Kang Chol-Hwan is the first survivor of a North Korean concentration camp to escape the 'hermit kingdom' and tell his story to the world. This memoir reveals the human suffering in his camp, with its forced labour, frequent public executions and near-starvation rations. Kang eventually escaped to South Korea via China to give testimony to the hardships and atrocities that constitute the lives of the thousands of people still detained in the gulags today. Part horror story, part historical document, part memoir, part political tract, this story of one young man's personal suffering finally gives eye-witness proof to this neglected chapter of modern history.
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"'One of the most terrifying memoirs I have ever read. As the first such account to emerge from North Korea, it is destined to become a classic.' Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking 'I beseech you to read this account' Christopher Hitchens"
About the Author
Kwang Chol-Hwan lives and works in Seoul, South Korea, where he is a staff writer for the daily newspaper Chosun Ilbo. Pierre Rigoulot has been published in twenty-eight languages.
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First Sentence
In the 1960s, North Korea's disaster was not yet on the horizon. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
In the 1960s, North Korea's disaster was not yet on the horizon. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 52 people found the following review helpful
By Petrolhead
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
This is a rare and important account of life inside North Korea, and the first account to emerge from its concentration camps. If (as I did) you visit the Hermit kingdom, you will find that it is impossible to penetrate the country's smothering blanket of totalitarian propaganda. Kang Chol-Hwan illuminates the grisly reality behind the official scenes of happy peasants and workers who learn to adore the "dear leader" and hate everyone else from the moment they can talk. He tells the awful but irresistable story of how his family foolishly gave up the good life in Japan, returned to North Korea and ended up down the toilet of Kim Il-sung's evil system. He was nine years old when he entered the camp. It was ten years before he came out.
His account confirms all the worst fears about North Korea: the mindlessness, the cruelty, the desperation and the petty corruption. It's the last which gives some hope of change, since it proves that even these brainwashed automata are human deep down and the desire for a better life has run deep cracks in the utterly awful regime.
The author is a tough cookie and a canny survivor, making the book more uplifting than depressing. Kang's story of his escape is especially rewarding. Of course a happier ending -- reunion with his family, downfall of the regime -- would be too much to wish for. Similar literature from other countries often made me despair, but this book made me feel like actually doing something about the problem and I'm sure it will turn many readers into passionate activists. It will help that Kang's book is much easier reading than much other Gulag literature, such as Solzhenitsyn.
Everyone who wants to understand the world we live in, not just the mad, dark corner that is North Korea, should read this book.
His account confirms all the worst fears about North Korea: the mindlessness, the cruelty, the desperation and the petty corruption. It's the last which gives some hope of change, since it proves that even these brainwashed automata are human deep down and the desire for a better life has run deep cracks in the utterly awful regime.
The author is a tough cookie and a canny survivor, making the book more uplifting than depressing. Kang's story of his escape is especially rewarding. Of course a happier ending -- reunion with his family, downfall of the regime -- would be too much to wish for. Similar literature from other countries often made me despair, but this book made me feel like actually doing something about the problem and I'm sure it will turn many readers into passionate activists. It will help that Kang's book is much easier reading than much other Gulag literature, such as Solzhenitsyn.
Everyone who wants to understand the world we live in, not just the mad, dark corner that is North Korea, should read this book.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By Mr C J Moran
Format:Paperback
This is the third book that I have read on the subject of North Korea in quick succession, the others, being 'Nothing to Envy' by Barbara Demmick and 'This is Paradise! My North Korean Childhood' by Hyok Kang. All three have lived up to my expectations, in terms of what I am learning about this hermit kingdom. The strength of the characters that we meet in these books defies belief and Kang Chol-Hwan is no exception. I struggle to get my head around what life was really like for these totally courageous people. I suppose the problem for the rest of us living in the west is that we have only known freedom and have no concept of what it would be like to be so totally controlled by a suffocating regime and not be able to express ourselves in the way we can today.
My curiosity with North Korea continues unabated and I am already reading reviews of books that others have read to help me decide which book i should read on the subject next.
I highly recomend this book for anyone interested in learning about those who have managed to escape this totslly opressive regime!!
My curiosity with North Korea continues unabated and I am already reading reviews of books that others have read to help me decide which book i should read on the subject next.
I highly recomend this book for anyone interested in learning about those who have managed to escape this totslly opressive regime!!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Rajkowski
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In "Aquariums of Pyongyang", Kang Chol-Hwan describes his experiences within Yodok gulag (concentration camp)in N. Korea.
Kang Chol-Hwan's account traces the Korean War to the 1990's, however most of the action takes place during the author's own life, particularly the 80's/90's. What makes the book all the more riveting (and the reader feel painfully impotent) is that fact that Yodok and many similar camps are still in unchanged operation today.
The book suffers slightly from the dual translation into french and then english, resulting in some obscure words and rhythm. This however isn't too much of a problem. The book seems to flow better after a few chapters.
Since the author was in Yodok for the majority of the book (with no contact with the outside world) those looking for a political history of N.Korea may be better served elsewhere. This book remains however a fascinating insight into N.Korea's ideology and methods of controlling it's citizens.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lost in translation
Having read Nothing to Envy I hoped that this book might have the same powerful impact but unfortunately it read like a GCSE school project. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Macc Lass
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very graphic
What a a fantastic book graphic in its decryption of a terrible country
Why would you treat your fellow country men so poorly
The madness that makes demagogues of its... Read more
Why would you treat your fellow country men so poorly
The madness that makes demagogues of its... Read more
Published 14 days ago by mark
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's okay
Quite a good read but nothing special
I think the time in the prison camp was quite graphic but seemed to be over before it had begun. Read more
I think the time in the prison camp was quite graphic but seemed to be over before it had begun. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Glitzydebs
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read this...
...and then weep for the millions who perished or suffered a miserable existence beyond anything we in the west could imagine going through. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Lars Newbould
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great read
Read this book last month and I couldn't put it down. A well written book that tells the story a a mans struggle though a labour camp in DPRK.
Published 1 month ago by Mr. E. Manning
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful
This book is powerful and hard hitting, it shows the brutal truth about North Korea. The sorrow that each person suffers every day. Read more
Published 1 month ago by David Cowan
5.0 out of 5 stars
A horrifying but engaging insight into humanity at its worst
The book provides a terrifying summary of Kang Chol-Hwan's experience with his family in Yodok, a North Korean labor camp. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Andrew J. Collings
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential reading for truth seekers on North Korea
Reading this book should be a part of required study for all people concerned about what is really happening. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Den Perrin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Really good read intresting for people with a love of korean history.Great product at a good price just what i wanted.
Published 2 months ago by Ben Kitchener
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating
I couldn't put this book down. It was a brilliant read, everyone should read it. Makes me so grateful for my situation in life.
Published 2 months ago by ktltsm
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