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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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?
(a) Have a long life.
(b) Rise to great prominence.
(c) Marry well.
(d) Be happy all her days.

2. Hyeonseo remarks that the family's home by the river in Hyesan was perfect for what?
(a) Her mother's illicit enterprises.
(b) Her own gardening hobby.
(c) Learning to ice skate.
(d) Learning to sail.

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

4. Hyeonseo says that she has learned that people can do without almost anything, but they cannot do without what?
(a) Shelter.
(b) Friends.
(c) Family.
(d) Food.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. For North Korean citizens, joining the Young Pioneer Corps is compulsory in the years between what two ages?

2. The author states that while schooling in North Korea is technically free, what other condition is true?

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

4. What form of currency does Hyeonseo say is required for bribes and for the purchase of black market goods?

5. What aspect of the songbun system is kept secret from those residing within its levels?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where is Hyeonseo's family's new house in Hyesan located after they move back from Anju?

2. What does the family's color television symbolize within the narrative?

3. How does Hyeonseo interpret the fortune-teller's announcement that Hyeonseo will have "a future connected with music" and will "eat foreign rice" (43)?

4. What beliefs about Chinese people does Hyeonseo say are taught to every North Korean child?

5. How are the themes of money and freedom linked within the scene in which Hyeonseo's mother is caught on the street wearing trousers?

6. What event causes Hyeonseo to change her behavior of listening to South Korean pop with her friends?

7. What is shown about Hyeonseo's maternal grandmother's character within the description of her reaction to Hyeonseo's mother's divorce and child borne of the marriage?

8. How is Hyeonseo's mother's devotion to Hyeonseo's father demonstrated in the scene when Hyeonseo's father does not return on time from his business trip to China?

9. How is the theme of appearance versus reality demonstrated within the description of Hyeonseo's mother's behavior once her husband has been detained for ten days?

10. How is the theme of language as a tool of manipulation present within the North Korean campaign of 1992?

(see the answer keys)

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