Not every spy is James Bond, and espionage hardly ever involves sipping martinis in glamorous settings. More often, it is slow, painstaking work, full of the drudgery common to most professions, in the hope that some useful information might present itself and provide insight and leverage. Kang Dong Wan, a South Korean researcher, is no spy. But, given the dedication with which he has collected and studied the garbage that washes up on the shores from North Korea, he probably should be.
Kang was forced to comb the shoreline for garbage as a result of the pandemic: He lost access to goods and people from North Korea in Chinese border towns due to strict lockdowns. He was often stranded on a beach if a ferry didn’t arrive and forced to spend the night in inclement weather. Local residents often complained to the police about a strange man eagerly collecting and sifting through trash. The results of his investigations, though, are no secret and he aims to understand his neighbours, sundered from the common community by a history of violence and suspicion. Now that’s a goal worth spending time in the dirt for.
