Dear (departed) leader’s Sushi Chef Reveals it all here.
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North Korea is a mythically strange land, an Absurdistan, where almost nothing is known about the people or, more important, their missile-launching leaders. There is, however, one man—a humble sushi chef from Japan—who infiltrated the inner sanctum, becoming the Dear Leader’s cook, confidant, and court jester. What is life like serving Kim Jong-il and his heir? A strange and dangerous gig where the food and drink never stop, the girls are all virgins, and you’re never really safe. We sent Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Adam Johnson to meet the man who survived all the craziness.*
Thanks for the link. I’ve read some about this guy’s story before, and it’s always interesting to read more.
One thing that was :dubious:… Did the writer just admit to shenanigans to get around GQ’s policy of not paying interviewees?
Probably sort-of interesting; but no way in hell do I click 9 pages.
I found it interesting. Of course I had heard about him before.
Wow, great read. I was wondering how much support the Kims had amongst the elite, and it looks like they had to watch their backs as well. This implies killing the leader alone isn’t enough to change the country.
Not only that - GQ makes Safari crash on my iPad. That happened the last time I tried to read a GQ article a few months ago too. Anyone else experience issues like that?
I read all 9 pages in safari on iPad this morning. No crashes.
Journalists do have entertainment expenses, precisely for this reason.
I thought everyone knew the “Print” link trick: http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201306/kim-jong-il-sushi-chef-kenji-fujimoto-adam-johnson-2013?printable=true
Designers too dumb to add View as Single Page should not be encouraged.
Slide-shows are pretty bad too.
I thought they deliberately spread things out over several pages to show you more ads.
They do, but you can often get around this by hitting the print button at the top of the article.
People interested in the OP’s article may also like to read about how Ms. Ma Young-Ae, formerly an investigative agent for the North Korean government tasked with busting unauthorized drug smugglers, defected and wound up running a restaurant in Northern Virginia. Unfortunately, her restaurant is now closed.
I read the entire article, and while I found it interesting, I also found the chef to be an asshole. How could anyone know about the atrocities that North Korea is guilty of and then want to go back? Oh right. Free women, cars and booze. Forget his kids, both Japanese and Korean. And I was just shocked when he said he was ok with his Korean family being in the mines or whatever for ‘only’ six years? What a class act.
Yeah, he’s definitely pond scum. Though, I have no idea if any of his attitude can be attributed to cultural differences, but the guy’s a first class dick either way.
No. They money went to the club, not the chef.
I think the implication was that the chef was getting most of the money, as there is no way that club could charge such rates.
Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more? Or did you really buy that thinly veiled subterfuge? I can’t tell without a smiley, damnit!
It’s not subterfuge if all he did was take the guy to a club.
(Ok, still no smiley… )
Uh huh, his friend’s club is described thusly:
$150 an hour for such an exclusive club. Sounds legit!