If you look at satellite photographs of the Far East by night, you'll see a large splotch curiously lacking in light. This area of darkness is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the stark contrast between North Korea and its neighboring regions, emphasizing the country's isolation.
Barbara Demick's quote draws attention to the lack of light in North Korea when viewed from satellite images, symbolizing not just the physical darkness but also the political and social isolation of the country. This absence of light stands as a metaphor for the restricted freedoms and the stark differences in development compared to its neighbors, suggesting that the darkness represents an area where modern life and connectivity are deeply hindered.
In practice
In a speech discussing global human rights, one might reference this quote to emphasize the plight of North Koreans.
In 2012, a five-year-old girl in Shandong province described to me how ten officials had chased her six-months-pregnant mother through the fields to prevent the birth of the family's second child, a boy. She died during the procedure.
In 1984, George Orwell wrote of a world where the only colour to be found was in the propaganda posters. Such is the case in North Korea. Images of Kim Il-sung are depicted in vivid colours. Rays of yellow and orange emanate from his face: he is the sun.
You can suddenly have a series of countries waking up and saying, 'I want the same status as the Brits,' which will be, de facto, the dismantling of the rest of Europe.
Voting is merely a labor-saving device for ascertaining on which side force lies and bowing to the inevitable... It is neither more nor less than a paper representative of the bayonet, the bully, and the bullet.
If you're worried about the deficit, pay attention to the fact that it's almost all attributable to military spending and the totally dysfunctional health program.
Traitors who prevail are patriots; usurpers who succeed are divine emperors.
Here I am in the state of New Mexico. George Bush is still in the state of denial. New Mexico has five electoral votes. The state of denial has none. I like my chances.
If there is ever to be an end to the conflict, the Palestinians must recognize the Jewish people's right to a homeland and the existence of an independent Jewish state in the homeland of the Jewish people.
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