Jia: A Novel of North Korea [Paperback]

Hyejin Kim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2007

The first novel about present-day North Korea to be published in the West.
A moving and true-to-life tale of courage in the face of oppression and exile.
Hyejin Kim’s Jia follows the adventures of an orphaned young woman, Jia, who has the grace of a dancer but the misfortune of coming from a politically suspect family. In the isolated mining village of her childhood, Jia’s father, a science teacher, questions government intrusion into his classroom and is taken away by police, never to be heard from again. Now Jia must leave the village where her family has been sent as punishment to carve a path for herself. Her journey takes her first to Pyongyang, and finally to Shenyang in northeast China. Along the way, she falls in love with a soldier, befriends beggars, is kidnapped, beaten, and sold, negotiates Chinese culture, and learns to balance cruel necessity with the possibilities of kindness and love. Above all, Jia must remain wary, always ready to adapt to the “capricious political winds” of modern North Korea and China.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Reminiscent of Red Azalea, Hyejin Kim's poignant first novel takes us along on a harrowing journey as Jia comes of age in the totalitarian and famine-stricken North Korea.... After the last page is turned, every reader will feel enormous empathy for the plight of the countless North Korean refugees whose brave struggle for freedom and survival continues to this very day." -- Mia Yun, author of House of the Winds and Translations of Beauty

"Vivid and poignantly understated, Jia is authentic and heartbreaking; it is an absolute must read for those who wish to understand the tragedy of North Korea." -- Heinz Insu Fenkl, author of Memories of My Ghost Brother

"Anyone interested in North Korea, or in that 20th century fever-dream known as Stalinism, should buy a copy, if they dare."---JB Powell -- PopandPolitics.com, July 18th, 2007

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Cleis Press (June 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573442755
• ISBN-13: 978-1573442756
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #733,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing, moving, and necessary April 10, 2009

By David Quigley

Format:Paperback

Let me begin by saying that, as an academic who studies modern Korean history, I understand and appreciate the context in which North Korea was established. That being said, I do not condone nor support North Korea's atrocious disregard for basic human freedoms nor China's selfish and shameful acts of repatriating North Korean refugees, which often spells doom for the victims and taints their families.

That being said, it is scary that the situations presented in this novel are all-too-common on the Chinese-North Korean border. The author, Kim Hyejin, has worked with these refugees and can probably agree that the story of Jia can probably be retold thousands of times by different North Koreans (un?)lucky enough to make it to China. Jia's story is powerful. Growing up in the 1970's and 1980's, she is the victim of tainted blood, but presses on to make the best of a bad situation. It is a human story that cannot really have a happy ending.

I believe the author wrote this story for two reasons. First, it is a cry to the world to recognize what is going on at the China-North Korean border. It is vile, inhumane, and altogether repulsive...and nothing is really being done to change it. Second, she wants to point to the fact that North Koreans, though often demonized in America, are people, too. They have feelings, hopes, dreams, and desires, just as we do. Not all are Kim Jong-Il or militant officials who don't smile or laugh. And because of these reasons, this book should be read.

I only gave it four stars because the writing is sometimes a bit choppy, and though writing style isn't the point of the story, it helps the reader to flow through the book. Other than that, fantastic.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll finish this book with a sense of gratitude. September 23, 2007

By Elevate Difference

Format:Paperback

Jia is a haunting tale that explores sadness and grief of a completely different level. The narrative tales follows the female protagonist, Jia, through tumultuous times in North Korea and China - from living in hiding with her grandparents and sister during early childhood to her lonely escape and dangerous voyage back into North Korea to a temporary stint that takes her to dance for The Great Leader, Kim Il Sung. Nobody is immune to the devastating hardships and suffering that accompanies economic depression and poverty.

Somehow, Jia manages to find hope and friendship, such as with Sangwon, the kkotjebi (literally meaning "flower swallow") whom she meets by chance and with whom she establishes an unforgettable bond. The experiences of Jia and those around her are weighed down with a grief most people would be unfamiliar with. They live in a world where they must betray and cause suffering in order to have a chance at survival. Jia is loosely based on a woman Hyejin Kim once knew, and the stories are real.

The writing is understated and not breathtaking, but forgivable because these stories speak for themselves and need no elaboration to be striking. Jia is likeable and the reader feels total empathy for her without a sense of pity. You'll finish this book with a sense of gratitude.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching novel! October 18, 2008

By Jeffrey Harris

Format:Paperback

A great story full of imagery to make you understand exactly what it is to live in this country. Educational and moving!