Sommaire
There are places that seem, to say the least, singular for getting to know each other. In North Korea, in a provincial town, two young high-school students attending a public execution exchange glances that penetrate to the very depths of their souls. From that moment on, they’ll never stop thinking about each other. The only problem is, they come from opposing social classes. With their every move and even their thoughts under surveillance, will they ever see each other again? How will they live their love among other North Korean citizens whose only devotion is to the party? Nicolas Gaudemet tells us.
A discovery from the 2025 literary season
The week of August 15 kicked off the back-to-school literary season. Book lovers were excited to discover what was in store for them. Some already had an idea in mind, and couldn’t wait to catch up with their favorite authors. Others were waiting, as the saying goes, for the nuggets of the new season.
At the same time, numerous publications on social networks featured a novel by a French author set in North Korea. The novel was set against the backdrop of a vibrant, universal love story.
These publications were accompanied by numerous comments from readers from all walks of life. Some were young readers, others older readers with no particular connection to Korea.
After consulting the author’s biography and gathering some information about his interests and background, I decided to go and meet him.
Nicolas Gaudemet is a well-known author. His novel, published last August by Éditions de l’Observatoire, is entitled Nous n’avons rien à envier au reste du monde.
What could this title possibly allude to? Wasn’t it paradoxical for a novel set in one of the world’s most closed states? And of course, what was the novel about?
In a place where individual freedom has no place, Nicolas Gaudemet’s narrative talent comes into its own. Describing the daily life of North Korean citizens, he presents us with the meeting of two high school students, young Mi Ran (미란) and Yoon Gi (윤기), from social classes that oppose everything. Against adversity, the two heroes will experience a love so intense that even under the worst conditions each of us would like to know it at least once in our lives.
Nicolas Gaudemet is well acquainted with what he describes as the Soviet world, and also with Asia. He has made several trips to the Republic of Korea, as well as to North Korea, soaking up every moment of what he saw.
Let’s meet him, Mi Ran and Yoon Gi!
Nicolas Gaudemet was kind enough to grant me an interview on September 6. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to see him at a book signing at the Lamartine bookshop in Paris, and then at a concert for peace and Franco-Korean friendship.
A talented writer, but not only
We shouldn’t try to analyze the personality of the person we’re talking to, nor reduce their activity to a single socio-professional category. Nicolas Gaudemet explained to me that he couldn’t give up any of his current professions. His personal aspirations and tastes, encouraged by his family environment, have probably shaped the multi-faceted person he is today.
A graduate of the École polytechnique, also known as l’X, Nicolas Gaudemet has held senior positions in both the public and private sectors. He began his career with the Treasury Department of the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance. He also worked for the Orange Group, as well as for Fnac Darty, as Director of Culture.
A rich history
Former Secretary of State for the Digital Sector (2017-2019) Mounir Mahjoubi has asked him to join him as Chief of Staff.
With a certificate from Stanford University (California) in Artificial Intelligence, Nicolas Gaudemet joined Onepoint, a French company specializing in the digital transformation of businesses and organizations, in 2020. He is now Chief AI Officer. He is consulted on a regular basis, and has spoken out on the subject of Sora 2, the video generation tool from Open AI, the Californian AI giant.
His job, he says, enables him to participate in the transformation of the world, with an important technical dimension, but also human, managerial, etc….
His appetite and aptitude for high technology led me to believe that this was the reason why he had become interested in Korea and had travelled there. “That’s part of it,” he replied, but not the only part.
He explained that Korea is at the forefront of technology when it comes to digital experiences, but that his trip was a more personal exploration.
Literature
In several interviews, including the one he gave me, Nicolas Gaudemet explained that he loved to read and write, from an early age. He began studying Russian at the age of eight or nine. His parents had given him some of the classics, which they themselves already enjoyed reading.
Discovering Russian classics, he says, made him think about the evolution of the Russian world and the Soviet world he tackles in his novel, which is (and I quote) : A sort of hypertrophied extension of the Stalinist Soviet world.
As for Japanese literature, his parents also had books by Yukio Mishima (Kimitake Hiraoka’s pen name) in their library. His mother read a lot of Mishima and had discovered him when she was a teacher in a mathematics preparatory class. In the science preparatory classes, there is always a program of book studies of novels. One year, the subject was Mishima’s The Golden Pavilion.
Nicolas Gaudemet had taken a book from the family library, and voilà!
Japan had also come to him through manga on television. France is currently the second most popular country for reading manga, after Japan itself.
Starting with a taste for Japanese literature, he had explored other literatures, in particular the Korean world. And then,” he explains, “the whole Korean wave arrived: Korean dramas and music, webtoons and so on.
Writing
Nicolas Gaudemet was awarded the Prix Jules Renard for his debut novel La fin des idoles , published in 2018 by Tohu Bohu. From an early age, he wrote poems and short stories, inspired by artists such as Jim Morrison and Patti Smith, as well as the poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine.
He says: “The bulk of the work on a book is the writing. Then come the meetings with readers, booksellers, journalists, influencers and the reception of the book. Right now, I’m in the reception phase, but the reception phase is actually very short, compared to the writing phase, which often lasts several years.
Travel
Nicolas Gaudemet visited Moscow and St Petersburg in Russia. In Asia, he visited Tsingtao in China, Cambodia, the Philippines, Japan, Laos, Singapore and Vietnam. He recalls Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910. Japan,” he says, “tried to colonize all the countries around it, and it went to all the countries around it.
His journey through Asia took him as far as the Russian Far East. In Vladivostok, he was close to North Korea.
Visiting Asia, he also saw all the scars left by the Second World War.
Korea
The Republic of Korea
Nicolas Gaudemet first visited Korea in 1999, then again in 2018 and 2022.
During our interview, I got the impression that he had become intoxicated by Busan ( 부산) . Busan, which was spelled Pusan with a P, he points out. He was very impressed by the port. He also talks about the city’s subsequent change, linked to the expansion of tourism.
He says: When I went back, it had exploded with skyscrapers, but the district I love had stayed. I find it quite typical, with its big underground gallery, the market near the port with the dried seafood etc., which really gives it that good color, and then the village on the mountain, the Busan tower, which is quite emblematic.
It’s all stayed a bit in its original state and, funnily enough, I discovered this beautiful hotel located on this hill in Busan. It’s a very nice old hotel, maybe from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s. It’s funny because it’s in a very famous Korean drama that obviously inspired me, which is Crash Landing on You. There are scenes in the show that are supposed to take place in North Korea, but this hotel is the Commodore, and it’s located in Busan.
Nicole Gaudemet was interested in Korea long before he wrote his novel, and had studied its history extensively. As well as Busan, he visited other cities such as Daegu, Mokpo (South Jeolla Province) Seoul, Jeju and so on. He also told me with some amusement about the BTS Bus Stop which is located opposite Jumunjinhaebyeon beach in Gangneung(주문진 해변).
North Korea
Nicolas Gaudemet visited North Korea before the covid pandemic. To organize his trip, he had to contact a specialized agency, which organized visits on a piecemeal basis. Obtaining a visa took several months
He stayed for five days, mainly in Pyongyang (평양), but also in Kaesong (개성).
“Kaesŏng ” is located just seven kilometers from the border with the Republic of Korea. Formerly in the northern province of Hwanghae ( 황해남도), it is linked to Pyongyang by a highway.
Nicolas Gaudemet says it’s a beautiful city, a Unesco World Heritage Site, a very interesting city. Its monuments and historic sites form a whole that represents the power base of the Koryo dynasty (고려 – 918-1392) with its associated tombs.
Foreigners are not allowed to speak directly to North Korean citizens except those designated by the party, such as guides, and possibly the driver. But the driver doesn’t speak our language, so we can’t talk to him.
He believes it would be more difficult today to travel to North Korea, if not impossible, given his novel. Now it’s time to discover this one.
We have nothing to envy the rest of the world
The novel came out on August 22, 2025, in many bookshops, at least thirty at the time I interviewed him. Nicolas Gaudemet has done a lot of research, not just by watching films. In fact, he pointed out that North Korean elites were cinema buffs. He also researched the geography of North Korea, looking at maps and night views. This is what gives the novel its realistic feel.
When Yoon Gi has to plunge into a cold, dark river to escape his pursuers, we feel as if we’re plunging in with him and experiencing the same dread. Nicolas Gaudemet has also studied the clothing. He describes the shimmering-colored hanboks worn by the women when they dance. He also speaks of Mi Ran’s heroine’s tight-fitting outfits, which enhance her radiant beauty and porcelain complexion.
Setting the scene
Nicolas Gaudemet explains that the capital is reserved for the elite. Living in the capital is not at all accessible to North Korean citizens. Living in Pyongyang is an absolute dream, but an unattainable one.
Only those with Songbun ( 출신성분), i.e. sufficient socio-political ranking, can do so. Songbun, is a North Korean system that ranks citizens according to their supposed loyalty to the regime
What’s more, you can’t leave the city where you live, since you need a passport to move from one city to another.
Within North Korea, citizens are assigned to a city, but they may move to study or work. They may be assigned to work sites elsewhere.
It’s the party that decides where they go. The party is in every city, it’s not just in Pyongyang. To climb the ladder in this North Korean society, it’s better to go into the party. There’s a great leader and a single party. But it’s not open to everyone.
Then there’s the army, which is not the same thing as the party. Then there’s the Ministry of State Security or Ministry of Public Security. It’s a North Korean government ministry in charge of maintaining public order, the so-called Bowibu, North Korea’s secret police agency.
In Pyongyang, it’s more the elite, whereas in the provincial towns, it’s more people who are socio-politically less compatible with the regime, because their ancestors didn’t take part in the anti-Japanese guerrilla war or because their ancestors were bourgeois or collaborated with the Japanese, for example.
Some people have tried to escape from North Korea, which is a crime in itself. Instead, these people are parked in more remote regions.
Nicolas Gaudemet talks a little in his novel about the lineage of Mount Paektu (백두산).
The Kim line is called the Mount Paektu line. Mount Paektu, or Mount Changbai in China, is the highest point in North Korea, and more generally in the whole of Korea (altitude 2744 meters).
In North Korea, we have everything to envy Mi Ran and Yoon Gi
A tragedy in five acts set in a city that is not the capital.
At a public execution, two young high-school students attending the event get to know each other for the first time, exchanging glances that penetrate to the very depths of their souls.
Coming from totally different social classes, they will never be able to stop thinking about each other, and will brave all the dangers and constant surveillance of their “beloved party” to see each other again. How will they manage in a state where every gesture, even thoughts, are monitored?
The young people will have to overcome many trials to be reunited. Will they succeed?
Nicolas Gaudemet interview
Nathalie Fisz : Where is your novel set?
Nicolas Gaudemet : It takes place in the most unusual country in the world. The plot takes place in a provincial town that is very closely watched by the party because it’s a city where there’s a lot of trade with China. It lies opposite Dandong, a port city in the eastern part of Liaoning province in north-east China.
Nathalie Fisz: The story begins with an encounter at a public execution.
Nicolas Gaudemet : I needed a dramatic scene to start my novel, so I took that one.
Nathalie Fisz: Your novel is also entitled Romeo and Juliet in North Korea. Which adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy do you prefer?
Nicolas Gaudemet: My main reference is the play. Of all the adaptations, it was Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio (set in Los Angeles, the scene of hatred between the Montaigue and Capulet families. Romeo, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, falls in love with Juliet, played by Claire Danes. Their passion proves dangerous).
Chilseok, a celestial couple separated by a Milky Way.
For the Western world, the most universal love story is Romeo and Juliet. I was also inspired by the most universal love story of the Eastern world, of the Asian world, which is The Cattleman and the Weaver. It’s one of the four great legends of Chinese folklore, celebrated every year by hundreds of millions of people. In Japan the festival is called Tanabata and Chilseok (칠석) in Korea. I’m drawing on this legend to provide a somewhat universal reference point. The legend is told to children.
I needed this reference to counterbalance the strangeness, so that readers wouldn’t be completely lost.
Nathalie Fisz : What did you want to present to the reader?
Nicolas Gaudemet : What really interested me was putting myself in the shoes of citizens like you and me. I said to myself that I was going to take two high school students, because Romeo and Juliet are two young people. I wanted to set them in a town we don’t know. My aim was rather to try and make the mute voices and mouths of the citizens of North Korea heard. I know these faces, because I used to see them in the street.
We’re part of a collective, right from the title and the very first pages. The reader is projected as a citizen watching this story unfold before his eyes, in which he is a stakeholder”.
Nathalie Fisz: You wanted to present the daily life of North Korea.
Nicolas Gaudemet : My aim was to give voice to singular voices that nobody ever hears, and that of two high school students in a provincial town.
What interested me in North Korea was how people live on a day-to-day basis, how they go to school, what they do after school, where they sleep, how they meet, how they love each other, what they eat, what they drink, how they smoke, how they trade?
That’s what I explored in my novel.
Nathalie Fisz: Self-criticism and denunciation are common, and explain reverse thinking.
Nicolas Gaudemet : The actions, work and even thoughts of North Korean citizens are intended to serve the party. We must always be self-critical. Actions that run counter to the party can be denounced. If Yoon Gi lets his mind wander to think of Mi Ran and his love for her, he must practice reverse thinking and return “to the right path”, that of devotion to the party.
Nathalie Fisz : Today, we hear talk of dictatorships all over the world.
Nicolas Gaudemet : Yes, everyone talks about dictatorships these days. Some people claim that we live in a dictatorship in the Western world. So I’ve tried to show both what a dictatorship is and what it’s like to live in one. At the same time, in a very dull and terrible world, I wanted to create a glimmer of light, a little glimmer of love.
In conclusion
Get your hands on this deeply moving novel! You’ll never forget Mi Ran and Yoon Gi, Nicolas Gaudemet’s two young North Korean heroes.
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