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Tim Neville's "The Great Pleasure Project"

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     Tim Neville takes the reader on an amazing rollercoaster ride with emotions in his travel story, "The Great Pleasure Project." The emotional rollercoaster consistently reaches an all time high when he speaks about a winter wonderland ski resort in North Korea that snuggles with Taedong River. However, when riding a rollercoaster, you cannot go up without coming down. Neville successfully pulls the readers emotions down to an all time low when he evokes the eeriness and sadness within the North Korean culture. Then he brings the reader up again by evoking emotions of carefree and fun when he describes skiing on the mountaintop. He creates the ebbs and tides by intertwining his enjoyable skiing trip in North Korea juxtapose the horrific political environment bestowed on the people for decades by the evil Kim family. Neville creates the eeriness by stating, "The whole thing is sickening, really... Dark falls and even the stars seem too spooked to shine" (pg. 169). Moreover, he brings the reader back up by stating, "Dan and I dance down Slopes 7, 8 and 9... We settle for views of the brown valleys below, then leapfrog each other, highfiving our powder eights."

     I found this story to be fascinating because I am familiar and interested in North Korean politics. The human rights violations that occur in this country are more than horrific, they are unacceptable. I can see why Neville felt "guilty" being one of only 2,500 Americans to visit the country after the Korean War in 1953. However, I believe he does an excellent job contextualizing the frightful conditions North Koreans have masked with acts of happiness for survival purposes. One specific story he shares is about two performers that awkwardly, yet "enthusiastically," sing Karaoke for a tiny crowed. He states, "Maybe this is the greatest job ever. Maybe they're being watched."

     I also enjoyed the personal account that Neville experienced first hand in North Korea compared to what I watch on the television set. His narrative was more organically told and he was able to successful educate, in a subtle, about the North Korean culture that would most likely not land him on Kim Jong-il's hit list. I learned what the word "juche" means. Juche is the "a belief in Korean self-reliance from the rest of the world" (pg. 167). Juche is rooted in propaganda, but the citizens have no means to understand what is happening in the "rest" of the world. Neville ends the rollercoaster ride smoothly by evoking the emotion of hope. He states, "Things are slowly changing, though. You see more cell phones, more cars, more people with watches" (pg. 172). Thanks to the slopes of Yanggakdo, Neville was able to give me a personal "peek" into the mysterious world of North Korea.

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