The Orphan Master's Son

The novel begins with Jun Do naming orphans after famous revolutionary martyrs. He himself bears the name of a martyr who took his own life simply to prove his loyalty. He ends up sacrificing himself for Sun Moon and her family, but ultimately he is recognized as a martyr for a false story broadcast over the official radio.

The members of the Junma all bear tattoos of their wives on their chests, which serve a number of purposes. The tattoos will act as a form of identification and keep their absent wives close to their hearts, but ultimately, the tattoos are what allow them to leave North Korean soil without fear of defection. If anyone defected, his wife would pay the price. When American soldiers, along with a South Korean officer, boarded the Junma, Jun Do’s lack of a tattoo on his chest singled him out as a possible spy. The tattoo he was later given by the Captain and crew of the Junma as a means of keeping them safe in the future is of Sun Moon, the national actress. This tattoo binds Jun Do to Sun Moon. When it is brutally cut from his chest by Commander Park, it signifies the end of Jun Do’s life as well; without Sun Moon close to his heart, he has nothing left to live for.

The “crow” is a nickname for a Russian convoy truck, used to transport people and supplies. It has special significance in North Korean culture as the vehicle that transports people to their final residence, whether it is a communal farm, a prison mine or an interrogation center. Jun Do boards a crow at the airport upon his return from America. The ride is unpleasant enough, but he fails to realize that he is a prisoner until later, which would have given the trip an extra significance. When a crow winds its way up the mountainside toward the homes of Sun Moon and Comrade Buc, each family prepares for the worst. In this case, although still ominous, the crow is merely delivering a Mustang for Ga and Sun Moon to take to a state dinner.

Also, during the official radio broadcast of the story of Ga and Sun Moon, a crow is described flying low over the city of Pyongyang to identify those who are enemies of the state. It hovers over Ga and Sun Moon, who are plotting—a defiance of order, as citizens are required to leave their futures in the hands of the state.

Peaches are described both as a delicacy and as a means of death in the novel. The peaches from the condemned canning factory are poisonous, causing the deaths of a number of civilians as well as Comrade Buc, his family, and the parents of the interrogator/biographer. 

The interrogator mentions several times that the people he is questioning using the “autopilot” method of delivering electricity report seeing a “white flower” while they are being tortured. The white flower represents purity and cleansing; they are transformed from enemies of the state into new people who are free of subterfuge and individual desires. When he hooks himself to the “autopilot,” however, the interrogator does not experience the white flower.