In minimalist and black-and-white drawings, with a light touch and wry observations, Delisle gives a fascinating account of his encounters with North Korean culture, from the trials of basic transportation to the scores of laboring “volunteers” to awkward interactions at sites like the Museum of Imperial Occupation and the International Friendship Exhibition-and of his battles with the minders who strenuously tried to control those encounters. Pyongyang opens with Delisle’s interrogation at the Pyongyang airport, as he struggles to explain the things he has dared to bring into the country: a copy of George Orwell’s 1984 and an Aphex Twin CD (he makes it through with both). His graphic memoir of that time, Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea (translated into English in 2005), was a rare first-hand look at life inside North Korea and became an international best seller. Delisle, then thirty-five and a seasoned animator, had traveled to Pyongyang on a work visa for a French film animation company the SEK is used to attract foreign currency, most of it French, as he explains. A third graphic novel, Chroniques Birmanes, recounts his time spent in Myanmar with his wife, a Médecins Sans Frontières administrator.In 2001, the French-Canadian artist Guy Delisle spent several months living in North Korea while working for an animation studio, SEK- the Scientific Educational Film Studio of Korea. Delisle has worked for numerous animation studios around the world, including CinéGroupe in Montreal.ĭrawing from his experience at animation studios in China and North Korea, Delisle's graphic novels Shenzen and Pyongyang depict these two countries from a Westerner's perspective. Born in Quebec, Canada, Guy Delisle studied animation at Sheridan College. A third graphic novel, Chroniques Birmanes, recounts his time spent in Myanmar with his wife, a Médecins Sans Frontières administrator. Drawing from his experience at animation studios in China and North Korea, Delisle's graphic novels Shenzen and Pyongyang depict these two countries from a Westerner's perspective. Delisle has worked for numerous animation studios around the world, including CinéGroupe in Montreal.

Hostage by Guy Delisle