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A review by miayukino
The Red Years: Forbidden Poems from Inside North Korea by Bandi
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I know there’s an urge to see anything published from behind North Korea’s curtain and immediately flock to it and laud it as imminent or necessary and I think people need to take a longer look at Bandi’s writing. I get it, hot take. I’m just a radical asking you to stick with them for a second.
Bandi consistently idealizes capitalism and Western society and ostensibly leans centrist with his politics. What makes him radical is his opposition to his environment.
This is absolutely not to say that he doesn’t deserve the right to want capitalist privileges or that his writing isn’t important- he deserves those privileges and his work is still important. What I fundamentally disagree with is that his takes are nuanced. The poems which resonate with me are his least political, and I believe that’s because they have the space for nuance and metaphors beyond fusing totalitarianism and communism (even though they are distinctly separate and less people have the nerve to call out American/Western totalitarianism unless an outright fascist is running the show).
I have the distinct privilege of living in a place where word can easily get around (even if we absolutely censor things but pretend we don’t because we’re capitalists) so I have no say in debating the validity of his experience. I think the nuance lies in the collection of rage and positivity, not in the poems themselves. There is credible reporting on the financial opportunity provided to defectors for twisting their stories and becoming career defectors as a result. North Korea absolutely violates human rights laws, and that doesn’t mean the defector NGOs and South Korean government don’t have a hand in hyperbolizing specific accounts in exchange for payment. This book, to me, has that energy: the important momentum to take down the regime, indifferent to the exact truth so long as the big picture is accurate.
Ultimately, if Bandi’s poetry wasn’t from behind this curtain, behind our outer view of this totalitarian nation, I’m not sure it would garner the same literary acclaim. The writing and translation are good, and I can think of writers I value more when it comes to speaking truth to power- in full nuanced and radical tradition. Pointing out this aspect of quality feels pertinent to me, not out of dislike, but to speak to the absolute necessity of free speech of all North Koreans. There is a revolution to be waged, and at the end of it, I want to hear the all the radicals, especially those whom aren’t appeasing to the neoliberal palette.
Bandi consistently idealizes capitalism and Western society and ostensibly leans centrist with his politics. What makes him radical is his opposition to his environment.
This is absolutely not to say that he doesn’t deserve the right to want capitalist privileges or that his writing isn’t important- he deserves those privileges and his work is still important. What I fundamentally disagree with is that his takes are nuanced. The poems which resonate with me are his least political, and I believe that’s because they have the space for nuance and metaphors beyond fusing totalitarianism and communism (even though they are distinctly separate and less people have the nerve to call out American/Western totalitarianism unless an outright fascist is running the show).
I have the distinct privilege of living in a place where word can easily get around (even if we absolutely censor things but pretend we don’t because we’re capitalists) so I have no say in debating the validity of his experience. I think the nuance lies in the collection of rage and positivity, not in the poems themselves. There is credible reporting on the financial opportunity provided to defectors for twisting their stories and becoming career defectors as a result. North Korea absolutely violates human rights laws, and that doesn’t mean the defector NGOs and South Korean government don’t have a hand in hyperbolizing specific accounts in exchange for payment. This book, to me, has that energy: the important momentum to take down the regime, indifferent to the exact truth so long as the big picture is accurate.
Ultimately, if Bandi’s poetry wasn’t from behind this curtain, behind our outer view of this totalitarian nation, I’m not sure it would garner the same literary acclaim. The writing and translation are good, and I can think of writers I value more when it comes to speaking truth to power- in full nuanced and radical tradition. Pointing out this aspect of quality feels pertinent to me, not out of dislike, but to speak to the absolute necessity of free speech of all North Koreans. There is a revolution to be waged, and at the end of it, I want to hear the all the radicals, especially those whom aren’t appeasing to the neoliberal palette.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, War, and Violence