Idgie Says:This book tells the life of a young girl, aging from 11 to 25, as she travels from North Korea to China, Mongolia and finally South Korea... all the time under threat of prison, torture and death.
The writing is simplistic, but I don't take that as a fault. She is telling her story, she's not a writer and the book was translated from Korean to French to English. Regardless of the level of writing, the story itself gripped and held you the entire way through.
It's an important story as it shares with the world what happens behind the walls of North Korea and how other countries surrounding it also behave toward the people that decide to risk all to escape such a harsh and controlled life.
I recommend you read it.
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St. Martin's Press
July 21, 2015
First Published in France
Book Description:
Eunsun Kim was born in North Korea, one of the most secretive and oppressive countries in the modern world. As a child Eunsun loved her country...despite her school field trips to public executions, daily self-criticism sessions, and the increasing gnaw of hunger as the country-wide famine escalated.
By the time she was eleven years old, Eunsun's father and grandparents had died of starvation, and Eunsun was in danger of the same. Finally, her mother decided to escape North Korea with Eunsun and her sister, not knowing that they were embarking on a journey that would take them nine long years to complete. Before finally reaching South Korea and freedom, Eunsun and her family would live homeless, fall into the hands of Chinese human traffickers, survive a North Korean labor camp, and cross the deserts of Mongolia on foot.
Now, Eunsun is sharing her remarkable story to give voice to the tens of millions of North Koreans still suffering in silence. Told with grace and courage, her memoir is a riveting exposé of North Korea's totalitarian regime and, ultimately, a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
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EUNSUN KIM grew up in North Korea. At age 11, she fled the country and began the harrowing 9-year journey that led her to freedom. Today, she lives with her husband in South Korea, where she's pursuing her master's degree and working for an NGO promoting human rights in North Korea.
SEBASTIEN FALLETTI has been the Korea correspondent for the French newspaper Le Figaro since 2009. He covers political and business news across Asia. Born in Paris, Sébastien is now based in Seoul and Shanghai.