 152, the last box
depicts the narrator trying to get into a casino in North Korea. Because
he wasnt Korean, the guards wouldnt even allow him in. It reminded
me of a similar issue in the US in the 70s between African Americans
and white people. Simply not allowing someone into a store or
restaurant or whatever it may be because of their background is just
wrong. By creating a negative image through pictures and shading, the
reader will have a more in depth reading experience and feel more
connected to the characters.

The color of the comic also plays a great role in helping the
reader visually analyze the story. Guy Delisle decided to have his comic
be in black and white. Obviously there are shades to help differentiate
characters and settings, but nothing really stands out. This was done
to help explain the situation he was in. While Delisle went to North
Korea voluntarily, it turned out completely different than he envisioned.
The comic is bleak looking to represent his feeling at the time of being
there. Another answer to the black and white is the struggle of good
and bad. When this piece takes place, North Korea had a poor
relationship with most of the world. Whether this was due due to the
internal affairs struggle or government issues the attitude in the
country was generally negative. The aggressive shading in some
pictures suggests a clashing of those perceived as good and bad. This
dislike isnt just from one side either. Outsiders in North Korea didnt
like North Koreans just as the North Koreans didnt like the outsiders.

The government in North Korea is a communist dictatorship and

controls almost every aspect of their citizens lives. The black and
white shading in the comic can also represent the difference between
freedom and oppression. That divide is quite clear in Korea and runs
along the 38th parallel. The south is free while the north is faced to live
under the reign of dictatorship. The citizens of North Korea are the real
victims of the story. Guy Delisle spent 2 months living in North Korea

for a project. Being from the west, he was used to a different style of
living that what goes on in North Korea. They keep their own people in
the dark about what is going on, almost as if they are detached from
the world. Its a scary thought that things like this are still going on
even though our society has advanced so much.

Analyzing stories through pictures adds another element to the

story, and can really advance ones understanding of a particular topic.
With the illustrations in Pyongyang the reader can truly see how
much of an outcast someone from the west in when entering North
Korea. It helps with the distinction of wanting to be there or being
forced to be there. That is why you can either thrive or survive, but the
choice is entirely up to you.