Fiction REINCARNATION, Vol. 2

Collapse of North Korean Regime

<55> Collapse of North Korean Regime

We stayed on DK Island for two days and then returned to Pyongyang. And I formally proposed to Michelle and had a simple wedding ceremony. Michelle's parents and siblings came from the U.S. and Jong-bin's family and relatives attended. In the past, parents of the bride and groom rented hotels or large wedding halls to show off their influence, attracting many guests. However, such ostentatious wedding practices have disappeared. It is said that today's young people are annoyed by even simple ceremonial procedures.

Many couples skip weddings and go into cohabitation, while many young people fall in love with a man or woman about their parent's age. Seeing that advertisements for sex robots are common, there seem to be many people living with them. Sex robot can be used as a substitute for lovers since it will provide pleasure to humans but will not stress or betray them.

I wanted to keep Michelle in the fence of my family because I had to get her help for a long time. I judged that no one was as good as Michelle to help me and that it was desirable to be a couple with children to catch her. It's probably an old-fashioned idea.

I liked the fact that I could have a very simple wedding. If Jong-bin's classmates and coworkers attended the wedding, I would often produce very tired and awkward scenes. At a gathering of family members and guests, Michelle and I wrapped up the ceremony by making a simple vow and having a meal together. Hyun-ji, who attended the wedding, again grabbed Yoon-hee and Yu-jin and begged them to go to the Philippines. She tried to persuade the two women to live together on a warm and scenic island, but I don't know how they reacted.

We moved to a small apartment after the wedding and I've been struggling with Jong-bin's computer to see how the political and economic situation has changed. But I feel uncomfortable not being able to read the newspaper. I used to read newspapers every morning and start my day, but now I can't see newspapers and magazines anywhere. The paper seems to have disappeared because it was not able to compete with television, the Internet, and cell phones. So where can I find the articles written by Jong-bin?

"These days, don't you read newspapers? Is the newspaper gone?"

"There are no people who read it."

"Newspapers organize news by importance and by area to make it easier for readers to understand."

"How can newspaper follow the speed of TV or the Internet? At one time, newspapers used drones to speed up delivery, but they can't compete with other media tools that deliver news in real time."

"Is it so late to read what happened yesterday? Newspapers have many other useful articles, too."

"In the past, more than half of the newspapers were not read by people and sent to garbage dumps. That's because newspapers have increased their circulation to attract advertisements. In the end, newspapers disappeared because they were not competitive in terms of efficiency and cost."

Newspapers cannot be faster than radio waves in terms of the speed at which they transmit news. And the news delivered in writing and drawing is less realistic than the video. Moreover, with the improvement of radio media's shortcomings, the situation for newspapers must have become even poorer. Anyone who listens to the TV broadcast for a short time can instantly feel that. Today's radio media are providing consumers with accurate knowledge and information that suits their taste very efficiently.

If the printing industry had shrunk, would the library have disappeared? That's not true. Michelle still frequently visits libraries, art galleries, and museums. Specialized knowledge and information not covered by commercial broadcasting can only be found in the library. And people visit art galleries or museums to appreciate works of art and historical artifacts.