Translation and Discussion of Choi Sung-Guk’s Labor Interrogation
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Date
2021-03
Authors
Shaw, Allene D.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
North Korean defectors living in South Korea face a paradoxical situation: they
hold rights as citizens of South Korea, but experience “social exclusion and identity
problems as the Other” due to a mass media system that perpetuates biased depictions
of North Korean defector stories and a largely ignorant and prejudiced society (Park,
2019:314). Labor Interrogation, a webtoon (Korean online graphic novel) written by
North Korean defector and United Nations honoree Choi Sung-Guk, attempts to combat
this by depicting everyday life for defectors living in South Korea and demonstrating
how differences in language and culture, as well as literal and symbolic interrogation
from South Koreans, can make assimilation an uphill battle. Choi based Labor
Interrogation on his and other defectors’ real experiences, and through their stories
demonstrates the stumbling blocks that exist for defectors who are trying to create new
identities in the South.
For this thesis project I translated the first fourteen chapters of Labor
Interrogation—of 46 chapters published online in Korean at Naver Webtoon from
2016-2017, and in paperback through publisher Koreaura in 2018—and explored this
theme of identity-building. I met with Choi in Seoul periodically for interviews and discussions to supplement the translation, and I include excerpts from one of these
interviews in the preface of my thesis along with an introduction of Choi and his
personal goals for his work. In my analysis of Labor Interrogation, I argue that
language, cultural norms, and societal attitudes towards defectors are obstacles for
defector identity-building in South Korea.
Choi’s work has the power to give Americans and others around the world a
much-needed new perspective on North Koreans—that of humanity. He achieved this
in South Korea to some extent—his work educated readers about defector experiences
and prompted a nationwide discussion of how South Korea treats its resident North
Koreans, as well as South Korean policies towards North Korea. I hope that this work
will prompt some of this same sort of discussion in the United States.
Description
268 pages.
Keywords
Choi Sung-Guk, North Korean defectors, social exclusion, cultural identity