NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom.
As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with … home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told “the best on the planet”?
Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.
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Raised in North Korea, just across the Yalu river from China, Hyeonseo Lee can see the lights of China. Her village has no lights and suffers under the strict dictatorship of the Great Leader. One winter night, she slips across the river into China, intending a short adventure. Then she realizes there is no going back, she is paperless and an enemy stranded in in China. Through tremendous resolve, she finds her way to South Korea. Fascinating and riveting. Could not put it down.
A rare inside glimpse into life inside North Korea with this inspiring true story of one girl’s escape–only to return years later to save her mother and brother from a tragic fate. I couldn’t put this down.
I loved everything about this book. I learned a lot about the author’s journey out of North Korea (and about her tenacity and courage). Highly recommended.
This is a true life story that reads alot like a novel. This woman is incredible and her story of life inside North Korea is informative and tragic. What it takes to get out is even more fascinating. I would call this a must read.
An amazing look at communist society in the 20th and 21st centuries. A must-read, especially for Americans who are unaware of conditions in North Korea, and to remind us how fortunate we are to live in the freedom we so often take for granted. A truly inspirational story that I will be recommending to my book club.
Inspirational story told with such candor and grace, and not an ounce of pity even though the author is entitled to such empathy. Beautifully written and very difficult to put down. Fascinating look into the closed North Korean society. Have so much admiration for Lee and her family.
This is an amazing book that taught me so much about what some people have to endure and why freedom is so very important to protect.
You do not appreciate the freedoms we have in the United States until you realize what hardships the North Koreans had to endure. This should be recommended reading for all high school students!
My book Group has selected it for next meeting. I found it vividly portrayed what Afghanis were going through at the time I was reading it the book.
What an amazing book! An incredible woman who lived an incredible story of escaping from North Korea, on a 10 year journey going through China before getting asylum in South Korea. And then she goes back to the Chinese border with North Korean in order to get her mother and brother out. Filled with strength, courage, fear, atrocities, and even generosity. Hyeonseo Lee is a hero who is now fighting for the starving, abused and imprisoned in North Korea.
This is a book that everyone should read. It really puts into perspective our freedoms here in the USA. It also shines light on the prejudices of South Koreans, North Koreans, Chinese, and other Asian countries, something I was not aware of until now.
What a story! Definitely one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. Heartbreaking, but told in a way that enlightens.
The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story by Hyeonseo Lee fascinated me. I have always had some curiosity in regards to North Korea and Hyeonseo Lee’s story really filled me in on how it is to live under the North Korean regime and how some citizens not only survive at a minimal level, but also find ways to enhance their situation. The corruption and smuggling is rampant, I had no idea that so many, or actually any, North Koreans were able to go back and forth to China. Something else I found super interesting is that for those living on the border (as the author did), they can have cell phones purchased in China using the Chinese network so that there is communication with their family that have already escaped. Two other things, amongst many, that I found to be intriguing were the discussion of the class system within North Korea and the “Portraits”. The portraits are of the Great Leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il; families take great care in the display and care of these portraits, even risking their lives to make sure they are safe. What shocks me most is that this regime is still in power today, that people are still living under their thumb in some truly horrendous conditions. I highly recommend this book, it is a powerful portrayal of life in North Korea and the difficulties of not only escaping, but struggling to make a new life outside of the oppressive regime.
Really amazing how much this one young woman went through and the courage she had to escape the oppression of the North Korean system. Great book. Thank you for sharing.
It was easy to read, I really liked it and felt for the author
Fantastic book. A real insight into North Korea. Shockingly realistic.
This book was immensely informative and I completed with a real understanding of the people and lifestyle in the countries portrayed.
When Everything You Believed About Your World is a Lie
If I could give this 10 stars, I would.
Absolutely suitable reading for teen – adult.
In her autobiography, Hyeonseo smoothly relates for us her upbringing in a loving North Korean family, but also how from her earliest memories she and everyone around her were taught that their leaders were gods to be worshipped and thanked for everything they had.
Reporting any kind of misdemeanor or apparent disrespect shown by family, friends, or neighbors was encouraged and rewarded.
They believed that North Korea was the victor in wars against the United States, Japan, and South Korea. They were taught that the South Koreans lived in dirt and absolute poverty.
Plot no spoilers:
Hyeonseo and her family lived in a small town right on the border between N. Korea and China with only a shallow river separating the two countries. It was common in the summer for little Chinese boys and Korean boys to play in the river, cross over and play together, but then always return to their respective homes. Meanwhile, when offered bribes, guards on both sides turned a blind eye to black market trade.
Because of teenage irresponsibility Hyeonseo, who wanted to visit someone, stayed on the Chinese side too long. If she returned home, she’d be imprisoned and her family disgraced. So began years of hiding in plain sight in China, changing her name multiple times, facing incredible danger, and finally making the decision to escape to Seoul.
Because of the flowing, natural writing style, the story is pleasurable reading. It is also so compelling that I kept my Kindle beside me most of the day, reading sections between other tasks and even during TV commercial breaks, and then continuing late into the night.
Our freedom is precious. We need to protect it, appreciate it, and encourage efforts to provide it for others.
Recommended. Highly, highly recommended.
Wow! An amazing life story. We learn so much about life in Northern Korea from a girl who lived it all. First as a child of a well placed family with many perks befitting her father’s status. Then fortune turns and life becomes incredibly harsh and cruel. a strong, inventive mother makes life somewhat easier but life in North Korea is almost unimaginable. . A forbidden trip over a frozen river to China visit to China, presumably for a day or two, leads to exile and the need to change identities seven times before coming to a safe place. This is an astounding true story of a girl who is smart, strong, and chameleon-like.
I decided to do the audiobook for this one and enjoyed listening to the narrator. It’s very long and there is so much happening. Some parts of this book literally made me feel anxious and stressed for what the author was going through. With this being the second book I’ve read about someone escaping North Korea, it’s interesting comparing the two journeys and the different methods. I think this is a great book for anyone who wants to educate themselves and learn more about the hardships people of North Korea face.
Amazing and courageous journey of a strong, resilient woman. Sheds much light on the human tragedy of North Korea and on the strength of will one woman had to seek a better life