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Jun-sang
Mrs. Song is an older woman who grew up in Chongjin in the 1950s and 1960s. Her father, who fought for North Korea in the Korean War, died in battle—and from a young age, Mrs. Song declared herself completely loyal to the regime and a “true believer” in its promises. Mrs. Song married a kind man named Chang-bo, a prominent member of the Workers’ Party, and took a good job in a local factory. She did everything she could in her personal and professional life to glorify the regime, to express fealty toward the Great Leader Kim Il-sung, and to raise children who echoed her loyalty to the government and to the Party. Mrs. Song’s rebellious children, Oak-hee and Nam-oak, worried her because of their anti-regime sentiments—but she ignored their distaste for the state and focused on inhabiting within herself the “filial devotion” the regime demanded. In the early days of the North Korean economic collapse and ensuing food shortage, Mrs. Song tried to maintain the image of a loyal, hard worker who would continue showing up to a factory job for no pay and no rations. As times got tougher, however, and it became impossible to keep food on the table for herself, her husband, and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Song turned to the black market in order to survive. Though she’d been taught all her life that commerce was evil—and though as the head of her neighborhood’s local inminban, or people’s watch, she could get in serious trouble—Mrs. Song learned to embody the spirit of industry in order to keep her family alive. After the consecutive deaths of her mother-in-law, her husband, and her son within two years, Mrs. Song nearly lost her own life—but with the help of her daughters, she regained her strength and began selling cookies to make ends meet. With the help of the rebellious Oak-hee, Mrs. Song eventually defected to South Korea, where she was able to at last confront the pain, disappointment, and sorrow her years of fruitless dedication to the regime had inspired. Dedicated, courageous, and determined to survive, Mrs. Song and her remarkable journey from party mouthpiece to emboldened defector form the heart of the book.
Mrs. Song Hee-suk Quotes in Nothing to Envy
The Nothing to Envy quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Song Hee-suk or refer to Mrs. Song Hee-suk. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6
Quotes
"How are we going to live? What are we going to do without our marshal?" The words came tumbling out.
[Chang-bo] didn't react. He sat pale and motionless, staring into space. Mrs. Song couldn't keep still. She was pumped up with adrenaline. She rushed down the staircase and out into the courtyard of the building. Many of her neighbors had done the same. They were on their knees, banging their heads on the pavement. Their wails cut through the air like sirens.
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Chapter 9
Quotes
Even with his weight loss, Nam-oak was too heavy for Mrs. Song to carry to the hospital-there were no ambulances working by now-so she went herself and explained his condition. A doctor wrote her a prescription for penicillin, but when she got to the market she found it cost 50 won—the same price as a kilo of corn.
She chose the corn.
Nam-oak died in March 1998, alone in the shack.
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Chapter 17
Quotes
She thought of Chang-bo especially when she was eating. How that man loved to eat! He would have so enjoyed the sausage. […] Then her thoughts drifted to her son. Her memories were so tinged with guilt and shame that she couldn't even speak about him. So strong, so handsome—such a tragedy to have lost him at twenty-five. How much life he had missed. How much they had all missed, herself too, her daughters, locked away in North Korea, working themselves to death. For what? We will do as the party tells us. We will die for the general. We have nothing to envy. We will go our own way. She had believed it all and wasted her life. Or maybe not.
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Chapter 18
Quotes
“When I see a good meal like this, it makes me cry,” Mrs. Song apologized one night as we sat around a steaming pot of shabu-shabu, thinly sliced beef cooked in broth and dipped in a sesame sauce. "I can't help thinking of his last words, 'Let's go to a good restaurant and order a nice bottle of wine.’"
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Mrs. Song Hee-suk Quotes in Nothing to Envy
The Nothing to Envy quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Song Hee-suk or refer to Mrs. Song Hee-suk. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6
Quotes
"How are we going to live? What are we going to do without our marshal?" The words came tumbling out.
[Chang-bo] didn't react. He sat pale and motionless, staring into space. Mrs. Song couldn't keep still. She was pumped up with adrenaline. She rushed down the staircase and out into the courtyard of the building. Many of her neighbors had done the same. They were on their knees, banging their heads on the pavement. Their wails cut through the air like sirens.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9
Quotes
Even with his weight loss, Nam-oak was too heavy for Mrs. Song to carry to the hospital-there were no ambulances working by now-so she went herself and explained his condition. A doctor wrote her a prescription for penicillin, but when she got to the market she found it cost 50 won—the same price as a kilo of corn.
She chose the corn.
Nam-oak died in March 1998, alone in the shack.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17
Quotes
She thought of Chang-bo especially when she was eating. How that man loved to eat! He would have so enjoyed the sausage. […] Then her thoughts drifted to her son. Her memories were so tinged with guilt and shame that she couldn't even speak about him. So strong, so handsome—such a tragedy to have lost him at twenty-five. How much life he had missed. How much they had all missed, herself too, her daughters, locked away in North Korea, working themselves to death. For what? We will do as the party tells us. We will die for the general. We have nothing to envy. We will go our own way. She had believed it all and wasted her life. Or maybe not.
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Chapter 18
Quotes
“When I see a good meal like this, it makes me cry,” Mrs. Song apologized one night as we sat around a steaming pot of shabu-shabu, thinly sliced beef cooked in broth and dipped in a sesame sauce. "I can't help thinking of his last words, 'Let's go to a good restaurant and order a nice bottle of wine.’"
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