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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was the true cause of Hyeonseo's father's death?
(a) Suicide.
(b) A bruised spleen.
(c) A fractured skull.
(d) Influenza.

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

3. What unconventional and technically illegal hairstyle did Hyeonseo wear while attending school in Hyesan?
(a) A mohawk.
(b) A fringe.
(c) A bob.
(d) A perm.

4. In total, how many rooms did Hyeonseo's house near the river in Hyesan have?
(a) Five.
(b) Two.
(c) Three.
(d) Six.

5. 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 does not sleep.
(b) The Great Leader does not urinate.
(c) The Great Leader is omniscient.
(d) The Great Leader is immortal.

6. What was the one luxury Hyeonseo says her family bought after moving into their riverfront home in Hyesan?
(a) A dishwasher.
(b) A washing machine.
(c) A hair dryer.
(d) A color television set.

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

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

9. The author states that once she entered kindergarten, she never again belonged to her parents, but instead belonged to whom?
(a) Her future husband.
(b) The state.
(c) Kim Jong-il.
(d) Kim Il-sung.

10. What trait does Hyeonseo say that she and her brother had in common with their mother?
(a) Stubbornness.
(b) A sense of humor.
(c) A good work ethic.
(d) Courage.

11. 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.

12. How many gradations of status exist within the three broad categories of songbun?
(a) 51.
(b) 11.
(c) 75.
(d) 36.

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

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

15. 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) There are too many blackouts.
(b) She did not want to attract attention.
(c) She did not know how to hide it from the police.
(d) She did not have enough money.

Short Answer Questions

1. What location in Hyesan did Hyeonseo name as a "common site for public executions" (73)?

2. 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?

3. What is the rough translation of the North Korean ideological term juche?

4. When Hyeonseo heard the news that some local young women had been caught listening to South Korean pop music, what was their allocated punishment?

5. When Hyeonseo and her family move back to Hyesan, they find that the city has changed in what way?

(see the answer keys)

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