Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World's Most Repressive Country [Hardcover]

Mike Kim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2008

The first of its kind, this book provides a unique inside look into the hidden world of ordinary North Koreans. Mike Kim, who worked with refugees on the Chinese border for four years, recounts their experiences of enduring famine, sex-trafficking, and torture, as well as the inspirational stories of those who overcame tremendous adversity to escape the repressive regime of their homeland and make new lives.

One of the few Americans granted entry into the secretive "Hermit Kingdom," Kim came to know the isolated country and its people intimately. His North Korean friends entrusted their secrets to him as they revealed the government's brainwashing tactics and confessed their true thoughts about the repressive regime that so rigidly controls their lives. Civilians and soldiers alike spoke of what North Koreans think of Americans and war with America. Children remembered the suffering they endured through the famine. Women and girls recalled their horrific experiences at the hands of sex-traffickers. Former political prisoners shared their memories of beatings, torture, and executions in the gulags.

With the permission of these courageous individuals, Kim now shares their stories and recounts his dramatic experiences leading North Koreans to asylum through the six-thousand-mile modern-day underground railway through Asia. His unflinching narrative exposes the truth about North Korea, stripping away the last veils that still shroud this brutal dictatorship.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kim chronicles his effort to lead North Korean refugees through the 6,000-mile underground railway through China in this exposé of the astonishing day-to-day realities of famine, religious oppression, torture and sexual abuse in the most secretive and impoverished member of the axis of evil. The author, a former missionary, spent four years at the China–North Korea border building shelters and orphanages, and his access to government officials, journalists, aid workers and hundreds of North Korean refugees provide him a unique vantage point from which to synthesize current research and policy on conditions in North Korea with affecting real-life testimonials. His intrepid effort to help four North Korean teenagers avoid arrest and repatriation on the journey from northern China to the British consulate in Shanghai is riveting, as is his insider knowledge of the perilous route refugees navigate across the borders of China, Laos and Thailand. The author's compassion and astonishing ability to penetrate the Hermit Kingdom and lift its shroud of secrecy do much to ameliorate the book's chief flaws, the clunky prose and occasionally amateurish conjecture and derivative political analysis. (Aug.)
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Review

[A] fascinating account of [Mike Kim's] efforts to smuggle North Korean defectors to freedom in the South.

(New York Review Of Books )

His intrepid effort to help four North Korean teenagers avoid arrest and repatriation on the journey from northern China to the British consulate in Shanghai is riveting, as is his insider knowledge of the perilous route refugees navigate across the borders of China, Laos and Thailand.

(Publishers Weekly )

The power of Escaping North Korea stems from the stories Mr. Kim tells. During his four years in China, he met hundreds of escapees from the North. He reconstructs their tales—of the privations of daily existence in North Korea, of life on the lam in China—in heartbreaking detail....There are many heroes in Mr. Kim's book, not least the author himself.

(The Wall Street Journal )

A portrait of modern North Korea by an awareness advocate who was granted special access to the country's isolationist circles shares inspirational stories by survivors of such tragedies as famine, sex-trafficking, and gulag torture.

(Forecast Magazine )

Mike Kim focuses on the question why such a large number of North Koreans are seeking refuge in China. He describes their flight and their situation in China as well as the living conditions in North Korea, including the situation of Christians under the North Korean regime. Among their sufferings are the following: poverty, famine, unemployment, violence, alcoholism, theft, corruption, bribery, oppression, gambling, abuse, rape, human trafficking, child soldier slavery, etc. According to Kim, famine and the search of food is the most common reason why North Koreans defect.

(International Journal for Religious Freedom )

Mike's embrace of the spartan and hazardous vocation of protecting North Korean refugees in China is nothing short of exceptional. His book offers a personal and compelling account of this life-and-death rescue operation for our cousins in the North. (Tim Peters )

It is impossible to read the remarkable stories of personal suffering, endurance, and courage in these pages without believing that more can and must be done to help the North Korean people. It is not bad strategy or poor diplomatic practice to place human rights at the top of our agenda with Pyongyang and to challenge the rest of the international community to do the same. (Green, Michael J. )

This is an inspiring yet tragic study of the brave few in North Korea who have chosen to vote with their feet to leave the earth's most repressive regime. An important and accessible piece of work, it should be read by generalists and specialists alike. (Victor Cha )

We hear about women refugees who suffer when sold as brides for rural Chinese farmers (a practice, incidentally, that involves many Chinese, not just Korean refugees, though this is not discussed), or who are sold into city brothels. We hear of children born to stateless North Korean mothers in China, who as a consequence are unable to attend school or obtain medical care. We hear that most refugees are sick when they cross the border. We gain insights into indoctrination and the mindset of North Koreans after six decades of socialist rule. We learn how refugees initially appear lifeless and rarely smile; that they are usually weak, thin, and malnourished; and so on. And it is here that the volume's strength resides. (Keith Howard Reviews )

Americans and other foreigners have also opened a window to the suffering of the North Korean people, including Mike Kim, a young Tae Kwon Do expert who opened a string of martial arts studios in China as cover to help North Koreans defect. His book, Escaping North Korea, is a stunning story of tragedy and heroism.

(Green, Michael )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 1St Edition edition (July 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742556204
• ISBN-13: 978-0742556201
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #355,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Kim is an author, consultant, NGO founder, and North Korea specialist based in Washington DC. He is the author of the Wall Street Journal featured book "Escaping North Korea", a current events memoir published in 2008 by Rowman & Littlefield, about his experiences at the China-North Korea border helping North Koreans. On New Year's Day 2003, Mike gave up his financial planning business in Chicago, Illinois and left for China on a one-way ticket carrying little more than two duffle bags. While living near the North Korean border, he operated undercover as a student of North Korean taekwondo, training under two famous North Korean masters from Pyongyang--eventually receiving a second-degree blackbelt. During his time in China, he learned of the hundreds of thousands of North Koreans fleeing to China through a 6,000-mile modern-day underground railroad in search of food and freedom and he founded Crossing Borders, a nonprofit dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees.

Mike frequently appears in the media and it was after his interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that there was interest from Hollywood in turning Escaping North Korea into a motion picture. The book-to-film project is represented by William Morris Endeavor and is currently in development. He lectures to audiences worldwide about his experiences at the China-North Korea border and has now shared his stories of inspiration, courage, and hope on five continents. Mike resides in Washington DC where he is a consultant and term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His latest work involves applying commercial capabilities to the nonprofit sector and is focused on counter sex trafficking initiatives worldwide and consulting on development in North Korea.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!, August 22, 2008

By 

dd "aink" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World's Most Repressive Country (Hardcover)

A great read if you're interested in the North Korean situation beyond what the news media reports (ie nukes). Kim does a great job of making a complex problem palpable and, in many ways, relatable to the western readers. Though he goes in depth regarding the government's role in the famine and warped culture, he doesn't demonize them nor does he make excuses for them. A very balanced and unbiased look into the hermit kingdom from an outside perspective.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique book!, August 18, 2008

By 

Susieq (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World's Most Repressive Country (Hardcover)

This is a book unlike any other book I've read thus far. It gave me an insight into what refugees and defectors of North Korea face. The author offers an exciting Jason Bourne-esque feel as he assists defectors find refuge in various countries, during his four year stay in China. There is a forward by Ambassador Mark Palmer that describes the author and the book very well. North Korea is such a hot topic right now and this book informed me on important issues that can't be found in the news or in newspapers. Well worth the read!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars North Korean Horrors, March 29, 2009

By 

Nicky London (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World's Most Repressive Country (Hardcover)

Horrors of living in North Korea as related by refugees who flee the country into China looking for a better life. A lot of credit goes to those selfless people who help the North Koreans escape the hell of a regime run by a madman.