As noted by many of the other comments, this is a fascinating article in so many different respects, but the most interesting take-away for me personally is a little detail that shows just how far the ripples cast from a seemingly small action can reach.<p>If one day, decades ago, a teenaged boy's co-worker and friend hadn't wanted to live like "normal" folks instead of scroungers, and shared a sushi dinner with his friend, Dennis Rodman probably wouldn't have ended up visiting the DPRK decades later, causing all the resulting foofaraw. But for that one little choice, a subsequent event that at least flashed across the awareness of most of the First World, and who knows how much of the rest of it, wouldn't have happened.<p>It's not necessarily something of geo-political consequence, but if that's not the notional "butterfly flapping its wings in China", I'm not sure what is.
I don't normally upvote non-tech things on HN, but that was one of the most fascinating articles I have read in awhile. I started to idly read it, but immediately become engrossed.
Agree with others here, a very captivating read. Couldn't stop reading once I started.<p>The personality of the protagonist is interesting to think about. Disturbed individual or hero? Both? We are presented with his actions, wonder what was going on in his head. Left his wife and kids to live for 3 years in a strange country. Did it again for 10 years. Remarried there to someone who doesn't speak his language. Had other kids. Left them.<p>A hero because, I guess there are few who would do that. Provided an interesting insight into the inner circle (but I don't the sacrifice for humanity's lack of information on Kim's family is what drove him). Very disturbed person as well. The childhood probably left some pretty large scars on him. Abandoning his family many times over is disgusting to think about, the scars it will leave on his children are no less harsh than those left on him by his father.
<i>After eight years in captivity, she made a life-or-death escape from her guards after being sent to Vienna to promote Kim's latest film.</i><p>Could someone explain how Austria permitted slaves to be held within its borders? Is this some sort of diplomatic privilege? This would be 1986 [1].<p>edit: Or a parallel (?) situation, Cuban athletes "escaping" from government minders inside the USA (2002 [2]). What power do foreign government agents have in these situations?<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choi_Eun-hee" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choi_Eun-hee</a><p>[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cuban_soccer_players_who_have_defected_to_the_United_States#2002" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cuban_soccer_players_w...</a>
<p><pre><code> The sushi chef was leaving his apartment when he noticed the stranger outside.
He could tell by the man's suit—black and badly made—that he was North Korean.
Right away, the chef was nervous. Even in his midsixties, the chef is a
formidable man: He has thick shoulders, a broad chest; the rings on
his strong hands would one day have to be cut off. But he'd long since
quit wearing his bulletproof vest, and the last time a North Korean made
the journey to visit him in Japan, a decade ago, he was there to kill him.
</code></pre>
Incredibly well-written first paragraph, it's been a while since I've read such an engrossing opening to an article.
Couldn't stop reading! It reminds of "The Last King of Scotland" movie - <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/</a> about Idi Amin's personal physician.
Can someone explain the situation that started this?<p>"he signed a one-year contract to teach sushi-making skills to young chefs in Pyongyang"<p>Was this just in the classified ads? I thought North Korea was closed off from the world and Japan an enemy. Was this a low point in military tensions?<p>Similarly what kind of flights went between Japan and DPRK?
Was anyone else surprised by the quality of food that the elites were/are eating? It doesn't surprise me that they had tons of expensive possessions and services, but I would've thought the perishable nature of food would make getting the ingredients for gourmet cuisine nearly impossible!
OT, but ... I absolutely <i>love</i> to read articles like this one, yet I'm not interested in subscribing to GQ or buying anyone's full book. I wish there was a tip jar below each long-form article. :(
Awesome article, awesome author. Adam Johnson's 'The Orphan Master's Son' is about North Korea and it's the best book I've read this year: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Orphan-Masters-Son-ebook/dp/B004X6PRO6/" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/The-Orphan-Masters-Son-ebook/dp/B004X6...</a>
Kim Jong-il reveled in his enjoyment of sushi!? Does that strike anyone else as just ... distasteful, even by his standards? That would be like Japan opening up a McDonald's right where one of the A-bombs went off.
This article is fantastic. I did not like the fact that the sushi chef was a scumbag who created families in different countries and abandoned them which the author called out. He even complicated doing it a third time at the end of the article due to his greediness. I hope he does go back to North Korea and runs out of luck.