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The Tears of My Soul Hardcover – October, 1993

by Hyun Hee Kim (Author)

32 customer reviews

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A North Korean spy, trained and indoctrinated by her government to kill ruthlessly and efficiently , offers rare insight into the rigors of her enforced service, which ended with a conviction for a plane bombing. 100,000 first printing. $70,000 ad/promo.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On November 29, 1987, two North Koreans were arrested in Bahrain, suspected of the terrorist bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 in which 115 people died. One of the suspects committed suicide on the spot; the other, the author of this memoir, swallowed poison but survived. Extradited to Seoul, Hyun Hee confessed, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. The court later granted a full pardon, ruling that she was not the true culprit in the bombing but an innocent victim of North Korean indoctrination. Here Hyun Hee reveals how she was recruited and trained, and provides details of the bombing. Her depiction of North Korea's Orwellian society is convincing and vivid: it is a world where children patrol the streets and report the slightest ideological infraction and where a citizen speaking disrespectfully of "Beloved Leader" Kim Il Sung can be summarily bludgeoned to death. Also affecting are Hyun Hee's comments about the culture shock she experienced in Seoul and her search for redemption through Christianity. This is a chilling account of brainwashing and subsequent deprogramming. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Daughter of a senior North Korean official, Hee was trained as a covert-operations expert from age 19. Her career ended with her 1987 arrest for placing the bomb that caused the deaths of 115 aboard a South Korean airliner. Subsequently tried and sentenced to death, she was pardoned because the "real criminals" were in North Korea, and she was allowed to settle in South Korea. With this kind of memoir, there are always doubts about its authenticity as well as about how much translation and editing (neither a translator nor an editor is credited in prepublication proofs) may have altered even a genuine account. Making allowances for such doubts, however, one finds here an absorbing and moving tale that strongly suggests that North Korea, one of the world's last Stalinist dictatorships, is not going to die easily or without danger to the rest of the world. Roland Green

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Product details

Hardcover: 183 pages
Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (October 1993)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0688128335
ISBN-13: 978-0688128333
Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 32 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #305,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16403 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government

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4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		69%
4 star		25%
3 star		3%
2 star		3%
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BySmithon May 14, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This was a really moving story, well told, and very sad. It captured my attention from the beginning, read it in one sitting.
From reading the book I came to understand the brainwashing, especially when it's started so early, in school kids, that the communist gov'ts impose, and how impossible it is to expect the population to think differently from what they're told. The people can't leave, never see anything but the communist TV and newspapers, so have nothing to compare their world with. It's no wonder people (traveling artists, Olympic athletes, etc) try to defect, when they see how they've been lied to, when they see how good and plentiful and happy life outside their regime is.
I think this would be a good book to put on the High School reading list. Def recommend!

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It almost felt like she was saying

Bylakotaon November 14, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Surprising read. I had no idea ,that the criminal that blew up this Korean Flight was a woman.
She writes very clearly and almost in a matter of fact way.
I do feel, she took a long time realizing as to what she had done.
It almost felt like she was saying,I could not help, what I did.
I was a victim also.
She was, but at times I felt offended by this way of writing.
She gave a clear picture of what it was like to live under the communist regime.
She had had a rather privileged life.
I just finished a book by Lisa See, that tells about China under the communist regime.
The systematic brainwashing is unbelievable to us westerners.
The lack of food ,just like in China in those days and North Korea is mind boggling.
Unless you work for the regime. It was an eyeopener and I would definitely recommend it.

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I spent years of my military career focused on the ...

ByChiprjon May 7, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I spent years of my military career focused on the Korean peninsula. This book is a must read for any folks with ties to Korea as it gives a strong insight into the inner working of North Korea and the mindset of folks that live there. It also shows how far a person can go with that mindset and how durable it can be. What eventually led to this book being written and the mindset being broken is very telling of the differences between the two countries.

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Not a great translation, but amazing subject matter

ByAmazon Customeron March 10, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Fascinating, but as a person who has read pretty much all there is to read about North Korea, I found the writing (or possibly the translation) to be pretty dry and not as well done as it should have been, considering the amazing story she has to tell. That being said, I read it ravenously in one sitting, so she must have been doing something right!

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The Tears of My Soul

Bykate2552on January 2, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

As you read this book you are constantly aware of the ease with which a human can be programmed or brainwashed into thinking, acting and pretending they are
working for a greater cause, even to the point of murder for the betterment of their country and family. I was amazed at the training that goes into programming a spy and at times the amazing omissions that were not used. Read this to better understand the hatred that some countries employ to understand why they are capable of heinous crimes. Pray for the people in North Korea to see the truth.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Extremely moving! A must read for those who truly wish to understand North Korea.

ByLaura Victoria Durenon January 10, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The account of a beautiful young North Korean woman who tragically became a spy turned terrorist while in bondage to obey the propaganda and brainwashing of her country and the whims of her Dear Leader. Told in a honest, no-nonsense tone, the author manages to move us with the simplicity and tragedy of her story without resorting to theatrics and melodrama like Euna Lee tended to in "The World Is Bigger Now." Please read this book! All the proceeds go to the families of the victims who died in the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858.

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A Gripping Story of Real Life Secret Agents, Lies, Murder, and Mercy

ByAmazon CustomerVINE VOICEon December 17, 2009

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A friend recommended this book - and I am so glad she did. Once I started reading it I could not set it down. The details are woven together beautifully in this first-person narrative of a beautiful North Korean girl who was selected to become an operative for the DPRK government. Details of her training - including the tests, physical fitness, fighting opponents, and mock missions - are presented before describing her overseas assignments and final mission.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the North-South Korea area of study, or anyone interested in James Bond-type stories. The difference between this and others is that these events actually happened.

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ByAmazon Customeron November 19, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Very easy to read. Good insights to a dysfunctional country.

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Most recent customer reviews

Must read to understand North Korea

This book is revelant today with the silent war with N. Korea heating up. It is hard to believe that a country exists that is totally brainwashed, or that a person could be taken...Read more

Published 21 days ago by Ann Hoff

Fascinating book!

Published 1 year ago by Kelly from Ohio

This is a must read. A real eye opener.

Published 1 year ago by Doug Young

It's like reading a spy novel, but true.

Published 1 year ago by Gordon Johnson

Gotta read this book

Published 1 year ago by Bruce Bolden

Amazing True Story!

Excellent story!

Published on August 29, 2015 by ME

Excellent book! A true story.

Published on August 23, 2015 by Ruth Johnston

Her Soul Was Saved...- 8/10

I was able to inquire about Kim Hyun Hee's book, The Tears of My Soul. A very interesting read of what I found to be a story of one woman's life who managed to carry out a dirty...Read more

Published on March 23, 2015 by Chandler

Rebirth in the South

The story of Kim Hyun Hee is a fascinating journey through the darkness that is North Korea and and the monstrous attack on an airliner full of people that it spawned.Read more

Published on December 10, 2014 by Matthew Brennan

English United States

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