Laurent de Ruyt

Lifting Another Curtain Laurent de Ruyt

A diplomat once said that you should imagine the real North Korea as a scene behind an undetermined number of curtains. If one spends a week or two in the country he should be able to lift one or two curtains and peek behind, but he will still be far from the truth. If he spends two or three years, he might lift another ten or twelve, but who knows how many curtains are left before he can see the truth on the scene? Is the situation as bad as it is often portrayed? How are people really living? What are the rules and regulations? Is there any happiness or hope? Many people have written about their perception of the "Hermit Kingdom", but few of them have actually lived for a long period inside the country. This book is the account of the two years I have spent living as a humanitarian aid worker in Pyongyang, from 2017 to 2019. It attempts to be an honest and objective account of how everyday life is for a foreigner, the debates and situations you are confronted with, the joys and pains you go through. It has some pretty serious parts, but it also talks about restaurants, sex, dolphins and hula-hooping. Enjoy!