The Aquariums Of Pyongyang By Chol Hwan Kang

1984 demonstrates a dystopian society in Oceania by presenting a relentless dictator, Big Brother, who uses his power to control the minds of his people and to ensure that his power never exhausts. Aspects of 1984 are evidently established in components of society in North Korea. With both of these society’s under a dictator’s rule, there are many similarities that are distinguished between the two. Orwell’s 1984 becomes parallel to the world of dystopia in North Korea by illustrating a nation that remains isolated under an almighty ruler.

What if everything you knew was a fabrication of reality and the only escape for you or your loved ones was sacrifice? This is the basis for The Orphan Master’s Son, a book by Adam Johnson that details the lives and lies of North Korea. Focusing on a misidentified “orphan” by the name of Pak Jun Do, The Orphan Master’s Son chronicles the life of Pak Jun Do, as he maneuvers the strict rules of the North Korean government in order to live another day. Throughout the novel, Jun Do endures a tough life under a merciless tyrant and a suffering father, remains loyal to his oppressors despite their torment, learns to accept his position in society no matter where he is taken, and inevitably exposed to the truth of his reality. These four themes

Hook: Many say they are survivors, but in these situations surviving is more difficult than ever. Background: When in a survival situation having certain traits could help one, like in “My Escape from North Korea” by Hyeonseo Lee,” Trapped” by Aron Ralston,and “the most dangerous game” by Richard Connell. Thesis: The traits one needs to survive include a strong will,persistence ,prior knowledge ,quick thinking ,and superior survival skills.

Jang is placed to work at the UFD which deals with international affairs by writing literature that is pro-North Korean. Jang’s first major assignment is to write an epic of a poem about how great Kim Jong-il was as a leader of the country. Jang has decided to use Kim Jong-il’s tears as a metaphor for happiness and self-restriction. The people at the UFD agreed with Jang and he is set to write the epic. The person in charge of the UFD allows him to go back to his hometown.

“Let it begin,” The grim faced man declared as a bony male, covered in grimy rags, was dragged into view. The prisoner had cuts and bruises all over his face and body, showing evident signs that he was thoroughly tortured. The captive man stared blankly off into space, his mind and body both beaten to a pulp, then he started weeping knowing that his life would be coming to an end. He cried out to his family, but was returned with silence and expressionless faces. There were no tears shed for the poor, innocent man when he was shot repeatedly. If his family felt even a slight tinge of remorse for the “criminal” they too would be executed in the same fashion. This is what is happening in North Korean camps, the enslavement, the torture, and

There is no way for one to prepare for life in a North Korean forced labor camp. When your crime is being a child or grandchild to people who the North Korean government send to these camps, you are unlucky. Forced labor camps become the home of those convicted and their next three generations. Shin Dong-hyuk is one of thousands of these unlucky children. Shin’s father even told him he was unlucky to be born to his parents.

The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Kang Chol-Hwan is a memoir about a young boy’s life in a North Korean gulag during the dictatorship of Kim Il-sung. His story is profoundly touching, recounting his glorious childhood, sudden imprisonment in a labor camp, and successful escape to South Korea. The memoir gives insight to the life of North Koreans from the 1960s to the present, as the dictatorship tightens and the economy fails. The account is the first of its kind and is filled with the unimaginable horrors that have faced generations of North Koreans. Along with his personal story, the author offers his personal criticisms of the government and presents the difficulties in solving the problems that plague the country.

Imagine seeing death, betrayal and feeling hurt on a regular basis. It is something common. Imagine being a child in war torn Korea, where freedom is only a dream. Where your happiness can come from the simplest of things because you’re taught that happiness never lasts. 1945, North Korea. A war is raging on between the Japanese communists and the “White Devils” and inside of this war torn country, a young girl clings onto the little hope she has left. In the novel, “A Year of Impossible Goodbyes” Sookan, the young girl, shows many characteristics, including being, caring, mature and prepared. In the book, Sookan shows that she is prepared. Even with all that life throws at her. For one, she goes to a school run by japanese communists who are

“I am evolving from being an animal, ' Shin said. 'But it is going very, very slowly. Sometime I try to cry and laugh like other people, just to see if it feels like anything. Yet tears don 't come. Laughter doesn 't come” (Harden 198). Tears, laughter, this all comes easy to most of the world, but it is much more complex than that for North Korean escapee, Shin Dong-Hyuk. After living in a prison camp for his entire life, it is no wonder how tears and laughter would be difficult to manage. Both Shin’s past and the environment of places like Camp 14 play a significant role in who he is today. Understanding the struggle to assimilate after escaping hell on earth and how all of these events have affected Shin and his mental health is crucial. To fully understand why Shin cannot yet reach freedom from his terrible past, it is necessary to comprehend Shin’s past inside Camp 14. Because of this oppressive past, the struggle to adapt and both the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder and paranoid personality disorder make it difficult to find peace with himself and his past.

Hyok Kang was born in 1986 in a nearby village in Onsong, North Korea, which is close to the North Korean and Chinese/Siberian border. His paternal side of his family was actually South Korean, who found refuge in Japan, but followed the pro-communists back to North Korea. They were actually duped but were eventually given certain privileges by the Great Leader Kim Il-Sung for being such a “patriotic” family. During Il-Sung’s rule, Hyok’s family had contact with their family living in Japan, even to the point where

The issues reported on the given document were from the testimonies of sixty former North Koreans who were in forced labour institutions in North Korea (VII). The former North Korean prisoners were interviewed one by one to get the testimonies. On top of these testimonies, satellite images collected by Google Earth were used to coordinate the prison camps and further explain the human rights issues created by North Korea in these sites.

Blaine Harden, an American author and journalist, tells the unimaginable story of Shin Dong-hyuk’s life in a North Korean camp and escape to the west. Shin was born in a North Korean labor camp as a result of a ‘reward marriage’, the ultimate bonus of hard work and snitching and the

Shin Dong-hyuk was born and raised captive in a North Korean prison camp known as Camp 14, punished in place of his two uncles who defected to South Korea during the Korean War. Camp 14 does not only contain political prisoners, but also their families, which is a practice known as “three generations of punishment.” While at the prison camp, Shin’s mother and brother were caught attempting to escape, and the government forced Shin, who was only thirteen, to sit in the front row as they were both executed. Growing up in the camp, he had to endure a number of cruel punishments, such as being set on fire, and getting his finger cut off for dropping a sewing machine. There was little to no food in the country, let

Writing about different individuals in each chapter of her novel makes the reader understand and connect with the challenges and ideas of every character in the novel. In her story not only does Kang present us with the challenges and thoughts of her characters but she also draws attention and includes her personal experiences. Reading this novel gives one a much more clear understanding of humanity acts and human dignity and through reading the variety of chapters one can see the mistreatment and inequality that the South Korean government was doing to the

The people of North Korea live under an oppressive regime. Though despite the danger, there exist people willing to flee their country for a better life. The story of these refugees often are buried, but Euna Lee wanted their struggles to be known. Though in an ironic twist of fate, she was captured and held a prisoner in North Korea, being denied the very freedom she promoted. Despite this, Euna Lee’s time as a prisoner sheds light not on the plight of those fleeing North Korea, but those who still stay in North Korea.