# Kim Jong-Il's Sushi Chef's amazing story **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185 "2013-06-05T05:07:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/1 "2013-06-05T05:07:08Z")
Dear (departed) leader’s Sushi Chef Reveals it all [here.](http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201306/kim-jong-il-sushi-chef-kenji-fujimoto-adam-johnson-2013) \* 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.\* ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/2 "2013-06-05T06:32:22Z")
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? > [@](#): > > The karaoke club was frigid on the morning of the third of our six interviews, and when Fujimoto fired up the space heater, the fumes ignited a headache behind my eyes. I looked around the club, a sad place the size of a single-wide. It was a far cry from the pleasure palaces of North Korea. > > Fujimoto addressed the topic of money. He hasn’t worked since he escaped a dozen years ago. He survives on the fees he charges for interviews, a common practice in Japan. Since this magazine won’t pay such fees, Fujimoto demanded that we meet at an exclusive club where we would have privacy. The club, I’d been told, charged 15,000 yen ($150) an hour. > > Now I was in Japan. And this was the club. I turned on the recorder. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/3 "2013-06-05T06:44:48Z")
Probably sort-of interesting; but no way in hell do I click 9 pages. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/4 "2013-06-05T07:07:07Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/5 "2013-06-05T07:07:32Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/6 "2013-06-05T07:08:17Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Probably sort-of interesting; but no way in hell do I click 9 pages. 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? ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/7 "2013-06-05T07:10:47Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/8 "2013-06-05T07:13:06Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > 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? Journalists do have entertainment expenses, precisely for this reason.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/9 "2013-06-05T07:16:00Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Probably sort-of interesting; but no way in hell do I click 9 pages. 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](http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201306/kim-jong-il-sushi-chef-kenji-fujimoto-adam-johnson-2013?printable=true) ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/10 "2013-06-05T07:55:44Z")
Designers too dumb to add _View as Single Page_ should not be encouraged. Slide-shows are pretty bad too. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/11 "2013-06-05T08:46:50Z")
I thought they deliberately spread things out over several pages to show you more ads. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/12 "2013-06-05T12:37:28Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/13 "2013-06-05T13:49:47Z")
People interested in the OP’s article may also like to [read](http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40495/hermit-kitchen/full/) 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](http://www.yelp.com/biz/pyongyang-soondae-alexandria). ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/14 "2013-06-05T15:55:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/15 "2013-06-05T16:00:47Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/16 "2013-06-05T16:16:40Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > One thing that was :dubious:… Did the writer just admit to shenanigans to get around GQ’s policy of not paying interviewees? No. They money went to the club, not the chef. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/17 "2013-06-05T16:17:45Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/18 "2013-06-05T16:43:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No. They money went to the club, not the chef. Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more? Or did you really buy that thinly veiled subterfuge? I can’t tell without a smiley, damnit! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/19 "2013-06-05T16:51:46Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185/20 "2013-06-05T17:03:45Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > 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: > [@](#): > > Here, Fujimoto’s friend owns a battered five-stool > karaoke bar, and this is where we met. Inside, it was cold enough to see > your breath. The toilet was a hole in the floor where urine, billowing steam, > disappeared into darkness before freezing. $150 an hour for such an exclusive club. Sounds legit! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-ils-sushi-chefs-amazing-story/660185.md?page=2)