“We shall be faithful from generation to generation”: analysing the mechanisms of perpetuating dictatorship as canvased in Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang

Abstract

ABSTRACT Graphic travel memoirs have increasingly delved into functioning as a socio-political commentary on the locale being travelled, and Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea (2005) is no exception. Through a critical analysis of the image–word interactions in Delisle’s Pyongyang, the research paper attempts to canvas the mechanisms by way of which totalitarianism is perpetuated in North Korea. To elaborate, the paper primarily explores the representation of three strategies of perpetuating dictatorship in Pyongyang – through propaganda politics, censorship or impositions and fearmongering or terrorisation. Firstly, the article outlines how propaganda techniques like assertion, glittering generalities, testimonials, and pinpointing the enemy, among others, are used to create a charade of strength and prosperity by the regime; secondly, it showcases how bans, restrictions and censorship help in subjugating the citizens; and thirdly, the paper outlines how fear and terror reduce the population into being mere puppets of the regime, thwarting all possibilities of an uprising against the despotic rule. By decoding the graphic language embedded in this visual-verbal narrative, the article argues that Delisle’s text captures the mechanisms of perpetuating dictatorship in North Korea, thereby also serving as an alternative political document.