But People Do Things To Survive, And

All The Lessons You Need To Learn In Life, He Said, Will Be Taught To You By Your Enemy.

A Good Story Feels Both Surprising And Inevitable, Fresh And Familiar.

Had She Never Been Hungry Enough To Eat A Flower? Did She Not Know That You Could Eat Daisies, Daylilies, Pansies, And Marigolds? That Hungry Enough, A Person Could Consume The Bright Faces Of Violas, Even The Stems Of Dandelions And The Bitter Hips Of Roses?

I'd Known That The Visit Would Be Highly Scripted And That Genuine Interactions With Citizens Wouldn't Be Possible, Since It's Illegal For Them To Speak With Foreigners. Still, I'd Thought I'd Had A Unique Look At North Korea, Only To Discover I Was Wrong.

But, In North Korea, It's Just The Opposite. There's One Story. It's Written By The Kim Regime. And 23 Million People Are Conscripted To Be Secondary Characters. There, As A Youth, Your Aptitude Towards Certain Jobs Is Measured, And The Rest Of Your Life Is Dictated, Whether You'll Be A Fisherman Or A Farmer Or An Opera Singer.