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Pitkä tie kotiin - Pako pohjoiskorealaiselta työleiriltä
"Pohjois-Koreassa kaikki tietävät, että työleiri on paikka, jossa elämä keskeytyy. Kukaan ei elä siellä, vaan kuolee hitaasti, vähä vähältä. Minä olin yksi kuollut sielu leirillä nro 14."
Pohjois-Korean armeijan everstiluutnanttina Kim Yong sai nauttia harvinaisen etuoikeutetusta elämästä. Kaikki muuttui, kun hänet tuomittiin maanpetoksesta. Kuusi pitkää vuotta Kim Yong virui Pohjois-Korean pahimmalla leirillä nro 14 ja koki häikäilemättömän hallinnon julmuuden.
Pohjois-Korean työleireistä on olemassa vain vähän tietoa - harva vanki selviää hengissä, saati pääsee maasta pois. Tässä kirjassa Kim Yong kertoo ensimmäistä kertaa koko tarinansa. Hän paljastaa Pohjois-Korean vaikenemisen muurin taakse kätkeytyvät julmuudet ja kuvaa päivittäistä taistelua ihmisarvon säilyttämiseksi käsittämättömien vaikeuksien keskellä. Tämä harvinaislaatuinen henkilökuva on samalla selviytymistarina ja paljastus sorron, kidutuksen ja ideologisen terrorin synkästä todellisuudesta.
Pohjois-Korean armeijan everstiluutnanttina Kim Yong sai nauttia harvinaisen etuoikeutetusta elämästä. Kaikki muuttui, kun hänet tuomittiin maanpetoksesta. Kuusi pitkää vuotta Kim Yong virui Pohjois-Korean pahimmalla leirillä nro 14 ja koki häikäilemättömän hallinnon julmuuden.
Pohjois-Korean työleireistä on olemassa vain vähän tietoa - harva vanki selviää hengissä, saati pääsee maasta pois. Tässä kirjassa Kim Yong kertoo ensimmäistä kertaa koko tarinansa. Hän paljastaa Pohjois-Korean vaikenemisen muurin taakse kätkeytyvät julmuudet ja kuvaa päivittäistä taistelua ihmisarvon säilyttämiseksi käsittämättömien vaikeuksien keskellä. Tämä harvinaislaatuinen henkilökuva on samalla selviytymistarina ja paljastus sorron, kidutuksen ja ideologisen terrorin synkästä todellisuudesta.
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First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
August 19, 2013
This book was incredible. I was compelled to read it in one sitting and highly recommend it.
A brief moment of comparison:
Escape from Camp 14 is a book I finished fairly recently. Although both of these individuals spent some time in Camp 14 (also in Camp 18 in Kim's case) they are very different. Shin grew up in Camp 14; Kim had spent most of his life living privileged and free in North Korea. Shin had no clue who Kim Il-sung or Kim Jung-il were; Kim was loyal to the point of despair. Both stories are fascinating, tragic, and terrifying. You will want to do something, ANYTHING, once you read these books.
Why did Escape from Camp 14 only merit 3 stars from me, then, while this one merited 5?
After reading this book I can't help but reiterate my problem with Escape from Camp 14. Shin's story is told through the eyes of an American and, though the story remains powerful, there's an element of disconnect that comes with it, bridging on pandering. Long Road Home, however, is written by the man who experienced these things. There's a stark nature to how he relays his story, an almost eerie poetry that makes everything resonate with the reader. Of course some of this is the skill of the writer and the translator, but from seeing clips of Shin speaking, I believe that this same resonance could be felt if Escape from Camp 14 was written by Shin himself. Since Shin did write a small release memoir in South Korea I can only hope that someday it is redistributed and translated so people get to experience his story through his words.
At any rate, I consider this book immensely important for anyone interested in North Korea. Aside from Nothing to Envy, I've never before come across a book that so completely displayed the entirety of the nation's people. Kim is a remarkable individual.
A brief moment of comparison:
Escape from Camp 14 is a book I finished fairly recently. Although both of these individuals spent some time in Camp 14 (also in Camp 18 in Kim's case) they are very different. Shin grew up in Camp 14; Kim had spent most of his life living privileged and free in North Korea. Shin had no clue who Kim Il-sung or Kim Jung-il were; Kim was loyal to the point of despair. Both stories are fascinating, tragic, and terrifying. You will want to do something, ANYTHING, once you read these books.
Why did Escape from Camp 14 only merit 3 stars from me, then, while this one merited 5?
After reading this book I can't help but reiterate my problem with Escape from Camp 14. Shin's story is told through the eyes of an American and, though the story remains powerful, there's an element of disconnect that comes with it, bridging on pandering. Long Road Home, however, is written by the man who experienced these things. There's a stark nature to how he relays his story, an almost eerie poetry that makes everything resonate with the reader. Of course some of this is the skill of the writer and the translator, but from seeing clips of Shin speaking, I believe that this same resonance could be felt if Escape from Camp 14 was written by Shin himself. Since Shin did write a small release memoir in South Korea I can only hope that someday it is redistributed and translated so people get to experience his story through his words.
At any rate, I consider this book immensely important for anyone interested in North Korea. Aside from Nothing to Envy, I've never before come across a book that so completely displayed the entirety of the nation's people. Kim is a remarkable individual.
March 16, 2016
After reading Nothing to Envy, I decided to find other books that are related to lives in North Korea. I chose this book because it is a real account of someone who escaped from a labor camp. I have watched videos, where defectors talked about their personal stories about how they lived and escaped from North Korea, and those videos always leave me crying.
Long Road Home: Testimony of a North Korean Camp Survivor is about Yong Kim's life, and how he escaped from a labor camp in North Korea. There is very little information about the gulags in that country, so this is a very interesting read. This should be a required reading in school.
At first, we get a glimpse of the life Yong Kim used to have. When he was very young, his mother left him in an orphanage with a false identity. I learned that in the 1950s, being in an orphanage was a blessing. They were being treated well, as most of the kids in the orphanage were considered children of "war heroes". Kim Il-sung was known to treat the war orphans as if they were his own children. Without knowledge of the past, Kim grew up, entered the military, and became a high ranking officer that earned foreign currency. He drove an imported car, and has knowledge of the inner workings of the government. He grew up privileged, but ended up in labor camp when he was accused of treason.
There were parts of his story that tore me up; especially when he was tortured endlessly. Imagine being in tremendous pain; pain that won't even let you sleep. Putting you in isolated cage 2 by 2 feet wide, where you can't even lie on your back. but had to keep standing amidst the pain. The rise and fall of Yong Kim inside the clasps on the North Korean government was both interesting as it is devastating.
This was quick read, but I wouldn't say it was easy. I have to warn you that the horrors told in the book are very graphic, but I believe that it was necessary to tell the story accurately. If you are interested in North Korean life, you have to read this book. I wish it were longer, I wanted to know more. If you plan on reading this book, prepare yourself, as it will evoke unwanted emotions. You might even think that this is a work of fiction, but it made me feel horrible that this is real life. #
Long Road Home: Testimony of a North Korean Camp Survivor is about Yong Kim's life, and how he escaped from a labor camp in North Korea. There is very little information about the gulags in that country, so this is a very interesting read. This should be a required reading in school.
At first, we get a glimpse of the life Yong Kim used to have. When he was very young, his mother left him in an orphanage with a false identity. I learned that in the 1950s, being in an orphanage was a blessing. They were being treated well, as most of the kids in the orphanage were considered children of "war heroes". Kim Il-sung was known to treat the war orphans as if they were his own children. Without knowledge of the past, Kim grew up, entered the military, and became a high ranking officer that earned foreign currency. He drove an imported car, and has knowledge of the inner workings of the government. He grew up privileged, but ended up in labor camp when he was accused of treason.
There were parts of his story that tore me up; especially when he was tortured endlessly. Imagine being in tremendous pain; pain that won't even let you sleep. Putting you in isolated cage 2 by 2 feet wide, where you can't even lie on your back. but had to keep standing amidst the pain. The rise and fall of Yong Kim inside the clasps on the North Korean government was both interesting as it is devastating.
This was quick read, but I wouldn't say it was easy. I have to warn you that the horrors told in the book are very graphic, but I believe that it was necessary to tell the story accurately. If you are interested in North Korean life, you have to read this book. I wish it were longer, I wanted to know more. If you plan on reading this book, prepare yourself, as it will evoke unwanted emotions. You might even think that this is a work of fiction, but it made me feel horrible that this is real life. #
July 11, 2009
This is a memoir told by a North Korean escapee who spent his early childhood in privilege, only to be suddenly pulled away and subjected to a labor camp, torture and other atrocities. And who survived. It is a particularly mesmerizing read if you are at all interested in contemporary North Korea. He pulls no punches in describing his life in the labor camps (and if he is pulling his punches, then wow).
The book is largely a transcription of his oral narrative and if you speak Korean you will identify Korean phrasing...but if you don't speak Korean, you'll be fine as well, you'll just miss the oral narrative quality of the prose. The book opens with lyrical prose, almost like a poem...and then as his story hurtles from the Eden-like nature of his childhood toward the labor camps, the voice gets more and more matter of fact, an interesting display of what has happened to his own psyche as his life pares down to just survival.
Totally worth a read for insight into a North Korean life.
The book is largely a transcription of his oral narrative and if you speak Korean you will identify Korean phrasing...but if you don't speak Korean, you'll be fine as well, you'll just miss the oral narrative quality of the prose. The book opens with lyrical prose, almost like a poem...and then as his story hurtles from the Eden-like nature of his childhood toward the labor camps, the voice gets more and more matter of fact, an interesting display of what has happened to his own psyche as his life pares down to just survival.
Totally worth a read for insight into a North Korean life.
February 8, 2011
When Kim Yong was three years old, his father was executed as a spy for the United States. The stigma of the father's guilt would forever limit his son's future, so Kim Yong's mother placed him in an orphanage for war orphans by giving him a false background. He was adopted by a high-ranking political official, entered the military, and eventually became a lieutenant colonel in the North Korean national security police. His job gave him unusual freedom of movement throughout the country, and he encountered corruption at all levels.
He married, had children, and enjoyed access to luxuries others were denied. But when he was recommended for a promotion which required a meticulous background clearance check, his true identity was uncovered. He was imprisoned in two different penal camps over a six year period and forced to do hard labor on a starvation diet until his amazing, narrow escape in 1999.
---My Review---
"Long Road Home" is a biography written by Kim Suk-Young using transcripts of interviews with Kim Yong, but the book is written in first person like a memoir. It was a well-written, amazing story that kept my interest throughout. Kim Yong's story gave insight into many aspects of life in North Korea as well as describing what the penal camps were like and why people were sent there.
The introduction explained how Korea ended up as North and South Korea and other necessarily background information. The first part of the book (up until he got married at age 28) gave a broad overview of that period of his life with only a few, life-changing events told in detail. Afterward, much more detail was given, including graphic descriptions of how bad the suffering was.
There were black and white maps showing his escape route and the location of the two penal labor camps, including satellite maps of the camps. Overall, I'd highly recommend this memoir to those wanting to know more about life in North Korea.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
He married, had children, and enjoyed access to luxuries others were denied. But when he was recommended for a promotion which required a meticulous background clearance check, his true identity was uncovered. He was imprisoned in two different penal camps over a six year period and forced to do hard labor on a starvation diet until his amazing, narrow escape in 1999.
---My Review---
"Long Road Home" is a biography written by Kim Suk-Young using transcripts of interviews with Kim Yong, but the book is written in first person like a memoir. It was a well-written, amazing story that kept my interest throughout. Kim Yong's story gave insight into many aspects of life in North Korea as well as describing what the penal camps were like and why people were sent there.
The introduction explained how Korea ended up as North and South Korea and other necessarily background information. The first part of the book (up until he got married at age 28) gave a broad overview of that period of his life with only a few, life-changing events told in detail. Afterward, much more detail was given, including graphic descriptions of how bad the suffering was.
There were black and white maps showing his escape route and the location of the two penal labor camps, including satellite maps of the camps. Overall, I'd highly recommend this memoir to those wanting to know more about life in North Korea.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
October 12, 2020
I felt like an idiot for having given my life for the Great Leader everyone was brainwashed to believe was a living god.
Kim Yong grew up in an orphanage, a particularly honorable position for a young North Korean. Thought to have been the children of war heroes, orphans enjoyed all the privileges of elevated class distinction. Kim Yong, along with a girl he names "O" are adopted by their supposed real mother and father, only for him to later discover that they are not his real parents. In fact, he later discovers well into his adulthood, after reaping the supposed benefits of this collectivized regime, living in great comfort (as many other suffer), his parents were of the worst background they could possibly be. His father, an American spy during the Korean War. His mother, forging her sons records to protect him. And as everything is hereditary in North Korea when it comes to class, his existence was therefore a crime. His sentence? Detainment, questioning, and deportation to labor camps. And, Thus my life began in hell, from which death was the only escape.
Sent to Camp 14, Kim Yong worked as a miner, some 2,000 feet underground, nearly all daylong. Camp 14 is perhaps the most brutal of the labor camps -- Life at Camp No. 14 could hardly be called a human existence. Everyone was serving a lifetime sentence and immediate death seemed like an enormous blessing. Resorting to eating rats, insects, even leftover food found in animal manure, and sometimes cannibalism, the conditions were subhuman. Yet, unheard of in Camp 14, by nature of some providence, Kim Yong is sent to Camp 18, where he goes on to live with his estranged mother. The conditions, while absolutely atrocious, are better than Camp 14 (and that's not saying much), until he finally manages to escape to China, Mongolia, to South Korea, and finally the US.
Even upon escaping from the worst of the worst in North Korea, Kim Yong maintains some of the indoctrinated ideology so deeply internalized: Ideology was a strange thing--mysteriously addictive and stubbornly unchanging. He takes offense upon hearing an alternate account of the Korean War. He stills writes with a sort of reverence toward the Great Leader. It just goes to show just how deeply entrenched North Korean state ideology is in its citizens.
He ends his memoir on a hopeful, yet sorrowful note: It is still home for me. And yet, that place reminiscent of great joy and terror is still far from sight. Until I set foot there again, the journey continues, forward and backward.
Kim Yong grew up in an orphanage, a particularly honorable position for a young North Korean. Thought to have been the children of war heroes, orphans enjoyed all the privileges of elevated class distinction. Kim Yong, along with a girl he names "O" are adopted by their supposed real mother and father, only for him to later discover that they are not his real parents. In fact, he later discovers well into his adulthood, after reaping the supposed benefits of this collectivized regime, living in great comfort (as many other suffer), his parents were of the worst background they could possibly be. His father, an American spy during the Korean War. His mother, forging her sons records to protect him. And as everything is hereditary in North Korea when it comes to class, his existence was therefore a crime. His sentence? Detainment, questioning, and deportation to labor camps. And, Thus my life began in hell, from which death was the only escape.
Sent to Camp 14, Kim Yong worked as a miner, some 2,000 feet underground, nearly all daylong. Camp 14 is perhaps the most brutal of the labor camps -- Life at Camp No. 14 could hardly be called a human existence. Everyone was serving a lifetime sentence and immediate death seemed like an enormous blessing. Resorting to eating rats, insects, even leftover food found in animal manure, and sometimes cannibalism, the conditions were subhuman. Yet, unheard of in Camp 14, by nature of some providence, Kim Yong is sent to Camp 18, where he goes on to live with his estranged mother. The conditions, while absolutely atrocious, are better than Camp 14 (and that's not saying much), until he finally manages to escape to China, Mongolia, to South Korea, and finally the US.
Even upon escaping from the worst of the worst in North Korea, Kim Yong maintains some of the indoctrinated ideology so deeply internalized: Ideology was a strange thing--mysteriously addictive and stubbornly unchanging. He takes offense upon hearing an alternate account of the Korean War. He stills writes with a sort of reverence toward the Great Leader. It just goes to show just how deeply entrenched North Korean state ideology is in its citizens.
He ends his memoir on a hopeful, yet sorrowful note: It is still home for me. And yet, that place reminiscent of great joy and terror is still far from sight. Until I set foot there again, the journey continues, forward and backward.
July 3, 2025
good story. one thing that stuck me is the truth of North Korea from someone who has fled like Yong kim is very different to what you are led to believe by sources. These sources who would rather focus on how big of a missile north Korea has or even an influencers holiday destination instead of the brutality and slavery citizens
April 22, 2013
I was a bit disappointed when the book ended-- I wanted more information, more detail. I still feel like I have questions about his whole ordeal. That being said, I really enjoyed this (quick) read on both prestige and prison in North Korea. I also recommend The Aquariums of Pyongyang and Nothing to Envy.
October 11, 2024
I read about defectors a lot. Usually, they are millennials. I have read from people a bit older. This account though was more distinct and unique to other novels/memoirs I’ve read. And to have an account from someone who went from orphan to elite to prisoner to defector is so unusual. A compelling store and something that folks who want to learn what the DPRK is capable of should read this.
May 10, 2010
Kim was an ideal North Korean citizen. He had a high post in the government, made a lot of profit, worshiped their leader, put his country above his family and was basically living an ideal life with his wife and 2 kids. Everything was perfect, until it wasn't.
Kim was an orphan and war orphans had an advantage in North Korea as their parents gave their life serving the country. Family background played a very important role in North Korea and even the 2nd and 3rd generations had to pay for something their parents or grandparents did or supposedly did.
Kim's world came crashing down when it was discovered that he was the son of an American spy who was executed by the Government. He was immediately arrested and sent to prison for what his father did, a father whom he did not even remember.
What happened to Kim and possibly many North Koreans was shocking to say the least. I can only question the sanity of someone who can put 2nd and 3rd generation loyalists for something they did not do. I might have understood a demotion but not putting him into one of the countries worst prison.
Kim did manage to escape to South Korea and eventually to the US, but before that he had to spend 6 years in hell. His journey from North Korea to South Korea was nerve breaking. I kept praying they don't catch him even though I knew they don't. The author brings to light the lives North Koreans lived and probably some of them still do under this horrific regime. He wants the world to know what is happening in the closed country.
The author is the only person who escaped Camp 16 and 14 and has lived to tell his story. There are not many books written about North Korea and this one is definitely worth reading.
First posted at http://violetcrush.wordpress.com/2010...
Kim was an orphan and war orphans had an advantage in North Korea as their parents gave their life serving the country. Family background played a very important role in North Korea and even the 2nd and 3rd generations had to pay for something their parents or grandparents did or supposedly did.
Kim's world came crashing down when it was discovered that he was the son of an American spy who was executed by the Government. He was immediately arrested and sent to prison for what his father did, a father whom he did not even remember.
What happened to Kim and possibly many North Koreans was shocking to say the least. I can only question the sanity of someone who can put 2nd and 3rd generation loyalists for something they did not do. I might have understood a demotion but not putting him into one of the countries worst prison.
Kim did manage to escape to South Korea and eventually to the US, but before that he had to spend 6 years in hell. His journey from North Korea to South Korea was nerve breaking. I kept praying they don't catch him even though I knew they don't. The author brings to light the lives North Koreans lived and probably some of them still do under this horrific regime. He wants the world to know what is happening in the closed country.
The author is the only person who escaped Camp 16 and 14 and has lived to tell his story. There are not many books written about North Korea and this one is definitely worth reading.
First posted at http://violetcrush.wordpress.com/2010...
February 2, 2015
Everyone needs to read this book. It is horrifying and sad and what makes it worse (for me) than other books (such as Night by Elie Wiesel) is that these things are happening right now, and nothing is being done to stop it. I feel really guilty/incredibly thankful for growing up in the United States. It's hard to wrap my head around a famine that the government could have controlled, gulags that exist to this day, the eradication of entire families for generations to come just because one person fell out of favor with the dear leader... I can't imagine having to live in that world. The last time Kim Yong saw his family, his children were 5 and 3 years old. My kids are 5 and 3 and it was really hard to read that his wife and kids most likely (if they are still alive) live in a camp and will for the rest of their lives.
Just read the book.
Just read the book.
May 29, 2013
Told in a matter-of-fact way, this is one man's account of life in North Korea. The author battles his way up from an orphanage to military school and onto a prestigious career full of devotion to the regime. However, when the government uncovers a flaw in his lineage, he is stripped of his honourable position and is sent to a gulag, presumably for the rest of his life. He has survived to tell his story, but his body and mind are scarred with trauma and guilt. Brutally honest, this is yet more evidence of severe human rights abuses in North Korea.
June 6, 2013
An interesting perspective on the North Korean concentration camps, this time from a former member of the elite whose background had been hidden when his mother put him in an orphanage. I was especially touched by his mother's sacrifice in the hopes that her son would never suffer for his "anti-revolutionary background" (it's not a spoiler, that's obvious from the title). The only reason I took away a star is because the writing style vacillated so wildly - from flowery poems to straightforward journalism. This made the book feel fragmented, rather than a single person's story.
March 13, 2014
Compelling story, difficult to imagine, hard to forget. A reality so surreal you read it in a near stupor. The horrors of what he could relate is surpassed in my mind only by what he could not -- such as what happened to his wife, his children, even those who helped him see a freedom they no doubt never will. Heartrending. It's stories such as these that make novels like "The Orphan Master's Son" unforgivable. There are people living unfathomable lives. To endeavor to fictionalize and tell their story for them is criminal.
October 31, 2022
A powerful memoir by a North Korean defector. Kim Yong grew up in elite privilege in North Korea, a war orphan adopted by a high-ranking family. He enjoyed a successful career in the Army until a promotion prompted a deeper investigation of his background, where it was found that his father spied for the Americans during the Korean War. His mother had placed him in an orphanage, hoping to cover up his “shameful” background. Kim ends up in a brutal prison camp, and eventually manages a harrowing and dangerous escape.
January 8, 2016
Another sobering account from North Korea. Conditions in labour camps continue to beggar belief, and Yong's dramatic flip from Lieutenant Colonel to prisoner is heartbreaking and chilling.
Because his story was collaborated with a fellow Korean, I found the narrative more factual and stoic than the more emotionally-charged style of "Escape from Camp 14".
Because his story was collaborated with a fellow Korean, I found the narrative more factual and stoic than the more emotionally-charged style of "Escape from Camp 14".
January 28, 2019
What a story!! Makes me sick that this is still going on today.
April 4, 2023
I have very mixed feelings about this one. While it does offer a rare glimpse of the lives of privileged elites in Pyongyang and his escape from the country is fascinating, Kim Yong is an odd fellow. It's definitely worth reading if you're curious about North Korean hard labor sites like Camp 14, though unfortunately not much else in the book is described near as vividly.
Of course under the circumstances, many real names cannot be used in effort to protect families that still live in North Korea. The only problem is that Kim simply calls many people random letters; A, B, C, M, S, etc. I kept having to flip back pages to remember which letter was which vague description of a person, random names would have been easier to swing with.
Then you have some early details about Kim that I wasn't very impressed with. For one, his pregnant wife falling off a chair could have been avoided if he just cleaned the stupid picture of Kim Il-Sung himself. Or maybe even convinced her to hang the picture lower? Then later he "accidentally" throws his crying baby through a glass window in the kitchen because he was "rocking too hard". Yeah right, bro.
With that in mind, reading of his escape often made me skeptical. Although Kim was hardly the first or last to flee North Korea through Mongolia, much of the lucky breaks he got struck me as peculiar. Any more details in that direction would probably qualify as spoilers, so I'll leave it there.
This book isn't very long because it isn't super detailed up until things start going badly, then it moves very quickly. This isn't necessarily a negative because it reads like the clarity of memories and doesn't feel overpolished. Is it possible Kim has altered some details? I think so, whether to protect North Koreans linked to him and "L", or because it's healthier for Kim to remember certain things a certain way. People will unpack it differently.What it does do well is demonstrate how suddenly living conditions in North Korea can deteriorate and how harshly offspring are held accountable for their parents' "crimes". His emotional disconnection with his biological mother is particularly grim. I just found some details of his escape unlikely. Frankly, it's a miracle he wasn't arrested given some of the utterly stupid mistakes he made. Though perhaps it's just crazy enough to be true. Your opinion of this book will hinge heavily on that.
Of course under the circumstances, many real names cannot be used in effort to protect families that still live in North Korea. The only problem is that Kim simply calls many people random letters; A, B, C, M, S, etc. I kept having to flip back pages to remember which letter was which vague description of a person, random names would have been easier to swing with.
Then you have some early details about Kim that I wasn't very impressed with. For one, his pregnant wife falling off a chair could have been avoided if he just cleaned the stupid picture of Kim Il-Sung himself. Or maybe even convinced her to hang the picture lower? Then later he "accidentally" throws his crying baby through a glass window in the kitchen because he was "rocking too hard". Yeah right, bro.
With that in mind, reading of his escape often made me skeptical. Although Kim was hardly the first or last to flee North Korea through Mongolia, much of the lucky breaks he got struck me as peculiar. Any more details in that direction would probably qualify as spoilers, so I'll leave it there.
This book isn't very long because it isn't super detailed up until things start going badly, then it moves very quickly. This isn't necessarily a negative because it reads like the clarity of memories and doesn't feel overpolished. Is it possible Kim has altered some details? I think so, whether to protect North Koreans linked to him and "L", or because it's healthier for Kim to remember certain things a certain way. People will unpack it differently.What it does do well is demonstrate how suddenly living conditions in North Korea can deteriorate and how harshly offspring are held accountable for their parents' "crimes". His emotional disconnection with his biological mother is particularly grim. I just found some details of his escape unlikely. Frankly, it's a miracle he wasn't arrested given some of the utterly stupid mistakes he made. Though perhaps it's just crazy enough to be true. Your opinion of this book will hinge heavily on that.
September 19, 2023
This book is rare survivor testimony of what is happening in North Korea. As such it is very difficult to read. It starts out with about half the book being his life before he was incarcerated but even then there was famine and an unloving mother. So it's certainly not an easy book to read. Nonetheless, I think it was a good book to read to teach you about what is happening in parts of the world where no one is as fortunate as almost everyone in America. Yong Kim did not spend a lot of words telling his story. It's only about 180 pages long. But he talks about his childhood and how loyal and brainwashed he was by the North Korean government. Yet he ends with his desire to go back and see his wife and kids (who are almost certainly in prison camps themselves since entire families got punished for the transgressions of any one person). He ends the book before he gets asylum anywhere, but with the idea that he might in the US. That's a little annoying and I felt like he might want to wait a year to publish until he gets permission to stay somewhere. But other than that it felt like a very honest account of a horrid situation.
June 30, 2018
I couldn't put this book down.
It tells the story of a child who grew up in an orphanage until he was 9 or so when is "real mother" finally "found" him at the orphanage. Then he grew up in the lap of privilege in North Korea until his true parentage is revealed - his father fought against North Korea.
North Korea holds entire families responsible for one person's crime, so the author was immediately whisked away to a labor/death camp despite having no memory of ever having met his father.
His story is a harrowing one full of hunger, despair, and sheer dumb luck. He is able to escape the camp, sneak out of North Korea, sneak out of China, and finally reach safety in Mongolia with the help of missionaries and sympathetic border guards. All of this is happening more or less present day.
It's a quick read, and a shocking one when read from the comfort of your house in a country where nothing bad will happen to you if you criticize the government. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about the world they live in.
It tells the story of a child who grew up in an orphanage until he was 9 or so when is "real mother" finally "found" him at the orphanage. Then he grew up in the lap of privilege in North Korea until his true parentage is revealed - his father fought against North Korea.
North Korea holds entire families responsible for one person's crime, so the author was immediately whisked away to a labor/death camp despite having no memory of ever having met his father.
His story is a harrowing one full of hunger, despair, and sheer dumb luck. He is able to escape the camp, sneak out of North Korea, sneak out of China, and finally reach safety in Mongolia with the help of missionaries and sympathetic border guards. All of this is happening more or less present day.
It's a quick read, and a shocking one when read from the comfort of your house in a country where nothing bad will happen to you if you criticize the government. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about the world they live in.
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November 27, 2019
"In North Korea, everyone knows that a labor camp is a place where life is suspended. One does not live there, one slowly dies there. I was simply another dead soul in Camp 14."
-very much enjoyed this account of a North Korean defector
-I think it's so crucial that we continue to provide a space for defectors to share their story with the public. The hardships, torture, and blatant abuse that occurs to innocent people is terrifying.
-I've read the book about the only other Camp 14 survivor to escape (Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West) and it's truly difficult to read their stories because they have suffered things I truly cannot imagine.
-very much enjoyed this account of a North Korean defector
-I think it's so crucial that we continue to provide a space for defectors to share their story with the public. The hardships, torture, and blatant abuse that occurs to innocent people is terrifying.
-I've read the book about the only other Camp 14 survivor to escape (Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West) and it's truly difficult to read their stories because they have suffered things I truly cannot imagine.
March 9, 2019
This was a FABULOUS book about a high-ranking North Korean official who because of a background check into his family, he was banished to a labor camp for 6 long years. At the risk to his life, he was able to escape the camp, but endured MANY hardships until he found freedom.
The reason he was imprisoned was because of a father (that he never knew) who was a spy for the U.S. government after the Korean war.
This book was a easy to follow story and not wasn't very long. (Which was nice) It wasn't drawn out but straight to the point and gave us a clearer picture of life in North Korea in the 1970-1990's. What a sad situation for North Korean citizens who want to leave their country, but simply can't.
The reason he was imprisoned was because of a father (that he never knew) who was a spy for the U.S. government after the Korean war.
This book was a easy to follow story and not wasn't very long. (Which was nice) It wasn't drawn out but straight to the point and gave us a clearer picture of life in North Korea in the 1970-1990's. What a sad situation for North Korean citizens who want to leave their country, but simply can't.
February 21, 2018
Unlike several other books I have read that were written by North Korean defectors, Long Road Home by Yong Kim provides a much broader look at North Korean society because he lived many years as part of the privileged elite. After he was denounced, he was sent to some of the worst prison camps for six years before he escaped, making his way through China, Mongolia, South Korea, and eventually the United States with tremendous help from friends. Another eye-opener to read, at times it reads like a suspense novel. It gives us just a glimpse inside the most secretive and tightly controlled regimes in the world. Recommended for anyone and everyone.
May 27, 2017
Shocking and sad story that reveals the unbelievable horrors and illogical tyranny the people of North Korea have to suffer. This book is more interesting than Every Falling Star, due to the subject's higher rank in the North Korean hierarchy. The fascinating contrast between his earlier years of (relative) luxury and privilege and his years of horrible abuse and eventual escape create a more thorough understanding of the various levels of North Korean society.
September 5, 2017
A very base an confronting tale of the extreme an unimaginable that is North Korea. To go from elite to gulag left scars to the core that would make Yang's physical deformities look like kitten scratches. What an amazing story of human spirit where even when someone does everything absolutely right, the genuine love and devotion bestowed on the evil, paranoid leader can result in the most unspeakable tortures.
April 19, 2024
Tough to get into at first as the forward is very dry and sterile, but Kim's retelling of his situation in North Korea takes off once he recounts his adult life. Other accounts of life and escape from North Korea are much more novelistic starts but this is a story purely of escape which hits different in comparison to something like the Aquariums of Pyongyang in which Kang was released. Very good read overall.
October 19, 2021
Normally I wouldn’t rate a memoir, because what right do I have to do it? But I really wanted to mark the impact it had on me. The intro and the ending strike with beautiful writing. If you’re interested in North Korea or totalitarian countries and their crimes, I highly recommend. But do proceed with caution.
February 10, 2020
I never really warmed to this book, unlike some other North Korean survivor stories I've read.
That said, it was a straightforward read with simple language, its simplicity highlighting the perils that escapees face.
That said, it was a straightforward read with simple language, its simplicity highlighting the perils that escapees face.
February 27, 2025
This is a good book. Very short but good read. Very well written and organized. I like every thing about the book. I like reading books about escapes from north korea and this is one of the best. Highly recommend, and I only give out a few 5 stars a year.
August 10, 2017
Amazingly detailed account of North Korean prison camps and the striking difference in experience between those favored or disfavored by the political administration.
August 26, 2020
Brilliant need I say more.
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