So I spent a few days trying to finish this book.
How I Became a North Korean, by Krys Lee. It’s her first novel, and it’s brilliant.
It’s fictional, following the lives of three different people: Yongju, the son a Pyongyang official, Jangmi, a lady trying to cross into China for the sake of her unborn baby, and Danny, a Chinese-American looking for the meaning of life.
Eventually their lives converge at one point, interweaving with their one and only goal (at least for Yongju and Jangmi bc tbh I have no idea why Danny wants to put himself through all this, even with his background): to escape to South Korea for a better life.
It provides an insight about how North Korean refugees are treated once they cross the border into China; the constant sense of insecurity, the fear of being deported back to North Korea.
Personally, I don’t really know the extent of oppression in North Korea, and this story gives a glimpse: it’s simply inhumane, but the three characters introduced in this story show us strength in the face of adversity, how it’s important to have hope in the darkness and make sure that there is also a future apart from the present.
It’s a nice book to read; and maybe I’ll pick up more similar books that have the same theme revolving around the political situation in North Korea. I know it’s not pretty, but it helps to know, I guess.
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