For an entire populace, change, growth, and spontaneity were dangerous. Acting upon a personal desire, whispering a hidden longing, revealing your true feelings - all the human actions we think of as essential to a character - had be censored by the self lest they be punished by the state.
Adam JohnsonI'd known that the visit would be highly scripted and that genuine interactions with citizens wouldn't be possible, since it's illegal for them to speak with foreigners. Still, I'd thought I'd had a unique look at North Korea, only to discover I was wrong.
Adam JohnsonI know it really sounds cheesy, but I did feel a duty to try to tell the stories of people who couldn't speak for themselves.
Adam JohnsonBut people do things to survive, and then after they survive, they can't live with what they've done.
Adam Johnson