Black Girl from Pyongyang: In Search of My Identity

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Within months, her father was executed in a military coup; her mother became unreachable. Effectively orphaned, she and two siblings had to make their life in Pyongyang. Hmm, this is essentially a lightweight and patronisingly naïve narrative in which Macias states well-known axioms such as that above as if they're discoveries that only she has made and which she wants to impart to us. And yes, we are aware that, to quote the cliché, history is written by the victors. It's really not news.

The contribution of our members is crucial. Their support enables us to be proudly independent, challenge the whitewashed media landscape and most importantly, platform the work of marginalised communities. To continue this mission, we need to grow gal-dem to 6,000 members – and we can only do this with your support. In 1979, Monica Macias, aged only seven, was transplanted from West Africa to the unfamiliar surroundings of North Korea. She was sent by her father Francisco, the first president of post-Independence Equatorial Guinea, to be educated under the guardianship of his ally, Kim Il Sung. Within months, her father was executed in a military coup; her mother became unreachable. Effectively orphaned, she and two siblings had to make their life in Pyongyang. At military boarding school, Monica learned to mix with older children, speak fluent Korean and handle weapons on training exercises. In Beijing, singing karaoke with South Koreans, people she’d been taught to view as US puppets. Such meetings made her question the society in which she’d been raised.

As the daughter of Francisco Macias, the first president of Equatorial Guinea following its independence from colonial Spanish rule, and as someone who grew up in North Korea, then proceeded to live in Madrid, New York, London and Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, this had the makings of a fantastic social and political tour-de-force. However, for the most part, her observations only ran skin deep and felt like incredibly biased and misplaced generalisations. In 2013, Macías gained media attention following the publication of her memoir, I'm Monique from Pyongyang ( Korean: 나는 평양의 모니카입니다), which was written in Korean. In this book, she recounted her experiences in North and South Korea and how they shaped her perspectives on the issues of the two countries. [5] I feel that this book is a missed opportunity for the author to really give us an insight into both her childhood in North Korea and the real details of what happened in Equatorial New Guinea. However it was still worth a read but it could have been so much more. Macias is the daughter of the late Francisco Macias, the erstwhile leader (/dictator) of Equatorial Guinea, which attained its independence from its coloniser Spain in 1968. My connection to the society I grew up in is partly emotional, but I do have the capacity for dispassionate legal analysis. The moment that emotion interferes with analysis, the analysis can become sloppy.”

Optimistic yet unflinching, Monica’s astonishing and unique story challenges us to see the world through different eyes. More info This is where arguably the two most important processes in our modern history, which shook and shaped so many millions of lives, take centre stage: colonisation and decolonisation. Colonisation was characterised by the ruthless exploitation of the colonised by colonial powers. People from those colonised territories were considered subhuman, inferior to white people, with no rights whatsoever, including the right to education. Instead, she concluded, Macias’s reputation was the result of a powerful campaign by his enemies. She maintains that if her father had stolen his country’s oil wealth, her mother would not have sold plantains on the streets to survive, and she, his daughter, would not have had to support herself through low-paid jobs. “I am able to say my full name now.”The subject material of this book is fascinating. The young daughter of the President of Equatorial Guinea goes to North Korea in the 1970s for her education and possibly safety. She remains there for some 15 years before setting out to explore the world and revisit her heritage. Are they aware that, wherever there are asymmetric power dynamics, the victor's version of events is accepted as the truth, creating a warped narrative of historical events? When trying to understand her father's regime (he was killed by his nephew in a coup), she speaks to one of his closest friends. A more balanced view might have been obtained by speaking to people on both sides of the argument. A fascinating account of a woman's quest for autonomy, and her bravery and determination to find the truth. It's an investigative story to understand her true father, a powerful but controversial figure, the real man behind his many personas. A woman who was raised between countries, in search of her true home' Lily Dunn, author of Sins of My Father

Macias allows her own experience, and her experience alone, to determine her thoughts and opinions on North Korean society (and on her father, widely considered to have been one of Africa’s most brutal dictators).

To celebrate, we are giving you a sneak peek at the inspirational quotes you will be able to find inside this small but beautiful book 🥰🎊 In 1979, Monica Macias, aged only seven, was transplanted from West Africa to the unfamiliar surroundings of North Korea. She was sent by her father Francisco, the first president of post-Independence Equatorial Guinea, to be educated under the guardianship of his ally, Kim Il Sung. The closing chapters of the book are dominated by her struggles as she seeks to find her place in life. The book segues somewhat into identity politics; race, politics, colonialism, racism, classism etc, as she presents herself as a victim. Her life has certainly been complicated by her childhood circumstances. But as an adult, outside of NK, her choices have been made freely and have been hers to make. I doubt her difficulties will resonate much with those that have faced far more serious and brutal treatment under her previous benefactors in EG or NK. Nevertheless it is interesting to read her views as she experiences and lives freely in the world today. She states “…all countries are the same, acting in their own interests…” This may be true, but even so, the outcomes for people in most parts of the world are far preferable to those who live in EG, NK or under other authoritarian and repressive regimes. It is an interesting story of post-colonialism, the Cold War and a certain North Korean life during the 1970s and 1980s. Hardly representative however and the author, although enjoying remarkable freedoms, seems ignorant to the circumstances of ordinary North Koreans. Her father is killed during the political chaos of post-colonial EG, in the early years of her time in NK. Yet she remains there, a guest of the government and grows up essentially Korean. She speaking the language, looses her Spanish and enjoying the food and lifestyle. Her mindset is very much positive towards her adopted country and she sees little to fault. While of course, being critical of the West and naturally the United States. With his family’s life in danger from his putative enemies, and with Communist nations reaching out to offer Macias assistance, he sent his wife and children to North Korea to live and be educated under the stewardship of Kim Il Sung, who the author refers to as her adopted father, and of whom she speaks very fondly.

Feeling abandoned by her family, the young Monica struggled to fit into Korean society. At first she rebelled against its military discipline but eventually chose Korean culture over her own. Her Great Leader had promised her father that he would educate her and send her home to serve her own country. So he employed a Spanish teacher to ensure she kept up with her native language, but she refused to learn it and cleaved ever closer to Kim’s dictatorial regime, until the incident with the Syrian student and the newspaper. At the time, this did not surprise me in the slightest, but it interests many Westerners when I tell them. I guess it is a cultural thing because it does not surprise South Koreans either. I like to remind readers that the author is not trying to show the world the truth and the only truth, but she is giving the reader an opportunity to soak in how other people might see the world. Not everything anyone of us have learned in school and during our upbringing is the ultimate truth. We all need to try to understand other people better, and not simply let everyone know we have the only right knowledge, and everyone else is wrong. Isn't that one of the reasons the world is what it is today?

How often did Monica see Kim? “At the beginning, quite often. He was charismatic. He would nag me to study hard, like a typical Korean grandfather. He’d say, ‘The best weapon you have is education.’ ” Although his nephew monitored Monica day to day, Kim observed her progress, encouraging her to drop one dream of becoming a pianist and instead to study textile engineering to help her country’s fledgling economy. I bought this book because suddenly I saw in one single book two of my interests together: North Korea and Equatorial Guinea, and I was positively surprised by a memoir that talked more about the human condition than those countries I was interested in (even if it does talk about them quite a lot!). Despite the layered obstacles, Macias says she has fond childhood memories of her school life and classmates. Monica spent a somewhat confused and happy childhood at a strict, military boarding school in Pyongyang, where she lived a relatively privileged existence as the daughter of a close comrade and friend of Kim Il Sung.