View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. 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.

3. What percentage of North Korea's population consistently falls within the Hostile category of the songbun caste system?
(a) 40%.
(b) 30%.
(c) 20%.
(d) 10%.

4. Even though it meant shopping for food every day, for what reason did Hyeonseo's mother eschew the latest trend of buying a refrigerator from China?
(a) She did not have enough money.
(b) She did not want to attract attention.
(c) She did not know how to hide it from the police.
(d) There are too many blackouts.

5. Only members of which class are allowed to live in Pyongyang?
(a) Elite.
(b) Wavering.
(c) Loyal.
(d) Hostile.

6. How old is Hyeonseo when the family's home catches on fire?
(a) 24.
(b) 13.
(c) 9.
(d) 17.

7. What aspect of Hyeonseo's mother's character does Hyeonseo say is unusual for a woman of high songbun?
(a) Her frequent gambling.
(b) Her kindness to citizens with low songbun.
(c) Her entrepreneurial spirit.
(d) Her love for fashion.

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

9. The author states that while schooling in North Korea is technically free, what other condition is true?
(a) Parents are constantly being assigned quotas for donations of goods.
(b) Education stops after the age of 8.
(c) The Great Leader often demands education taxes.
(d) Parents are required to pay the teachers' salaries.

10. What was NOT a characteristic of the special class Hyeonseo began taking when she was 15?
(a) The class was for girls only.
(b) There were only three girls in the class.
(c) The class taught housekeeping skills.
(d) The class taught knitting skills.

11. To what city does Hyeonseo's family move after leaving Hyesan?
(a) Anju.
(b) Wonsan.
(c) Hamhung.
(d) Pyongyang.

12. At the time of her writing, how many years ago does Hyeonseo say North Korea had been created?
(a) 30.
(b) 20.
(c) 70.
(d) 60.

13. What quality of Hyesan does Hyeonseo say leads to its status as a moneymaking town?
(a) Its military status.
(b) Its location across the Yalu River from China.
(c) Its proximity to Pyongyang.
(d) Its merchant class.

14. When Hyeonseo heard the news that some local young women had been caught listening to South Korean pop music, what was their allocated punishment?
(a) They are forced to move to a different county.
(b) They are sentenced to a prison camp.
(c) They are executed.
(d) They are exiled from North Korea.

15. What organization had Hyeonseo's grandmother joined at the age of 19?
(a) The Communist Party.
(b) The Socialist Party.
(c) The Red Cross.
(d) The Red Guard.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many gradations of status exist within the three broad categories of songbun?

2. During what activity does the author say is the only time she and her classmates called each other "comrade" (33)?

3. A bystander tells Hyeonseo's mother that the near-death experience is a good omen, for someone who survives a disaster at such a young age is sure to what?

4. In what sport did Hyeonseo excel enough to represent her school in a tournament while living in Hyesan?

5. On what type of transport is Hyeonseo's mother traveling when she meets Hyeonseo's father?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 541 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample