This is the best book I've read about North Korea yet. The author takes you with him as he helps North Korean refugees escape through China to get to South Korea. You begin to understand how impossibly hard life in North Korea is and the bravery and resiliency it takes to escape. Mr. Kim describes in detail the the risks to their life and safety that they continue to experience even after crossing the border into China. The most surprising thing to learn was that 50% of refugees actually end up returning to North Korea. This illustrates not only the psychological attachment that people have to the place where they were born regardless of the hardships they experience there, but also the strain refugees experience adapting to a new culture and language. Some successfully make the transition and are able to fully embrace their new life, but others are drawn back to what's familiar, as hard as that life may be. The positive side of refugees returning is that they bring the things they learned back with them to share with their friends and neighbors. This is the way to start changing the country from the inside. Interesting and insightful book. I find stories of North Koreans compelling (and often devastating) but I really struggled with this book. The author is not a writer and I found myself questioning his research. The biggest problem I had with this book was the constant references to God and Christianity. I get it; you're a missionary. I really wanted Kim to clarify that the North Koreans weren't forced to study the bible and that they were offered shelter and protection regardless of whether or not they 'found' Jesus. That reassurance never came. It made it difficult for me to overlook his first-year-essay writing and naivete.
The book was ok. It is a bit outdated since the latest information in it is from 2008.
—thewoman
A very interesting read although sometimes too slanted towards religious implications.
—Babu1947
Great insight into a repressive and backwards country. I work with his sister.
—ashaa_1
Eye oopenig, but as someone told me, "it reads like a thesis".
—hheck
Harrowing.
—Nishi
