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terras's review against another edition
4.0
Appreciated being able to see the DPRK through the eyes of someone who lived there. I’d always known life in the DPRK was difficult, but never really understood it and the level of brainwash that can occur until I read this personal accounting.
talilazzarini's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
alabamawhaler's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
4.75
sakisreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.0
✨ Thrifted ✨
My friend suggested I take this book from a book swap and I’m very glad I did. A thorough insight into why North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and the family continues to rule in the way it does, it certainly isn’t an easy read but a worthwhile one 😳 I dabbled in it for the first 25%, but the remaining 75% I whizzed through because I wanted to know more and get a grasp of the horrors Jang Jin-sung faced 😢
4 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨ Definitely worth a read 👏🏼
My friend suggested I take this book from a book swap and I’m very glad I did. A thorough insight into why North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and the family continues to rule in the way it does, it certainly isn’t an easy read but a worthwhile one 😳 I dabbled in it for the first 25%, but the remaining 75% I whizzed through because I wanted to know more and get a grasp of the horrors Jang Jin-sung faced 😢
4 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨ Definitely worth a read 👏🏼
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, and Police brutality
spitzig's review against another edition
4.0
It gave me some insight into the country. It was from one person's perspective, so not as much as the last book on read on North Korea. It was interesting reading about their use of propaganda. It focused too much on the author's escape from North Korea for me. It kind of seemed like an editor had told him to add more action. It just seemed kind of drawn out.
izzyclouty's review against another edition
5.0
What a mind blowing story! I kept forgetting this was non fiction and having to remind myself this is actually someone's real life!
moniwicz's review against another edition
4.0
The author saw a woman in the market place "Selling My Daughter for 100 Won." Nearby there were women selling bottled water to "wash your face with" while their own faces remained muddied and browned for lack of it. Such is the type of poverty the those in The Democratic Republic of Korea experience.
It was surprising to me that Communism's phrasing and grey buildings and military uniforms and slogans and Room 100s are the same anywhere. The author's descriptions could very easily have been plucked from 1950s Russia or Poland or Czechoslovakia. I don't know why I assumed that somehow Eastern Asia would be able to maintain its own identity and "rebrand" communism? (on reflection I was nonsensical)
Equally ashamedly surprised to read about Kim-Jong Il's callous (an unsuitable qualifier for many reasons) overthrow of his own father Kim Il-Sung.
It was surprising to me that Communism's phrasing and grey buildings and military uniforms and slogans and Room 100s are the same anywhere. The author's descriptions could very easily have been plucked from 1950s Russia or Poland or Czechoslovakia. I don't know why I assumed that somehow Eastern Asia would be able to maintain its own identity and "rebrand" communism? (on reflection I was nonsensical)
Equally ashamedly surprised to read about Kim-Jong Il's callous (an unsuitable qualifier for many reasons) overthrow of his own father Kim Il-Sung.
emilybryk's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, but not engaging. If that even makes sense. (It doesn't *need* to be engaging -- it's that interesting. And I don't really know how much comes from the actual writing, how much from the translation, etc. Regardless.)