Every now and then I read a book that makes me wonder about our humanity and how we look after one another on this planet. This is the story of a man who was born in a work camp in North Korea. These camps are brutal. People are beaten, they are killed for minor infractions of camp rules, they are starved, and they are void of any of what we would consider natural human feelings.
Shin, the man in this story escaped from a work camp and struggles still to make his way in the free world. As the author says on p. 121, he spent 23 years in a open-air prison run by men who hung his mother, shot his brother, crippled his father, murdered pregnant women, beat children to death, taught him to betray his family, and tortured him over a fire.
He is out now, and lives in the USA, but in many ways he is still a prisoner. Just like when I read Left To Tell, I am shocked that this can happen in our world today. While I sleep in my warm bed, have the freedom to go wherever I want, to learn whatever I want, and make decisions about my own life, this still happens in North Korea. Is anyone doing anything about it? What can be done? We have satellite images that show tha camp that Shin lived I. Why is it no one does anything about it??!
I have a strong interest in Korea and after reading your review I ordered this book from the library.
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