Summary

Jeongsuk is at home with her young son when her husband, Myeong-chol returns from visiting his ailing mother in his hometown of Solmoe. He says he never made it there. He looks haggard and defeated. Myeong-chol chronicles his ordeal.

He recalls a nightmare that he had in which he was trying to disembark from a boat to meet his mother on shore, but he was pulled down into the river. When he woke, he was on a train. The story then flashes back further. It started at Department Two, the Party office responsible for regulating travel. He had received a telegram stating that his mother was ill and he was trying to get permission to go home to see her. His permit is denied because there is a “Class One event” in the area, which means the “Dear Leader” will...