Born in Japan, Kang Chol-hwan is brought to join North Korea in its infancy at the instigation of his grandmother, all devoted to the cause of North Korean communism (dedication maintained by the North Korean mirage defended by the propaganda of the regime abroad). Quickly, the veil is lifted on the reality of the country (generalized surveillance, propaganda, worship of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, ...) and difficulties accumulate until the fatal blow: the arrest of Kang Chol-hwan and his family (except his mother) that marks their deportation in the Yodok camp. Ten terrible years which constitute the bulk of the evidence presented in this book. The testimony is quite poignant, shocking but allows a complete understanding of the structure and hierarchy of the camp. Some passages are particularly painful.
The release, which comes ten years after the deportation, is a flagship stage in the story, and follows the - hard - flight to South Korea.
Although this story published in 2000 has not been a new edition (publishing a "revised and expanded" in which one would have appreciated an analysis of the arrival of Kim Jong-un to power and the current North Korean situation: family purges within themselves clan of Kim Jong-un, the maintenance of repression, economic status, ...), it will suit an uninformed public, having the will to understand the North Korean situation, as to informed readers of the political, and economic history of the country with the desire to deepen their knowledge of the hermit kingdom. In addition, this rich narrative does not absolutely "duplicate" the book published there some time ago, entitled camp survivor 14: Hell North Korean freedom, which tells the story of a young man who escaped from the camp in which he was born. There are two different stories, but entirely complementary.
