Summary

Ishikawa and his family go through the bureaucratic immigration process of getting Korean paperwork before boarding a boat to North Korea. After two days at sea, they get their first glimpse of the country. Already it fails to live up to their expectations; it looks "miserable and bare" (23). As soon as they arrive at the quay, it is clear to Ishikawa that North Koreans are far poorer than his family was in Japan. They are taken to a reception center where officials decide "each person's future occupation and accommodation" (23). His mother is anxious, but his father is confident and optimistic about the North Korean system. The family spends several weeks in limbo at the reception center, living together in a single small and freezing cold room, before being moved to their new home in the village of Dong Chrong-ri. The village is desolate and...