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Without You, There Is No Us

My Time With the Sons of North Korea's Elite
Sep 21, 2016yewentan rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Just finished the book written by Suki Kim. A very interesting book, I must say. Kim, as a south Korea-born american journalist who passed as a Christian missionary teaching English in North Korea, had unique perspectives on North Korean society. Kim made it clear that she did not pretend to know the "real" North Korean society as she was not allowed to mingle with normal North Koreans and most of what she learned about it was through interactions with her students by earning their trusts. As someone who lived in China through 1960s and 1970s, I thought I knew a bit about the current North Korean society as I also lived through periods where we had to watch what we said and what we did. At the darkest moments, some people even tried not to fall asleep lest they said something in their sleeps that could be used against them. However, even those darkest moments in China pales in comparison with what North Koreans are enduring now. Another interesting parallel between China and North Korea was that by mid-1970s, Chinese people were generally disillusioned by the revolution as well as the communist party. People were still saying the right things in public, but the party's grip on the society was getting weaker and weaker. So I wonder why this did not happen in North Korea. Or maybe it's happening, but it's happening so slow that we just don't know. Coming back to Kim's book, she describes the oppressive atmosphere that is usual in any authoritarian society, no surprise there. No surprise either on the poor lives of the people there. What should be kept in mind throughout this book is that she was teaching in a school for the privileged North Korean kids, and if the lives of these kids are this bad, imagine what lives of low ranked people would be! Kim did mention that. a few times, her students blurted out some facts that they were not supposed to know considering how tightly controlled the information flow is in North Korea. So maybe the party's control is slowly eroding. What will this lead to is another question. In her book, she also drew comparisons between North Korean party and its Great Leader to Christianity and Jesus. This may be upsetting to Christians, but I totally understand. When I moved from China to Europe and then to Canada, I was approached by many missionaries/Christian friends trying to convince me of the greatness of Christianity. I also said to them: look, I left China because I want to be free, I want to be able to think for myself and take my life into my own hands. I'm not going to trade one belief system for another one. What's the difference between studying Bible and studying the Mao's teachings? It's the same thing! Why the hell do I want to do this all over again? Kim said that when she attended Sunday service held by missionaries in the school, she couldn't help but think that by swapping Jesus with the Great Leader/Dear Leader, you actually have the same thing. This is exactly what I said after going to a few church services and I'm glad that she pointed this out. All in all, it's good book that is well written and very informative, offering a rare glimpse to a country that most of us do not know and, honestly, do not particularly care. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend others to do so too.