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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At what age are North Koreans forced to join the Socialist Youth League?
(a) 10.
(b) 18.
(c) 14.
(d) 12.

2. At what age does Hyeonseo first visit South Korea?
(a) 28.
(b) 14.
(c) 32.
(d) 20.

3. What simile does Hyeonseo use to describe the fireball emanating from her childhood home?
(a) Like a peony.
(b) Like a snapdragon.
(c) Like a water lily.
(d) Like a chrysanthemum.

4. What did Hyeonseo do when she saw the starving infant and its mother in the market outside Wiyeon Station?
(a) She called for an ambulance.
(b) She put money on the baby's lap.
(c) She flagged down a policeman.
(d) She put money in the mother's hand.

5. What form of currency does Hyeonseo say is required for bribes and for the purchase of black market goods?
(a) Precious metals.
(b) The Korean won.
(c) Foreign cash.
(d) Travelers' checks.

6. What border was Hyeonseo's father crossing when he was arrested?
(a) He was crossing from South Korea into North Korea.
(b) He was crossing from China into South Korea.
(c) He was crossing from North Korea into China.
(d) He was crossing from China into North Korea.

7. What level of the caste system is made up of 10-15% of the North Korean population?
(a) Wavering.
(b) Elite.
(c) Kim family employees.
(d) Royal.

8. What is NOT a quality named by Hyeonseo in her list of beliefs North Koreans held about The Great Leader before his death?
(a) The Great Leader is omniscient.
(b) The Great Leader is immortal.
(c) The Great Leader does not sleep.
(d) The Great Leader does not urinate.

9. What does Hyeonseo say is the only "permitted outlet for spiritual fervor" (41) in North Korea?
(a) Kim worship.
(b) One Catholic mass per year.
(c) The business trade.
(d) Self-criticism sessions.

10. Hyeonseo's first memory consists of almost dying in what way?
(a) Almost being beaten to death by a soldier.
(b) Almost suffocating.
(c) Almost drowning.
(d) Almost getting hit by a train.

11. What aspect of the songbun system is kept secret from those residing within its levels?
(a) Precise ranking.
(b) The names of those within the Hostile class.
(c) Job assignments.
(d) Marriage arrangements.

12. When Hyeonseo's father rushes back into the burning house, what items does he emerge from the house carrying?
(a) Two cats.
(b) Two pieces of identification.
(c) Two photo albums.
(d) Two portraits.

13. What was the last present Hyeonseo received from her father prior to his death?
(a) A hula-hoop.
(b) A tea set.
(c) A doll.
(d) A bicycle.

14. What location in Hyesan did Hyeonseo name as a "common site for public executions" (73)?
(a) The riverbank.
(b) The airport.
(c) The public square.
(d) The National Museum.

15. What is the rough translation of the North Korean ideological term juche?
(a) Worship.
(b) Homage.
(c) Self-reliance.
(d) Greatness.

Short Answer Questions

1. What aspect of Hyeonseo's mother's character does Hyeonseo say is unusual for a woman of high songbun?

2. Why does Hyeonseo's mother carry a candle to the door when meeting Hyeonseo's future father and her future husband for the second time?

3. In what season did Hyeonseo and her family move to the riverfront house in Hyesan?

4. What was NOT a characteristic of the special class Hyeonseo began taking when she was 15?

5. What was the sentence given to the family deported for the father's mistake of rolling a cigarette using a piece of newspaper and failing to notice a picture of the Great Leader on the other side of the scrap?

(see the answer keys)

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