North Korea is, arguably, the most horrible country of the world. Sometimes there is a sort of competition which ideology is the worst. Communism must be the champion. While Pol Pot succeeded in killing about one fifth of his population in approximately three years, Kim Yong-il from the so-called DPRK is a long-time expert of starving his people. While he grew fat, he allowed to starve between 800.000 to 3.5 million people to starve to death. North Korea is a dysfunctional state, the next famine probably just lurking around the corner.
How do people survive in such an environment? In Nothing To Envy Barbara Demick gives a voice to those North Koreans who made it to to the south. This book is non-fiction, but breath taking as few.
We follow the indoctrination of kids from kindergarten onwards. We see how the system litters their brain with hymns in praise of the godly Kims, we see how the ideology prevails all text books and we learn how they are cut off from any information from the outside world.
We also hear about a system of spying and denunciation. Everywhere there might be somebody who might tell if you show symptoms of disbelief in the glorious leadership. Considerable portions of the population are already in labour camps. Death penalty and public executions for minor offences are also a popular measure to tame the people.
We follow also the life of a brilliant student, who in spite of a poor class background made it to the showcase university of the country. His girl-friend also had a poor class-background, so their relationship had to be in complete secrecy. The system discourages intimacy - it took them three years until they hold hands and three years more to something that could be called kiss, but was actually nothing more than a short reaching of cheeks. Victorian Romances were more bold than the lives of these young people. The system of North Korea is not only divided into classes, but highly racist. Not only they apply the notion of "tainted blood" to those who might be potentially critical to the regime, but they see themselves as a race that is far superior to anything else that is living on this planet.
We understand what a difficult decision it still was to leave the country and start a new life after the system had put the virus into their brains - maybe not everything was a lie...? Maybe some of the fairy tales the regime told were right anyway?
The book tells the lives of six persons from North Korea, how they made it through the famine, what made them defect finally. Heart-breaking to read when they realise that they had wasted their lives until now and how they are living now under new conditions.
The epilogue is about waiting. While Kim Jong il no longer disgraces this earth, another fatty ha succeeded him. We will have to wait a long time until the regime collapses. The regime already proved that they don't care much about a million more less to suppress.
How do people survive in such an environment? In Nothing To Envy Barbara Demick gives a voice to those North Koreans who made it to to the south. This book is non-fiction, but breath taking as few.
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| Dictator Kim smiling to the starving people |
We follow the indoctrination of kids from kindergarten onwards. We see how the system litters their brain with hymns in praise of the godly Kims, we see how the ideology prevails all text books and we learn how they are cut off from any information from the outside world.
We also hear about a system of spying and denunciation. Everywhere there might be somebody who might tell if you show symptoms of disbelief in the glorious leadership. Considerable portions of the population are already in labour camps. Death penalty and public executions for minor offences are also a popular measure to tame the people.
We follow also the life of a brilliant student, who in spite of a poor class background made it to the showcase university of the country. His girl-friend also had a poor class-background, so their relationship had to be in complete secrecy. The system discourages intimacy - it took them three years until they hold hands and three years more to something that could be called kiss, but was actually nothing more than a short reaching of cheeks. Victorian Romances were more bold than the lives of these young people. The system of North Korea is not only divided into classes, but highly racist. Not only they apply the notion of "tainted blood" to those who might be potentially critical to the regime, but they see themselves as a race that is far superior to anything else that is living on this planet.
We understand what a difficult decision it still was to leave the country and start a new life after the system had put the virus into their brains - maybe not everything was a lie...? Maybe some of the fairy tales the regime told were right anyway?
The book tells the lives of six persons from North Korea, how they made it through the famine, what made them defect finally. Heart-breaking to read when they realise that they had wasted their lives until now and how they are living now under new conditions.
The epilogue is about waiting. While Kim Jong il no longer disgraces this earth, another fatty ha succeeded him. We will have to wait a long time until the regime collapses. The regime already proved that they don't care much about a million more less to suppress.
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