Book 14: The Aquariums of Pyongyang

Another book about North Korea.

What made this one different was that the author's family returned to North Korea from an expatriate community in Japan, hoping to be part of building a glorious socialist society. Their disillusionment is that much worse, I think, since the older generation had experienced such prosperity and freedom in Japan.

It looks like there is a film adaptation being made. Honestly, I'm not sure how much of this story I'd want to see on screen.

Book 60: Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader

Here we have another installment in my North Korea series.



This covered virtually the entire history of North Korea as seen through Chinese and Soviet archives, propoganda anaysis, the author's three visits to the DPRK, and defector interviews. It was a more nuanced view of the country and Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il than some things I have read; some events and characters were portrayed in a positive light.

The book was written before the death of Kim Jong-il, so the discussion of his successor is interesting and gave additional insight about the Great Successor and also those who did not become the new supreme leader.

Stylistically, the book was a little jarring. Some of the information from defector interviews is presented in a narrative, while some is presented as transcripts of questions and answers. I found myself wondering why the author made this decision. The ending was very interesting as well, but also a bit strange.

Book 31: Escape from Camp 14

This is the story of Shin Dong-hyuk, a North Korean defector who had been born into the prison camp and lived there his entire life until escaping at the age of 23. Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, another North Korean story, was one of the best books I've read this year, and this was also incredibly interesting, but not quite as compelling. That might have been because I listened to the audio book instead of reading it.



Blaine Harden writes that North Korean human rights issues are essentially ignored; Tibet has the Dalai Lama and Richard Gere, Burma/Myanmar has Aung San Suu Kyi, Darfur has Mia Farrow and George Clooney, but there are no celebrity spokespeople for North Korea. It's a shame. Maybe Shin Dong-hyuk can become that spokesperson.

Book 12: Nothing to Envy

I actually finished this book between midnight and bedtime several days ago.



This is the best book I have read in a long, long time. It recounts the experiences of six people who defected from North Korea. I found the details of their lives fascinating. In particular, the story of the famine of 1994 was heartbreaking, but I couldn't stop reading. Also very interesting was the ambivalence many South Koreans feel about the prospect of reunification and why. I didn't want the book to end and I talked to Courtney about it endlessly.

I have a bit of an obsession with North Korea, second only to my obsession with China. When I was in China in late winter and early spring of 2004, I was determined to visit the North Korean border. We ultimately visited Dandong, a Chinese city across the Yalu River from North Korea. The contrast between the Chinese side and the North Korean side of the river is stark; the Chinese city was bustling and there were cranes building new buildings. What we could see of the North Korean side (from a boat in the river--my friend commented that it felt voyeuristic) was a rusty ferris wheel and an even rustier ship in a shipyard.