The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson tells the story of two North Korean men, the main character Pak Jun Do, a skilled kidnapper for the Pyongyang regime who has been trained to fight in the dark. Besides, there is a secondary character known as the Interrogator, whose course crosses Jun Do's after he assumes a dead man's identity. The Orphan Master's Son by Adams Johnson has an interesting plot twist, well-developed characters, and unbelievable scenes of inhumanity that are hard to believe. Still, Johnson has given a plausible window into North Korea through his depictions of propaganda, prison camps, abduction, and orphans. Confirming that his book was not only about fiction but also about informing the world about the sufferings undergone by people living in North Korea, Johnson said that, 'We have a duty to tell the stories of others. Even if we have to invent them” (Haven n.p). In North Korea, there is no room for self-determination or individuality. Propaganda blares from one household to another, and the people whose lives do not conform to the North Korean script get themselves in hot soup. North Korea is widely known as a society that is ruled by the brutal and crazy and brutal ideologies of the totalitarian Kim regime (Haven n.p). Besides, the country is at many times described as hidden from the eyes of the world; a place where only the desires and agenda matters for the reasons that the inhumane activities undertook in this nation are only learned through propaganda and satellite maps (Haven n.p). Questions of the moral responsibility attendant on certain artistic subjects can be vexing and frankly tiresome, resurrected with the appearance of every summer blockbuster about the Holocaust or some other historical horror. They would seem to be only more vexing in the case of North Korea, where the horror is still going on, and so little is revealed to the outside world, even as the country passes from the “Dear Leader” to his untested son. But this matter of responsibility is largely beside the point in the case of Johnson’s novel since he clearly intends to do his material justice.

In his words, Johnson stated that he was enthralled by the North Korean along with its stories for the reasons that the country outstands as "...the most difficult place on earth to be fully human, a place where spontaneity is almost impossible " (Haven n.p). What’s more, the author had visited the Democratic People's Republic of Korea where we are told that he was strictly monitored (Mahajan n.p). In North Korea, Johnson is said to have carried out research and reflection on the life of the common citizens under the totalitarian Kim regime for six years (Haven n.p). This was the driving force of Johnson behind reinforcing his ideas on how difficult life is to live in North Korea. He added that, North Korea was a country, “where confessing your heart and your wants and desires run counter to the state and could get you in trouble” (Mahajan n.p). Through the choice of an orphan, Park Jun Do, we get a sense of what life might be, for a resident of North Korea who works out his best to abide by the expectancies of the authority but still undergoes the whims of an abnormally egostistical leader.

Jun Do's increasing cognizance about North Korea’s outside world complicates or rather obfuscates his understanding of the regime he serves making it hard for him to overlook the datum that he together with his compatriots. It is through his encounter with, Sun Moon, a beautiful national actress that arouses in him a nous of desire and purpose to battle against Senseless Kim, in this regard Kim Jong IL. Just as if to describe Kim Jong II, crazy Kim has a strong desire and zeal in controlling every detail of the existence of his subjects, including their identities. Set against the backdrop of a totalitarian society whose stark realities are reminiscent of science fiction dystopia, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel attempts to comprehend the lengths to which human beings living under the yoke of servitude must go in order to survive. The author does not shy away from showing us the misery which is part and parcel of the life of Jun Do. The suffering ranges from the pain of being a witness brutality in all aspects of brutality to betrayal, imprisonment, loneliness, torture, and starvation. Just like the North Koreans, these characters face difficult situations throughout their life. Adam Johnson tells the tale of two North Korean men, Pak Jun Do, the main character, a professional kidnapper for the Pyongyang regime trained to fight in the dark, and a secondary character known as the Interrogator, whose path crosses with Jun Do after he assumes a dead man's identity.

Kidnappings are a day to day activities in North Korea with many of the victims being doctors, artists, scientists, and many others, who are abducted from other Asian countries by North Korean squads. The victims of kidnapping tend to experience severe mistreatment either as a way to intimidate them or to force them to follow particular orders. In an article in the Washington Times, Gertz (2014), writes about a secret document of the North Korean government which was acquired by the Western intelligence states (n.p). The document features Kim Jong-Il’s secret activities where he is said to have conceived and directed a program whose main purpose was kidnapping foreigners and bringing them to his communist country where they would be forced to become spies against their homeland (Gertz n.p). In the novel, Johnson features kidnapping of the son of an opera singer. Conscripted into the army after a famine devastates the orphanage, Jun Do patrols the dark tunnels beneath the demilitarized zone before being reassigned to a unit that kidnaps Japanese citizens in night raids. For reasons that are never entirely explained, he is taught English, which leads to a job translating foreign radio transmissions and then to a diplomatic mission to Texas, where he makes friends with a senator’s wife. When that trip ends in disaster, he is sent to a labor camp, where he comes face to face with the diabolical Commander Ga, a state hero and a rival of Kim Jong-Il for the affection of Sun Moon. Jun Do’s training in hand-to-hand tunnel combat helps him defeat Ga, after which he takes his place in Pyongyang as Sun Moon’s husband and the father of her children.

Even in the recent days, as late as July 2016, cases of mistreatment and abduction of orphans are rampant in North Korea. Sang-Hun (2016), covers a story of a Northern Korean defector who surfaced in Pyongyang where he confessed that he was detained while in his activities of abducting orphans (Sang-Hun n.p). The defector mainly smuggled orphans at the directive of the Korean intelligence officers (Sang-Hun n.p). Jonson expounds on similar cases happening in North Korea where Jun Do takes up great issue throughout the novel with being referred to as an orphan. This is explained by the fact that orphans are considered as fodder for manual labor besides not being respected in the North Korean. Jun Do considers himself to be worth more than that. As a trained kidnapper working for the regime of Pyongyang, Jun Do must navigate the ever-shifting procedures set out by his superiors in order to avoid detention and death. During the first third of the book, Jun Do is out at sea, serving on a fishing vessel in a coterie of spies. When one of his crew defects, however, Jun Do and his shipmates, for fear that the deserter's family will be killed for his misdeeds, attempt to cover up his tracks. Jun Do lets a shark to partially maul him in order to stage a heroic tale of death and martyrdom, in which he attempted, and failed, to save his comrade from being torn apart.

In conclusion, Adams Johnson’s novel despite being fictional covers the day to day difficulties experienced by the citizens of North Korea. Through his depiction of propaganda, prison camps, kidnapping and orphans, the author provides, successfully, a realistic window into North Korea. This is made possible through his fascinating plot twist, well-formed characters, and incredible scenes of inhumanity.

Works Cited

Gertz, Bill. "Kim Jong-il of North Korea Ordered Foreign Kidnappings to Create Spies: Secret Document - Washington Times." The Washington Times, 10 Dec. 2014, www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/10/kim-jong-il-of-north-korea-ordered-foreign-kidnapp/.

Haven, Cynthia. "Stanford Novelist Adam Johnson Talks about Truth and Totalitarianism in North Korea." Stanford University, 4 Apr. 2012, news.stanford.edu/news/2012/april/johnson-nkorea-novel-040412.html.

Mahajan, Karan. "Adam Johnson on ‘The Orphan Master’s Son’ – The Paris Review." The Paris Review, 24 Jan. 2014, www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/01/24/adam-johnson-on-%E2%80%98the-orphan-master%E2%80%99s-son%E2%80%99/.

SANG-HUN, CHOE. "North Korean Defector Surfaces in Pyongyang, Saying He Tried to Abduct Orphans - The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, 15 July 2015, www.nytimes.com/2016/07/16/world/asia/north-korea-child-abduction-defector.html?_r=0.