in order to live
at the end, it gives the reader some idea of the social stigma that North Koreans face once reaching the south.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594206791/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
interview with Yeomni and Hanna Song
Finished inished "Under the Same Sky" by Joseph Kim...
https://www.amazon.com/Under-Same-Sky-Starvation-Salvation/dp/0544705270/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503583938&sr=1-1&keywords=under+the+same+sky+joseph+kim
it's about a homeless kid in North Korea who becomes a christian and eventually finds his way to America.
it's a good read and even a bit humorous in parts.
Update:
i finished last night.
it was sad in the end because he still does not know what has become of his mother and sister.
he loved his sister Bong Sook especially but still has not been able to find her.
well. i just hope they are both ok at least.
when you read stories like this, it just makes you want the regime to fall even more.
here is an interview
personal stories via books and youtube are a good way to learn more about North Korea and they give a good idea of just how hard it is over there for the average person.
"a Thousand Miles to Freedom" by Eunsun Kim
https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Miles-Freedom-Escape-North/dp/1250092841/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503583798&sr=8-1&keywords=Eunsun+Kim
i think this one will be an eye opener also.
here is an interview
very few of us in the west have ever experienced hunger like this...
now i'm on to this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4904399056/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
or here
http://www.asiapress.org/rimjin-gang/payment-methods/
it's pricey though but was lucky to pick it up for $20 second hand.
it has been compiled by Asiapress and Rimjin-gang magazine into a 500 page inside look at North Korea.
just started it last night and already learned something new.
part of the famine was caused by kim jong il's ego. that is, trying to rival the 1988 Seoul olympics with his own games.
this caused a huge amount of resources to be drained away from the people and then you had the communist bloc countries slowly converting from socialism to marketization but the NK regime did not see the collapse of the soviet uniion coming and did not prepare.
the importance of this was that the old soviet union would normally subsidize NK with oil and fertilizer but when it collapsed, it was not able to help.
i think kim jong il and his son was the worst thing that happened to North Korea.
however, the book aims to show how North Korea is rapidly being changed from within by its own people by taking things into their own hands.
Nothing to envy by Babara Demick
took 15 years to complete.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385523912/ref=rdr_ext_tmb
presentation by Barbara Demick
The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag
finished this one last night. another great read.
written by Kang Chol-Hwan, he and his family got sent to Yodok prison camp for something his grandfather allegedly did or said against the regime.
the story is mainly about life in the camp but some interesting reading in the last chapters about his time in china and south korea.
here is a short presentation from the author
Stars Between the Sun and Moon: One Woman's Life in North Korea and Escape to Freedom
finished yesterday october 18, 2017
she went though a lot to get herself and her new born baby out of harms way.
she is a humble woman but with amazing strength and resolve.
she now lives in Canada.
here is an article by Susan McClelland, the journalist who helped Lucia write her memoir
https://www.vancouverobserver.com/culture/books/north-korean-defector-recalls-her-journey-freedom-new-memoir
here is a short video about her.
looks like a short news story on one of the local Canadian channels
The Girl with Seven Names
finished this last night nov 5, 2017
it's called an international best seller and it deserves that stamp.it's another amazing story and well written.
unusual in that the author and her family weren't driven from North Korea out of starvation and hoplessness.
Rather it was her curiosity that prompted her to take a trip to China before she turned 18 so that if she got caught, she wouldn't be thrown in prison. that one night of curiosity turned out to be an epic journey for her and her mother and brother.
just bizarre twists and turns thoughout the story.
here is a good interview from Hyeonseo. runs for nearly an hour but worth the time.
North Korea's Hidden Revolution: How the Information Underground Is Transforming a Closed Society
https://www.amazon.com/North-Koreas-Hidden-Revolution-Transforming/dp/0300217811/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512571739&sr=8-1&keywords=north+korea+hidden+revolution
just finished.
another great read but Jieun is not a North Korean. she is an american korean who has taken a great interest in the human rights crisis in NK.
the main theme of the book is how outside information is slowly transforming North Korea in to a more independent and critical thinking population. particularly the jangmadang generation.
she has put a lot of hard work in to the book and has spoken to many defectors to put the book together.
she donates all proceeds of her book sales to NGO's who work to send outside information into North Korea.
that's really something.
here is an interview with Jieun about the book at the Korea Society
here is anotther video of the book launch
she also has her own website with writeups about the book and a blog which dosn't appear to be updated very much but there's still some good stuff in it some of which i've reposted already
https://jieunbaek.com/
escape from camp 14
https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Camp-14-Remarkable-Odyssey/dp/0143122916/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513619282&sr=1-1&keywords=escape+from+camp+14#reader_0143122916the very first book i read on North Korea and the one that got me interested in North Korean affairs and i didn't even include it in the recommended reading list!
Shin was a former prisoner in total control zone camp 14. in fact, he was born there and it was only through hearing about meat from a fellow prisoner that he got curious enough to escape. he wasn't motivated by a better life because he didn't know any other life, it was just a child like curiosity for what meat might taste like that got him motivated.
the long road home
back in the 90's he was a lieutenant colonel in the national security police and vice president of a foreign earnings trading company.
he had privileges that were unimaginable for most North Koreans but everything went to hell for him when it was discovered that his father was a spy for the americans during the war.
he was sent to camp 14, somehow managed to survive several years there but managed to escape.
it blows me away that here was a loyal communist making good money for this government and a was a true asset for his country. all those years of good work counted for nothing once he was accused of being a spy. for something he had no control over and was not his fault.
the jong il regime was not only punishing an innocent man but doing itself a disservice as well by losing such an asset.
anyway, thankfully he survived to tell his story.
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