Brother One Cell: An American Coming of Age in South Korea's Prisons

by Cullen Thomas, Dan Woren (Narrator)

Cullen Thomas had a typical suburban upbringing. He was raised on Long Island, and after graduating from college he was looking for meaning and excitement. Possessed of a youthful, romantic view of the world, he left New York at age twenty-three and set off for a job teaching English in Seoul, South Korea. As foreigners on the fringe of Korean society, Cullen and his friends felt intensely separate, then untouchable. That delusion was quickly shattered. Cullen would spend four years in the country: seven months teaching, then three and a half years in jail for smuggling hashish. BROTHER ONE CELL is his memoir of that time–the harrowing and powerful story of a young American learning hard lessons in strange prisons on the other side of the world.

One of few foreign inmates, Cullen shared a cell block with human traffickers, jewel smugglers, murderers, and thieves. Humbled by the ordeal, he describes his fight to restore his identity and to come to terms with the harsh living conditions and the rules of Korea’s strict Confucian culture, which were magnified in prison. In this crucible Cullen shed the naïveté and ego of youth and to his surprise achieved a lasting sense of freedom and gratitude. With its gritty descriptions of life behind high walls and acute insights into Korean society, BROTHER ONE CELL is part cautionary tale and part insightful travelogue about places few of us will ever see.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, True Crime, Biography, Asia, Travel, Biography Memoir

Audiobook

First published March 15, 2007

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I've been in Korea for just about eight months now, it wasn't until reading Brother One Cell that I actually took the time to appreciate where I am. Sure, I've reveled a bit in this unique opportunity, especially to those back home, but I never really do so objectively. What's worse is that as I'm often frustrated with 'work,' I find myself complaining about a number of things totally unrelated. In turn, even though I really have enjoyed Korea, I frequently view it in a negative light, clumping together my experience working here and my experience living here.

This book helped me to reaffirm the notion that I've held all along that my complaints are hardly worth voicing in that not only is it my choice to be here, but I really do have the opportunity to leave at any time, unlike Cullen Thomas did in during his three and a half year sentence which he served in full behind bars in Korea.

While Cullen Thomas was locked up in Korean prison against his will and I am merely 'stuck in Seoul' by choice (as I like to say), his story resonates deeply with my experience here in the Hermit Kingdom. From battling ajummas in the subway to receiving flurries of ridiculous cautionary tales, Cullen's time teaching in Korea seems very much like what I myself am going through. He even accurately captures the mental exhaustion that I experience everyday despite only putting in around 30 hours a week!

Where our stories diverge is when Cullen is arrested and sent away on charges of drug smuggling. From then on Brother One Cell offers the casual reader a glimpse into the dark and unknown world of being locked up abroad. Luckily for Cullen, and the faint of heart, his torment seemed to be mostly mental as he was spared (or at least the reader is spared) of any horrid physical torture or brutality.

What I found incredibly fascinating about this book was not that it was a tale of danger and deceit but rather how accurately and objectively Cullen presented Korean culture that is all too foreign to Westerners, even those of us living it day to day! The prisons, just like the rest of Korea, adhered to a strict set of Confucian principles that finds its strength in unquestioned adherence to tradition and more importantly a rigid hierarchical status structure.

To see this same set of principles so vividly reflected in Cullen's life behind bars was simply shocking. Rather than constantly fighting one another to survive as is 'expected' among American prisoners, Korea's inmates still follow the same rules of respect and status that they would out in the open. One of my favorite examples of this is prisoners remembering to use the polite form of the word when they swear at the guards.

This was a fantastic and simple read that was made much better by my actually living the experience for myself. Well, half the experience at least, as I've yet to visit a Korean prison. Oh, and on that note, to top it all off I walk outside to a view of Suraksan each day, the same mountain that Cullen could only stare longingly at from his bleak cell in the city just north of my Uijongbu. As for me, well, I'm able to hike it whenever I want, if I wake up early enough!

Sometimes you forget just how lucky you are. Brother one cell sure helped to remind me!

[Sebastien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't understand all the negative reviews.

People are complaining that Cullen Thomas kept whining about Korean culture and his situation in prison, and some reviews even had the audacity to judge him and say that he deserved everything he got. About the whining part, he had every right. Koreans living in the USA whine. Canadians living in Colombia whine. People whine. If I wrote a book about Colombia it would be full of whining about all the weird things I hate about it. He was whining because he felt shocked and attacked and frustrated at times. At times he admitted that he was wrong in his judgements as well. I personally appreciated the insight into Korean culture's intricacies and how they contrasted with his (North American) culture.

As to the complaints that he over-used the word "Confucian" when describing things...well, they were Confucian. I wouldn't not describe Colombian culture as machismo culture, and you know why? BECAUSE IT IS. He called a spade a spade.

He was extremely repentant of his behaviour and it was apparent that he felt bad for what he did and regretted it deeply. He suffered in prison, just as most prisoners do. What did you want him to do, stay in there for another ten years for your personal satisfaction? I've done prisoner outreach work in American prisons and I can tell you that prison is insanely horrible psychologically, and there comes a point where you realize that it doesn't benefit anyone to have a murderer locked up for more than X amount of time. To what end? He served his time, so don't judge him as if you've never made a mistake in your own life.

He made a mistake. He paid for it. He wrote about it. It's a fascinating look at 1990s Korean culture, and if you are an immigrant living in a non-North-American/Western-European country, you will empathize with his plight and frustration when dealing with Korean culture. Even if the culture is totally different from Korea's, you will recognize and empathize with his dealings with the xenophobia, the "screw you American" attitudes, the language politics, and many subtle jabs at who he is as a person if you have moved to a homogeneous country that has people who look different from you and speak a different language.

[Benedict · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brother One Cell is an autobiographical tale of Cullen Thomas, an American who in his early 20s moved to South Korea to teach English. Seven months into his time there, he got caught smuggling drugs into the country and was sentenced to three and half years in prison. As you do.

It's an interesting look into South Korean culture and prison-life, albeit from a slightly two-dimensional and simplistic viewpoint.

Okay I'll level with you. It's an irritating read. Our protagonist is endlessly brash and selfish, and constantly views the Koreans around him as 'other' and therefore strange. Even in the retrospect, he is unapologetic for his almost condescending attitude towards their Confucianist culture (and he manages to work some variation on the word 'Confucian' into every sentence about Korean people, as if that's the only way to describe them). He constantly rallies against them and takes every defiance as a shallow victory, while simultaneously whining about how unfair his lot is. You smuggled drugs! You're now in prison! What part of this did you think would be a smooth ride into happy town?!

The whole book, while an interesting read, is both self-pitying and self-congratulatory, so much so that it's irksome. While the conclusions end up positive, I can't help but feel that his philosophical ramblings throughout are hollow and poorly founded. His attitude is that he should somehow always be special. The sub-title for this book is 'Coming of Age in South Korea's Prisons', and yet I couldn't help but just think "dude, grow up".

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did find this interesting to read, there were several problems with it, most notably the incredibly whiney narrator and the lack of any sort of glossary to explain some of the Korean terms. A selfish, entitled American twit tries to smuggle drugs into South Korea and gets caught. Unluckily for him, Korean justice is far more harsh than American... About three stars and only somewhat recommended.

For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_B...

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in Long Island. Graduating college then setting off for Asia to teach English with a girl he loves. Flouting the country's drug laws without enough regard for consequence. At this point the author's and my own story diverge and I am given a window into what my life could've become had I been a shade unluckier.

Truly heart wrenching at times, I read each chapter with wide eyes and deep breaths as the author tells of coping with serving a 3 1/2 year sentence in a prison 7,000 miles from home. As fluent in Korean as I was in Japanese at 7 months in the country, the author struggled daily to find and hold his place in the odd hierarchy of the prisons he was kept in as well as communicate with the people around him. Meeting gangsters, foreign convicts like himself, prison wardens, and inmates whom he forged strong bonds to, every day was a struggle to hold onto any shred of peace, happiness and sometimes sanity he could find while spending 23 hours hours in a cell the size of a walk-in closet. Despite residing in the world's 11th largest economy, the prison conditions were on par with those of the third world.

His journey from a sheltered middle class kid on Long Island to a prisoner serving hard time for a crime most countries would punish with a slap on the wrist tore my heart out at times. Dealing with the absence of any female contact he desperately held onto an image of his girlfriend's body as I imagine I would have in that same unfortunate position. Fortunately I have one 24-hour stint in jail under my belt which indescribably helped me understand the the claustrophobia and powerless of the author's situation. The incredible envy one feels for those outside the prison who can have the freedom to make even the smallest decisions about their own lives. This book is, at its most basic, a worst case scenario that I've secretly feared all my life, and reading it made me come face to face with the hardship this would entail, and what one must go through to adjust to any life-altering event. This book serves to show that these crises can be eventually accepted and overcome. I can't recommend this book enough.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing itself is nothing extraordinary, but the story and cultural insight make it very worth it.

[Hannes Strydom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get past the author's ingrained American privilege and self-indulgent writing. Like other reviewers mentioned, he constantly emphasizes the otherness of his Korean fellow inmates and even mentioned that some of them had 'retarded' looking faces. In one part, referring to an act of self-pleasure with a rolled-up prison blanket, he also mentions how he imagines that it is a Korean woman that he bangs out of revenge for what her countrymen have done to him.

Ya smuggled drugs into a country that doesn't toletate that kind of thing, honey. What did you expect?

Plus-side: Interesting insight into daily life in a South Korean prison.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cullen Thomas's memoir, Brother One Cell, is a thriller about an American college graduate, nicknamed the Jolly Marauder, who grew up on Long Island dreaming about pirates, adventure, and becoming a storyteller someday. Armed with an English major and big plans, Cullen took a job teaching English to school children in South Korea, quickly realizing that it was an insufferable grind. So he came up with a new plan: smuggling hashish into the country from Malaysia to finance a proper tour of the world. A friend had done it successfully, but Cullen got caught while collecting his contraband in the post office and was sent to prison for three and a half years. I've always been drawn to prison and war memoirs because they are like life only intensified, so you read looking for lessons about survival. Brother One Cell could be dark, but it is full of humor, poetry, and philosophy. From his cell window, Cullen could see a tree in the courtyard where he played basketball with murderers, thieves, drug dealers, and human traffickers. The tree kept getting cut down and down and down, but never lost its grace and dignity.

[Tim Jin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a first generation Korean American, I could somehow relate to this story. Although I have never been in any prison, the author does well at explaining the Korean culture and give a lot of Korean dialogue in the book. Instead of overacting on the narration with unbearable Asian accents, the narrator using his natural voice, tries to speak the foreign dialogue as best as they can. I've listened to many books over the years where the narration of the story ruins the book because they try to portray the characters too much, where you cannot really listen to them any longer.

The base of this story is about an American, going to Korea, getting caught of having weed and being sentence to prison and understanding the culture and life because of it.

The story was okay. I mean, unlike the United States where you pretty much get a slap on the hand for drugs, overseas countries takes narcotics more seriously and maybe that is a lesson to be learned onto itself.

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a few months since I finished this one, but I wanted to give it a positive comment or two. Thomas doesn't pull his punches: he screwed up, he got caught, and he ended up in a foreign prison. This is a harrowing read at times. Thomas doesn't seem to be trying to make things sound worse or better than they were. This is what happened. He suffered. Lessons were learned. The book also gives the reader an unusual insight into Korean culture at a particular moment in the country's history. Worth reading.

[James Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a Korean proverb that says a true man only cries at 3 moments in his life: when he is born, when his parents die, and when he dies. But this book has dudes straight up bawling in their jail cells from all the suffering that drives some of them even to the point of insanity. Brother One Cell shows you the experience of an American adjusting to Korean society within a prison, and is also a great reminder that prisoners are still people just like everyone else. There are scenes where they sacrifice cheese sandwiches for another inmates birthday present, or parts where they try to smoke anything they can to get high. At one point they try to smoke peanut shells and shit tryna escape the reality of prison. OH YEAH AND KIMCHI. shit is good.

[Jill Loveland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually took a writing class with the author in NYC. He was an amazing teacher and I was excited to read his memoir and was completely surprised when I got it. I did not expect the man to that taught me to be the individual he described in the book! However, I do feel he is a great writer and he truly conveyed what life was like in South Korea’s prisons. I am grateful he survived that experience and it was a pleasure to spend a day learning the basics of how to write a personal essay. The only reason I am giving it 4 stars is because I did feel some parts droned on a bit. But I did love the ending and how he really learned from this experience. Also, I googled your childhood home! It’s worth a million now Cullen! I hope I cross paths with him again.

[Abraham Lewik · Rating 1 out of 5]

My copy was missing the last few pages. If my copy was complete then probably between two stars. The book got better but never really impressed me with the story. Thomas McFadden is the better prison writer, Bangkok Hilton also. Korean prison is not alien enough to impress me, perhaps not. That personal reflections ought to be included in prison literature is logical, yet the reflections on his ancestor were not woven well. The conclusion was engaging and one must ponder what the last pages may contribute to a book.

[Jaclynn (JackieReadsAlot) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable but not particularly enjoyable. Mr. Thomas consistently comes off as a bit of a jerk, and his comments on women are repulsive. His constant references to his ex-girlfriend's body were uncessary and for her I'm sure quite insulting. Interesting insights into Korean culture, but not enough to compensate for how lame Cullen is.

[Yuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

He is a solid writer and the book kept me engaged through most of it but it does lose steam at the end. I guess it just wasn’t super insightful about how the prison and legal system works differently in South Korea. Also his anecdotes weren’t particularly interesting.

[Caryatid · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lucky man, luxurious conditions, yet still a whiner.

[circle · Rating 4 out of 5]

listened to the audiobook. learned a lot about korea. I LOLed when he described teaching english.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting memoir, though often goes overboard on his childhood, Confucianism and other stuff.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The topic of this memoir had So Much potential & I can say I learned some pretty interesting tidbits about Korean culture, however the narrator just had way too many Man Narrator moments for me and this could have easily been cut by 1/3 in length.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A excellent book to take on a 19 hour plane ride! This book kept me well occupied on my journey from South Korea back to the States. After reading this book I definitely felt more knowledgeable about South Korea. I feel it might have helped to read this book before I traveled there but it did help clarify a lot about South Korean culture and history. Cullen Thomas recounts his experiences in such vivid detail it feels as if you're right there with him in a South Korean jail. This book is compassionate and raw and extremely honest. A great book that offers unique glimpses into seldom-seen aspects of Korean culture.

[T. Coughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believe it or not, I just read this novel for the second time. It holds up. I liked the author's voice in this memoir. Cullen Thomas takes the reader on an amazing journey as we meet a young man caught for smuggling drugs who believes he's special and entitled because he's an American, who transforms into a gracious, accepting deep thinker. The novel has some gritty descriptions and Thomas tells the story in a logical totally believable way. It also offers a picture of South Korea, a place a knew very little about. It's a great read. I am bumping this one up to five stars. I have to see if Cullen Thomas continued writing. Bravo!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The description for this book says that the author was "forced" to growb up in some tough circumstances. I dispute that basic assertion as the book here details the result of ridiculous choices to try and sell drugs in a culture that is well known for lack of tolerance for such behavior. There are much better ways to grow up than spending time in a foreign jail.

The book itself is at times an interesting read. It is an opportunity to view life behind bars as it were and the author does a good job of portraying his experiences and the castof characters he encounters.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author also happens to be my writing teacher, so there is something about reading about your mentor's years in a Korean prison that does sort of give you a new view of things. That aside, this is a book that stayed with me in many ways, as it explores the ways we take for granted our surroundings and privilege, and the unexpected results of chance, luck, and the choices and mistakes we make. It is very much a prison story, of which there are many, but more so it is a coming-of-age story of a person who, ultimately, achieves something very like grace.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brother One Cell is more foreigner-in-Korea depravity, albeit in a lower form. Instead of outright murder, it's just smuggling two kilos of hashish into the country from the Philippines. No biggie. Of course, it doesn't help Thomas' story that he is, by all available accounts, a certifiable douche bag. I can't say that he's a bad writer, because he isn't, but his story does come off as something you'd like to know about, so long as someone else tells it. "Locked Up Abroad" movie-fied his story for those wanting the short version.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book since it illustrates a bit of how the Korean penal system works (as opposed to the Soviet, French, American, Chinese, and Guantanamo ones do /been researching) but it is concerning since this is where my little sister is going soon, as her boyfriend is doing what the author Cullen Thomas did, teaching English in South Korea.

It's one of those memoirs without an index, so I can't quickly refer to useful pages, as I won't do it manually. Hence I don't like it more than just average.

[Jedi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing read. Unique, restorative, and fast. It is a story about finding bigger meaning from both the little things that must dominate a prisoner's restricted life, and figuring out how to take away meaning from the massive, unexpected shift in your life that comes from being caught and punished for breaking the law. Thomas's voice is the best part of the book. Distills three years of his experience in Korea and in prison to little gems of stories and non-stories, without aggrandizement or getting caught up by the smallness of prison life. The ending chapters were strong.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of a young american boy (23 yrs old) coming of age in a South Korean prison. Cullen Thomas travels to Korea in the 90's to teach english, tries smuggling a little hash and the rest is history. This is NOT midnight express, rather a deeper look into the Korean Culture, normes, morals etc. and the realization that although Korean prision was not a vacation of any sort, that he was lucky to not be in an American prision. Check out the website: www.cullenthomas.com

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having lived in Korea for 6 months studying abroad, this book brought back a lot of memories about my AWESOME time there. Of course, there are some dumb people who decide to do stupid things like Thomas and pays the price. At least he was able to make this sour experience into something fruitful. The book is an honest portrayal of a foreigner's experience of Korea and the many societal differences between Korean and the U.S.

[Teri Pre · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author went on and on about how much he learned by being in a South Korean prison for 3 1/2 years but he never acknowledge that what he did was wrong! He kept whining and saying "I didn't hurt anyone!" While his crime wasn't a violent one, he knew that he was breaking the law! Were they just supposed to pat him on the head and say "You're a good boy. We won't punish you this time." That's what he expected!

[Courtney Sidsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good account of what it would be like to spend time in a Korean prison. The conditions sound unbearable at times however the confuscian levels of respect create an environment that is devoid of aggression and violence. It was interesting to read this book and relate it to the experiences I have had and am having in Korea.