The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story

by Hyeonseo Lee, David John (Contributor)

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 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.

She could not return, since rumours of her escape were spreading, and she and her family could incur the punishments of the government authorities – involving imprisonment, torture, and possible public execution. Hyeonseo instead remained in China and rapidly learned Chinese in an effort to adapt and survive. Twelve years and two lifetimes later, she would return to the North Korean border in a daring mission to spirit her mother and brother to South Korea, on one of the most arduous, costly and dangerous journeys imaginable.

This is the unique story not only of Hyeonseo’s escape from the darkness into the light, but also of her coming of age, education and the resolve she found to rebuild her life – not once, but twice – first in China, then in South Korea. Strong, brave and eloquent, this memoir is a triumph of her remarkable spirit.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Book Club, Biography, History, Asia, Audiobook

320 pages, ebook

First published October 14, 2014

About the author

"Hyeonseo Lee brought the human consequences of global inaction on North Korea to the world's doorstep.... Against all odds she escaped, survived, and had the courage to speak out."

--Samantha Power, U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations

Reviews

[Hyeonseo Lee]

Thanks to everyone who voted in the 2015 ‪#‎GoodreadsChoice‬ Awards. Of course, I was hoping to win, but I'm still honored that I came in 4th place out of many good books.


Wow!!! I never thought my memoir would make it to the FINAL round of the 2015 ‪#‎GoodreadsChoice‬ Award. Only ten books are left. Thank you so much to everyone who has read my book and supported me.

https://www.goodreads.com/choiceaward...


A huge honor.
‪ The Girl With Seven Names‬ is nominated for a ‪#‎GoodreadsChoice‬
Award for Best Memoir & Autobiography! THANK YOU to all
incredible The Girl With Seven Names readers who made
this possible. *cries* *dances*
Thank you to everyone who has voted or is planning to vote!


https://www.goodreads.com/choiceaward...

[Sung Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Disclosure: I am a South Korean and I have encountered with a number of readings, TED-talks, Youtube videos on life in North Korea, testimonies of North Korean defectors on horrific lives in our neighbor country. However, I found this book intriguing, unique and inspiring.

What Hyeonseo offers in this book is quite different from other N.Korean defector's story. She's from a family with high class, had a relatively comfortable life to North Korean standard, and did not leave her country and family with the intention of never going back and in search for freedom. It is the realities of the ruthless, harsh regime that twists her path back to her country and she is thrown into a new universe where she had to make her own way. With more candor than emotion, she tells how she found the new world with freedom was also a world full of challenges and hardships, and how she navigated them to find her way through and found her identity as herself.

This book is also unique in a way it tells N. Koreans life in free countries can be challenging and not as rosy as many may simply imagine. How profound the propaganda is engraved in people's mind and perspectives, now the capitalistic life can be menacing, and how the sudden exposure to this unknown terrain could be as dangerous as to most defectors. All important topics and questions that deserve more attention among people in South Korea as host nations and be discussed to find better answers.

All in all, I think this book is a must read. Whether you want to 1)learn about the world's most ruthless dictatorship regime and how it systematically abuse its power for the benefits of the few and most people suffer not knowing life could be different elsewhere, 2) like to be inspired by a young woman who had the strength to navigate through series of life-changing, often life-threatening challenges, preserve the belief in herself and love for family, reunite with her family and herself in the end. Believe it or not, you will find both when you finish this book.

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In North Korea the only laws that truly matter, and for which extreme penalties are imposed if they are broken, touch on loyalty to the Kim dynasty."

Stunning. Absolutely stunning.

Hyeonseo Lee grew up as a loyal and happy citizen of North Korea - the greatest country on earth.

Lee grew up believing that her leaders were gods - that they can be in two places at once, that stars appeared in the sky when they were born, that they (single-handedly) led their people to victory.

Sure, food was a bit scarce and there was always the danger of informers, but westerners were starving in the streets and US soldiers used South Korean children as target practice.

The older she grew, the more those beliefs began to crash around her.

"One of the tragedies of North Korea is that everyone wears a mask, which they let slip at their peril."

Thanks to her mother's smuggling business, Lee was exposed to Chinese goods, fashion and Korean music.

All these things were deeply puzzling - if North Korea was the greatest, then how could these other countries produce such things.

"Kindness toward strangers is rare in North Korea. There is risk in helping others. The irony was that by forcing us to be good citizens, the state made accusers and informers of us all."

When she turned seventeen, Lee decides that she will cross over to China - just once - to see what it was like...only for her brief trip to turn into a decade-long journey.

She could never return but with rumors circling that her family is in jeopardy, Lee knows that she will have to go back...and get everyone she can out.

"This is when I understood that we can do without almost anything – our home, even our country. But we will never do without other people, and we will never do without family."

I am absolutely blown away - and completely disgusted - with the way North Korea is.

Reading about her struggles and what she overcame was riveting.

I just can't get over how terrible her life was and the emotional upheaval she went through to get out.

It is one thing to read the bland newspaper headlines or news hosts reading off their prompts and it is completely a different thing to read a personal struggle.

Her writing was unapologetically honest and portrayed a heartfelt depiction of her personal battles.

Lee's life was truly amazing - I cannot do it justice.

Audiobook Comments
Read by Josie Dunn - who gave it just the right tone and inflection. Beautifully read.

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

[Dem · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting story and its so hard to believe that in this day and age that a whole nation of 25.5 Million people could be so cut off from the rest of the world and its leader could controll and dictate everything about peoples lives from birth to death.
I had read a couple of books on North Korea over the years and came across The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story and another book which I felt were both worth reading.

This book is easy to read and Hyeonseo Lee is certainly a lady with a lot of courage and if you enjoy reading about different culture and traditions then this is interesting and a great insight into one young woman's struggle to gain freedom. I watched a couple of you tube clips of this lady giving talks and she certainly is an inspiring and interesting woman and her book is an excellent insight into life under one of the world's most ruthless and secretive dictatorships.

There were times in the story where I struggled with the authors choices and found myself wondering why she made some of the crazy choices she did and yet the more I though about it the more I realised she wasn't brought up as I was where making choices is something I take for granted, in her world life is dictated to you and you dont get to crave your own path in life so therefore choices and decisions must be very difficult to make when its never been part of your life.

Each chapter ends in a sort of cliff hanger which I found a little bit pointless as the book didn't need to be written in this format as the story is so compelling in itself but its only a small thing and doesnt take a way from the book.
The one thing this book really brought to light is just how confusing and challenging life in the free world can be for those who make the journey and the guilt and worry over family left behind.
An easy and insightful read and I think this would make a wonderful bookclub read for those looking for something a little different.

[Tina Haigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My name is Hyeonseo Lee."

In all honesty, this book is a light read compared to other tales of leaving North Korea. The author must be one of the luckiest people alive; I can't imagine it going that well for anyone else. It makes for one of those harrowing stories that stresses you out (but only a little) because you know it turns out all right in the end.

I am not, by any means, trying to downplay her experience; it must've been terrifying. Personally, I would've been an absolute wreck--caught and thrown in a prison cell certainly. The fact that she made it out is extraordinary, and is undoubtedly due to her amazing resourcefulness, intelligence, and inner strength. Unfortunately, it was her selfishness, impatience, and poor judgment that got her and her family into the whole mess to begin with.

While I understand that this was life or death for her, I struggled the most with how she was willing to hurt, use, or bring shame upon others for her own personal gain. I also felt a strong emotional disconnect between her words and the horrendous events she experienced, which I'm guessing was cultural due to her being raised to either hide or control her emotions. Ultimately, I spent the book torn between being angry at her for risking everyone's wellbeing, and feeling empathy, because who wouldn't want to get out from underneath oppression that severe.

I would say that this is worth a read, especially if you don't know much about North Korea and the horrors happening there. It's particularly useful if your heart can't handle any of the gorier or more traumatizing stories others have experienced, but the subject matter still interests you.

"She would surely also have been astounded, as Brian and I were, to see her asking a waitress, in English, for another cup of coffee, and humming to herself, gazing across the sunlit canyon of skyscrapers, completely at her ease."

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyeonseo Lee

This is the true story of Hyeonseo Lee, a young woman whose escape from North Korea to South Korea - by way of China - was a daring and dangerous adventure. During her extended journey, Hyeonseo had to deal with liars, thieves, extortionists, and gangsters, some of whom were crooked cops/guards and some of whom were government personnel. But Hyeonseo was also assisted by extraordinarily kind souls, including friends, relatives, and a VERY generous stranger.

Hyeonseo grew up in northernmost North Korea, in Hyesan - a small city right across the Yalu River from China.


North Korea abuts eastern China


The city of Hyesan is across the Yalu River from China


Residents of Hyesan wash their clothes in the Yalu River, and can see China right across the way

Hyeonseo's family was fairly well-to-do; her father traveled to China for business and her mother brokered goods between China and North Korea - a job that required myriad contacts and bribes.

Like everyone in North Korea, Hyeonseo's family was indoctrinated into believing their country was the best place on Earth and the Supreme Leader was a god. In fact children thought the Supreme Leader didn't even sleep or urinate.




Supreme Leader Kim Il-sung was the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994

As part of their brainwashing, North Koreans were taught that South Korea was steeped in poverty; South Korean people were depraved; South Korea started the Korean War (North Korea started it); and western nations - especially the United States - were evil incarnate.



Other areas of education were equally poor, and adolescent Hyeonseo thought she could get pregnant by holding hands with a boy.

Because Hyeonseo's parents did profitable work and were loyal citizens, they had good 'songbun' - a status determined by the political, social, and economic background of oneself, one's direct ancestors, and the behavior of one's relatives. Good songbun confers access to better education, better jobs, and more food, while bad songbun can lead to hardship and deprivation. Thus, since all North Koreans (including children) are taught to spy on their neighbors and report any wrongdoing, everyone is concerned about their freedom, lives, and songbun.

After Hyeonseo's father died her mother had to support the family, so mom took a government job to supplement her income from trading. Things went pretty well until the Soviet Union collapsed in the late 1980s. Reduction in Soviet food exports led to famine and starvation in North Korea, and - though Hyeonseo's family was able to trade for food - Hyeonseo saw terrible sights during this time, like skeletal parents and children starving in the streets.


The collapse of the Soviet Union led to famine in North Korea

The food shortage was blamed on South Korea, which is North Korea's favorite scapegoat for their problems.

Living right across from China, which was a few meters away, was too much of a temptation for Hyeonseo. So in 1995, when she was seventeen, Hyeonseo put on her best dress shoes, sneaked away from her mom, and - with the help of a friendly border guard - walked across the frozen Yalu River to China. Hyeonseo only planned to visit a distant aunt and uncle for a few days, but she never returned to North Korea.

Hyeonseo's first mistake was miscalculating how far away her relatives lived. During her first stop across the border, at the home of family friends, Hyeonseo learned her relatives in Shenyang were hundreds of miles away.


Shenyang is hundreds of miles from Hyesan

Since a train trip, with Chinese guards checking identification papers, would be too risky, one of the family friends took Hyeonseo to her kin by taxi....a ride of eight hours. Once there, Hyeonseo was told the North Korean authorities had learned she was 'missing' and her return would result in questioning and possibly torture and prison.....not to mention wrecking the family's songbun.

So, with the help of her aunt and uncle, Hyeonseo remained in China, hiding her identity and learning Mandarin. After a couple of years Hyeonseo's aunt and uncle arranged an engagement to a weak-willed Chinese mama's boy who played video games all day long. Hyeonseo couldn't abide the thought of marrying this loser and being under his mother's thumb, so she ran away without even leaving a note for her relatives or fiancé. Years later Hyeonseo called to apologize for the hurt and humiliation she'd caused.

After Hyeonseo left her aunt and uncle, she spent the next decade moving around China. Hyeonseo worked at a series of bad (even dangerous) jobs; pretended to be Korean-Chinese; and continually changed her name. Hyeonseo lived in constant fear of exposure, since being caught would result in immediate deportation back to North Korea.


North Korean agents in China report on countrymen who sneak over the border

Hyeonseo is candid about her stay in China, writing about her apartments, jobs, and friends, as well as the gangs and thieves that target illegals like herself.

After a time Hyeonseo managed to get a false Chinese identity, which increased her safety in the country. She also met a rich handsome South Korean businessman who worked in China. The couple embarked on a serious relationship, and Hyeonseo hoped for a marriage proposal. To make this more likely, and because she's an ethnic Korean, Hyeonseo decided to make her way to South Korea and ask for asylum. This was an audacious enterprise that required cleverness and nerve.

South Korea was a HUGE surprise to Hyeonseo, During her stay in China Hyeonseo had learned that South Korea wasn't the poor slum filled with demons depicted by her government, but - like other North Koreans - she didn't REALLY believe it. Thus Hyeonseo was shocked by the freedom and wealth of South Korea, especially the ubiquity of cars.


Hyeonseo was surprised by the wealth of South Korea

When Hyeonseo saw autos in a South Korean movie or soap opera, she thought all the cars in the country were brought to the set for that scene. Instead, South Korea is chock full of automobiles. 😊

To her dismay, Hyeonseo also found that South Koreans were intensely competitive and class-minded, and she was low on the totem pole due to her lack of a university degree.


South Korea is a very competitive society

So Hyeonseo devised a plan to go to school and become a professional, hoping her boyfriend's parents would allow him to marry her.

In the meantime, Hyeonseo - who'd been pining for her mother and brother since she left home - hatched a plan to bring her family to South Korea. This complicated scheme - which involved scheming, bribery, danger, crossing thousands of miles of China, entering Laos, and getting to the South Korean embassy - is narrated in minute detail.


The journey from Hyesan, across China, to Laos is long (and dangerous for defectors)

At one point Hyeonseo's mother and brother were imprisoned in Laos, and it was then that a complete stranger - a hiker from Australia named Dick Stolp - gave Hyeonseo thousands of dollars to get them out.


Hyeonseo Lee with her mother and brother


Hyeonseo Lee reunited with Australian good Samaritan Dick Stolp

One sad truth I learned from the book is that many North Koreans who escape to South Korea feel like fish out of water. Rather than being ecstatically happy, they long for their homes, friends, and relatives - and would even return to live under the repressive regime of their home country.

Though things didn't turn out exactly as Hyeonseo had hoped, she has a happy ending - with a western husband and a bright future.


Hyeonseo Lee and her husband Brian Gleason


Brian Gleason

Hyeonseo Lee has a fascinating story to tell, and provides interesting tidbits about North Korea, China, and South Korea. In truth though, Hyeonseo's life in North Korea was relatively privileged, and I didn't get the details about the horrors of the regime I'd hoped for. That said, this is an excellent story, highly recommended.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this but I also feel like she made a lot of really incredibly dumb choices that really made no sense. For example she stayed with relatives in China for 2 whole years (!!!) and didn't think of maybe using that time to get a job to save money, or to learn a vocation? Then she runs away penniless on the spur of the moment and has no plan of what to do. You had 2 years to think about it and relied on the kindness of distant relatives to support you, but you didn't think ahead of what to do next??

She seemed really naive in general, especially when she constantly turned to brokers for help, even though she clearly says again and again she didn't trust them. She was incredibly lucky and fortunate to have people around her who had a lot of money to constantly bail her out and those connections clearly helped her.

Also the fact that she didn't even know at first that people were starving in the 90s in N. Korea and she was eating meat daily, makes it clear that she lived a very insulated life there, and probably had a very different experience from the average N. Korean. I'd really love to know her mother's story, because to be honest, she sounds like a much tougher cookie than her daughter, cleverly supporting her 2 children and getting them through famine as a single mother. Wow, hats off to her!

I did enjoy this book because I'm fascinated with any books from N. Korean defectors in general, but my sympathies with her were limited. I'm glad she got out, and that she was able to help her family as well, but this is probably not the experience of most N. Korean defectors. I do wish her all the best and hope more people learn about what is going on in N. Korea.

[Sarah Far · Rating 4 out of 5]

- تنها یک نفر از حقوق بشر بهره‌مند است و از آن لذت می‌برد، و آن کسی نیست جز رهبر کیم

- رهبر تنها فردی در کرهٔ‌شمالی است که از آزادی عقیده، آزادی بیان و آزادی عمل بهره‌مند است.

- رهبر این حق را دارد بدون محاکمه شکنجه،محبوس و حتی اعدام نشود.

- رهبر حق دارد که بهترین مواد غذایی و مراقبت‌های بهداشتی در اختیارش باشد.

- اکثر شعرهایی که سر کلاس می‌خواندیم در مورد متحد کردن کُره بود

- هیچ انسان معمولی اهل کرهٔ شمالی اجازه ندارد به خارج سفر کند، چه برسد به مهاجرت

- این وضعیت‌ها، تنها بخشی از زندگی در سرزمین کرهٔ‌شمالی است.



آستانه‌ی تحمل انسان چقدر است و چقدر می‌تواند با شکنجه به پست‌ترین موجود تبدیل شود اما هنوز بداند که انسان است.
شاید همین جرقه، که انسان تفکر دارد و می‌تواند تغییر کند، باعث تغییراتی در جهان و انقلاب‌هایی شده.
اما قرعه رنج به نام چه کسی است؟

عشق‌هایی که در اسارت هستند و یا بخاطر بدنامی کشورت که تا ابد با توست به سرانجام نمیرسد و آزادی که تعریفش تغییر می‌کند.
آیا آزادی آن چیزیست که ما در کشور خود و یا کشورهای دیگر می‌بینیم؟


من همیشه فکر میکنم که نیاز ما به آموزش
همیشه ضروری و لازم‌الاجراست.

حتی از کوچکترین چیزها مانند احساس، تفکر انتقادی، بیان عقیده‌ی درست، عمل درست و... داریم و امروز فهمیدم تنها سواد کافی نیست. حتی اگر بالاترین مدارج داشته باشید ولی آموزش برای بهتر زندگی کردن ندیده باشید و یا تمرین نکرده باشید، آن مدرک به هیچ کارتان نمی‌آید.

سلین می‌گوید: حتی بدبختی هم فقط خوش آب و رنگش خریدار دارد

هر کسی مانند این دختر خوش‌شانس نیست، پدرت در کودکی به تو زبان چینی بیاموزد که از آن متنفری ولی در بحرانی‌ترین لحظات زندگیت به کمکت بیاید. مادری تاجر که غیر قانونی تجارت میکرد و انسانی با درک کافی و به هر نگهبان و افسری رشوه میداد،چیزی که در کره شمالی مرسوم است.
ولی همه پولدارند؟ همه شانس آموختن زبان دیگری دارند؟
مسلما نه. به همین خاطر خیلی‌ها برای رسیدن به آزادی و سرکوب نشدن روح انسانی جان خود را از دست دادند.

به تیتر کتاب نیکوس کازانتزاکیس فکر میکنم:
آزادی یا مرگ

کدام انتخاب ماست؟

[Darryl Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

North Korea, a country less than a fifth the size of Texas, is probably the most secretive, yet most fascinating country on the planet. According to the CIA’s World Fact Sheet, it is one of the world’s most centrally directed and least open economies which faces stagnation, underinvestment and chronic shortages, largely as a result of large-scale missile and nuclear programs. Human rights abuses are rife and every aspect of the North Korean’s life is monitored and organised by The State. They are spoon fed propaganda and shielded from outside news and information, so that, according to their keepers, they are the most privileged people on earth. Freedom of movement outside the country is severely restricted, reminiscent of that line in The Eagles’ song, Hotel California: “You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.” So when someone does “check out” – unlawfully -- it’s a big deal. Hyeonseo Lee (her seventh name) checked out. Her autobiography, "The Girl With Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story" explains how. A New York Times bestseller, the book gives an extraordinary insight into one of the world’s most ruthless dictatorships; at the same time it chronicles the author’s harrowing journey from her humble home near the Chinese border, through China, Laos, and South Korea, being forced to double back at times, helping her family -- her mother and brother -- to escape as well. It was a journey that took years in circumstances that would probably lead most people to give up or even take their own lives. Assisted by David John, Hyeonseo Lee has written a masterful, gripping story that will have its readers turning pages as quickly as they would a fast paced thriller. It is a remarkable story by a remarkable lady.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like this book explains a lot about Koreans. I often say we are a small but mighty country, and that’s exactly what the author is. What a story! So much she and her family has had to endure…I hope they find it to be a happy one in the end.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Hyeonseo Lee’s memoir is her courageous and emotional story of growing up in the reclusive dictatorship of North Korea, how she became a defector, the struggles of surviving in a world hostile to North Koreans, and how she finally reconciled her new life with her heritage. Today, Lee is one of the most well-known defectors, and she speaks all over the world about her native country.

At seven years old Hyeonseo Lee saw her first public execution. “Several soldiers were standing about, stony-faced, with rifles on their backs. The people watching were still and quiet, as if this were some sort of ceremony. . . . The scene confused me because people were watching but no one was moving and no one was helping the man.” Although she describes her childhood as a happy one, it was full of things typically experienced only in nightmares. Routine public executions were common, and elementary school classes were canceled so the children could attend.

In addition to the never-ending fear of imprisonment and execution, Lee and other North Koreans struggled continually to find enough to eat. When subsidies from the former Soviet Union ceased, her country was thrust into deep famine, and extreme hunger, as she recalls, drove people to unthinkable acts: “We heard that an elderly man had killed a child and put the cooked meat into soup. He sold it at a market canteen, where it was eaten by eager diners.”

Despite these frightening and horrific conditions, Lee grew up believing her nation to be the greatest on earth. She still says that North Korea is her country, she loves it, and misses it very much. How can this be? One reason, she discovers, is that “freedom—real freedom, in which your life is what you make of it and the choices are your own—can be terrifying.” She writes, “Even for those who have suffered unimaginably there and have escaped hell, life in the free world can be so challenging that many struggle to come to terms with it and find happiness. A small number of them even give up, and return to live in that dark place, as I was tempted to do many times.” Eventually, Lee did find meaning in her new life, and she does see a future for herself, but I will let you discover how when you pick up this outstanding memoir.

A day will come when North Korea changes, and people will read this book to learn about a very dark time in world history. But it’s not history: the things Lee writes about are still happening at this very moment—today—and that’s what makes it mandatory and captivating reading. The Girl with Seven Names kept such a strong grasp on my attention that I stayed up all night to finish it. – Andrew S.

[Peiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب سرگذشت و خاطرات یک دختره در مورد فرار از کره‌ی شمالی. در ابتدا با معرفی خانواده و پدر و مادر شروع میشه، بعد به مقررات و رفتارهای حکومت در کره‌ی شمالی میپردازه، بعد نحوه‌ی فرار و پس از اون نحوه‌ی زندگی پس از فرار در چین و کره‌ی جنوبی. داستان روایت ساده و روانی داره اما شما اگه کتاب دیگه‌ای در این مورد خونده باشید، چیز بیشتری برای گفتن نداره. در کل کتاب‌هایی که به این موضوع پرداختند به نظر میاد یک قالب مشخصی دارند، ابتدا در مورد سختی‌ها و قوانین کره‌ی شمالی، بعد در مورد عبور از مرز، و در نهایت مخفی شدن در چین و پیدا کردن راهی برای پناهنده شدن به کره‌ی جنوبی و روایت سختی زندگی در کره‌ی جنوبی به خاطر تفاوت شدید نحوه‌ی زندگی و این اتفاقات جدای از اینکه شخص نویسنده کی باشه خیلی شبیه به همه. یه جمله‌ی جالب در این کتاب نقل قول میشه که خیلی تلخ اما حقیته، اینکه: «رژیمی که تمایل دارد افراد زیادی را بکشد تا در راس قدرت بماند، احتمالاً مدت زیادی حکومت خواهد کرد.»ه

[Repellent Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acabo de terminar esta gran historia y los últimos capítulos me han sometido a una tensión increíble. Hyeonseo Lee, va a narrarnos en estas casi 400 páginas la historia de su vida.

De niña creció en Hyesan, Corea del Norte, nación que le habían dicho ser la mejor del planeta. Acostumbrados a vivir adorando al Emperador Kim y a toda su dinastía, al que creían un ser superior, capaz de controlar incluso el clima. Poco a poco, tras la muerte del emperador, su hijo se hará con el mando y el país caerá en una terrible hambruna. Hyeonseo empezará a preguntarse como puede morirse de hambre el país más grande del mundo. Estas dudas la llevaran a buscar respuestas y las encontrará, pasando ilegalmente la frontera con China.

Me ha parecido un libro increíble. Un viaje maravilloso donde conoceremos a Hyeonseo,y su gran valor para cambiar el rumbo de su vida. Conoceremos como viven los norcoreanos, como aman su patria, como están tan educados y adoctrinados en vivir según los caprichos del emperador, que ni siquiera se hacen preguntas. Y no es hasta cuando salen de Corea del Norte, que descubren que el mundo es mucho más. Y aún así, les cuesta adentrarse en un mundo donde, por primera vez, tienen capacidad de decisión sobre sus vidas, tan acostumbrados como estaban a vivir con las pautas marcadas de otros. O de otro, más bien. Una sola persona controla un país entero.

Me ha impactado mucho la hipocrecía de leyes de países cercanos como China o Laos, que eran capaz de devolver a una muerte segura a personas que solo querían vivir, o que solo fueran ayudadas a través de dinero. Como siempre el rico sale de todo. El pobre paga. Y digo "eran" erróneamente, porque esto sigue pasando a día de hoy. Parecer ser que los derechos humanos solo existen para quien puede pagarlos. En ocasiones cuando leí fechas como 1999, 2008 o 2012, no podía dejar de pensar que parecía que estaba leyendo algo de hace 80 años o más. Pero no. Ojalá llegue el día en el que no existan dos Coreas y se destruya unos de los régimenes más horribles de la historia.

En definitiva, este libro es un gran ejemplo sobre la lucha y el deseo de vivir una vida propia y libre.

PD: La única minipega que le pongo a el libro, es lo rápida que iba la narración. Hubiera preferido un libro algo más largo, que pudiera hacer más parones en sentimientos y pensamientos de Hyeonseo. Por lo demás, maravilloso.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this remarkable story, read by Josie Dunn and published by HarperCollins Publishers UK, with a degree of disbelief. Certain parts of the story agree with what I’d learned already about the lives of North Koreans, the general trend of their escapes, and their orientation in South Korea as refugees. The author was young, seventeen, when she decided to cross the frozen Yalu in winter and go see her relatives in Shenyang, China.

She’d had no idea where Shenyang was—that I actually could believe. And as a privileged (for North Korea) teen, she was accustomed to getting her way or being ignored. Certainly maps were not easily found, just as they weren’t in China, either, thirty years ago. The period in this book covers approximately 2000-2012, a period when Hyeonseo Lee spent ten years in China working then flew to South Korea to request asylum.

Her own path to freedom was relatively smooth; she’d learned to be wary of revealing much about herself from childhood and was not easily deceived. Being young and attractive gave her the benefit of the doubt in China, and she wasn’t able to escape every attempt to corral her into exploitative jobs. But she lived on her wits and managed, eventually, to eventually pass as Chinese-Korean. With this identity she was able to procure a passport (and a new name). She lived in China ten years.

I don’t want to spoil the adventure for those who aren’t familiar with her story, but it is a doozy. Her family in North Korea had a good songbun (status or name) which they exploited to bring goods in from outside the country. An uncle actually sold heroin. Her mother brought in all manner of household goods and occasionally even methamphetamines! Hyeonseo’s brother began doing much the same illicit and illegal trade work, bribing border guards, etc. after Hyeonseo left. Apparently her departure was officially overlooked, perhaps as the result of a bribe.

The story rings true, and she’s told it so many times by now that there are all kinds of suggestive chapter endings which propel one to turn to the next chapter. Apparently Ms. Lee met with President Trump with some other defectors in the White House in January 2018 before the president’s departure to Singapore to meet Kim Jong Un. She has given many talks around the world about her experience and that of her family, including a TED talk I have linked to on my blog.

The audio of her book is not read by the author, which is good because Ms. Lee’s heavily-accented English from 2013 is a little difficult to understand. I'm sure she is better now. The memoir is clearly and ably written, and I can see no credit for a translator. This is a defector story you probably haven’t heard, and since she has spoken around the world on this topic, you might want to see what everyone is so excited about.

[♏ Gina☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. You may go into it knowing that it's written by a young lady who leaves North Korea in search of a better life, but in truth, it is so much more than that.

Hyeonseo successfully made it out of North Korea and lived in China for 10 years illegally. The book speaks of her life in North Korea and you may be surprised that in many ways it is worse than what we hear on the news, but I guarantee you will be surprised at her continued love for her homeland and her longing at times to return. In China, she is in hiding as an illegal, but someone turns her name in. She survives the interrogation by convincing the authorities that she truly is Chinese and proves it by showing them her command of the Mandarin language and mastery of Chinese written characters. Thankfully, her father made sure she knew these things as a child. She also survives an assault that lands her in the hospital.

Also while in China she barely escapes human traffickers and manages to avoid an arranged marriage to a worthless man.

Eventually, she makes her way to South Korea where things finally become a bit easier and she begins the long process of attempting to get her parents out of North Korea.

Your heart will break more than once for this courageous young lady. The book is very well written. You will root for her, you will cry with her, you will be amazed at her tenacity. A wonderful, amazing, beautiful book. Saying any more would be spoiling it - you need to read this one yourself. It will change you. Thank you Hyeonseo Lee for writing this very important book.

[Camie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're like me and haven't read much about past and present living conditions in Northern Korea , you'll learn a lot here.This simply written book follows the courageous journey of a 17 year old girl who will need to change her name seven times after she defects from North Korea and reinvents her life both in China and later South Korea. Written to read like a novel, it will certainly give you a greater appreciation of the freedoms we often take for granted, while not weighing you down with more than the required detail about the atrocities others are facing daily. An easy read about a very important and interesting subject. Good March choice KUYH ! 4 stars

[enqi ☾⋆˚*̣̩✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

once again this book has made me realise how privileged and fortunate i am. it's dealt no less of a hard blow to my heart and i'm really a mess now. her autobiography was wild and moving and heartbreaking and my entire worldview has been altered in the course of a few hours.

[Tonkica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hyeonseo Lee nam piše o svojem odrastanju u gradiću na granici između Sjeverne i Južne Koreje. Djetinjstvo joj je proteklo u lijepom ozračju. Nevinost poslušnog djeteta kakva je bila, Sjevernoj Koreji je odgovarala. S godinama, nakon osnovne škole i upisa u srednju mijenjala se i razmišljala svojom glavom što nije bilo uobičajeno: „Od nas se ni na jednom satu nije tražilo da formiramo vlastite stavove, da raspravljamo ili objašnjavamo ideje.“

Cijeli osvrt pronađite ovdje: https://knjige-u-svom-filmu.webador.c...

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her experiences as a North Korean and an expatriate are eye-opening. I had some questions about the reliability of the narrative.
Might have to find some other memoir to compare with it.

[Mariah Roze · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been on my To-Read list for a long time. I was so excited when I finally got it from the library. I highly suggest this book to everyone. It is such an eye-opener and so fascinating. What North Koreans are going through to become free is so tragic.

"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 totalitarian regime. Her 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.
She could not return, since rumours of her escape were spreading, and she and her family could incur the punishments of the government authorities – involving imprisonment, torture, and possible public execution. Hyeonseo instead remained in China and rapidly learned Chinese in an effort to adapt and survive. Twelve years and two lifetimes later, she would return to the North Korean border in a daring mission to spirit her mother and brother to South Korea, on one of the most arduous, costly and dangerous journeys imaginable."

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting tale I won’t forget. Even though she and her family live in relative comfort (by North Korean standards) owing to her father’s military career, Hyeonseo’s curiosity drives her to take the risk of crossing the river to China alone to get a taste of the outside world. Once she has left her country, however, it becomes clear that her life will be in danger if she tries to return. So, she is forced to rely on her own wits to survive the dangers and challenges that come her way in her years in China and beyond.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyeonseo Lee who writes of her life while in North Korea, her escape to China, and her immigration to South Korea writes “The Girl With Seven Names”. I am not a fan of Memoirs, yet I found her story fascinating. If you are curious about the North Korea culture and how North Koreans love their country, you will enjoy this story.

Ms Lee describes the caste system in North Korea. She describes crimes and punishment in North Korea. The most heinous crime in North Korea is not paying proper homage to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. If respect is seen to be not ideal, death is the consequence. Other crimes can go away with bribes. For example, dealing in heroin is a crime that can go away with bribes. In fact, the more money a family has based upon their caste system. Those of higher class, similar to Lee’s family, find North Korea fine.

She also describes her years in China. Because China borders North Korea, there are many Chinese-Korean immigrants with Chinese identities. As in North Korea, with enough bribes in China, one can do many things.

Although the reader knows that Lee makes in to South Korea and becomes a citizen, the novel reads like suspense. She also chronicles the immigration of her brother and Mother.

This is a book club read and EVERYONE enjoyed it. It’s rare that all members enjoy the novel. It’s a brilliant novel that explains the citizens of North Korea and their continued patronage of their country. It describes the perilous journeys of those who escape. Her co-writer David John both deserves their international bestseller status.

[Short Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was definitely the best autobiography I've read to date. Hyeonseo is a brave exceptional woman who has been through hell and back. The loyalty and love she has for her family was so lovely to read.
I can't even form a proper review- no review will describe how much I loved reading this book!

[Ghazaleh · Rating 4 out of 5]

هرچندتا کتاب درباره کره شمالی میخونم، مستند میبینم، مطلب میخونم ولی بازم برام این حجم از دیکتاتور بودن یه حکومت برام قابل هضم نمیشه.
تنها مواقعی که به زندگی توی ایران اندکی امیدوار میشم بعد از خوندن داستان های کره شمالیه :))

[Negin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book that I’ve read about North Korea. My favorite is still Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, and one that I highly recommend. “The Girl with Seven Names” is a close second. I could barely put this book down. It’s beautifully written, so moving, the type of book that you can’t stop thinking about.


Notice the framed pictures of the leaders inside this North Korean home. When couples get married, they’re given framed pictures with a specific cloth that must be used only for those pictures. The pictures have to be placed at the highest spot in the home and cleaned regularly. Failure to do so and failure to take care of them properly, can lead to one’s being sent off to a labor camp.

Some quotes that I thought are worth sharing:
“Kindness toward strangers is rare in North Korea. There is risk in helping others. The irony was that by forcing us to be good citizens, the state made accusers and informers of us all.”

“It is mandatory from elementary school to attend public executions. Often classes would be cancelled so students could go.”

“Sadly, as the historian Andrei Lankov put it, a regime that’s willing to kill as many people as it takes to stay in power tends to stay in power for a very long time.”

“Kind people who put others before themselves would be the first to die. It was the ruthless and the selfish who would survive.”

“Dictatorships may seem strong and unified, but they are always weaker than they appear.”

[Hannaneh Abolghasempour · Rating 5 out of 5]

«ممکن است حکومت‌های دیکتاتوری بسیار قوی و منسجم به نظر برسند، اما همیشه ضعیف‌ترند از آنچه که نشان می‌دهند. آن‌ها را هوس‌رانی یک مرد اداره می‌کند، مردی که حتی قادر نیست مثل دموکرات‌های دیگر در یک بحث و مناظره معمولی شرکت کند، چون او فقط از طریق ایجاد وحشت حکمرانی کرده و تنها کسی است که اجازه دارد از حقوق بشر بهره‌مند باشد.
متاسفانه طبق گفته آندری لانکو تاریخ‌شناس، رژیمی که تمایل دارد انسان‌های زیادی را بکشد تا در عرصه قدرت باقی بماند، تا مدت زیادی قدرتمند باقی خواهد ماند.»

از قشنگ‌ترین اتوبیوگرافی‌هایی بود که خوندم، خوندنش باعث شد دلم بخواد بیشتر از کره‌ی شمالی بخونم.

[fatemeh Motamedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

عاغااااا....
هر کسی که از به دنیا اومدنش در ایران ناراضیه حتما این کتاب رو بخونه تا سجده شکر بجا بیاره و خدا رو روزی هزار مرتبه شکر کنه که در ایران بدنیا اومده نه کره شمالی 😁
.
این حجم از دیکتاتوری برام قابل هضم نیست.
.
بنظر من این دختر مصداق بارز این ضرب المثل هست « از تو حرکت از خدا برکت»
.
این کتاب ساده و روان بود
.
بعد این کتاب خیلی مشتاق شدم کتابهای دیگه ای در مورد کره شمالی بخونم.

[Sharon Metcalf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Girl with Seven Names: Escape From North Korea by Hyeonseo Lee is what reading is all about for me. Learning something of the world, of the lives of others and gaining an appreciation for just how fortunate I am to have been born in this time and place with the freedoms and luxuries often taken for granted. Hyonseo Lee's memoir tells of the complete ideological indoctrination of the North Korean people. She detailed the way the brainwashing begins from the time of their birth and never lets up, the violence and fear of repercussions for the people, and the importance of restricting outside information describing it this way:

"...in truth there is no dividing line between cruel leaders and oppressed citizens. The Kims rule by making everyone complicit in a brutal system, implicating all, from the highest to the lowest, blurring morals so that no one is blameless........Ordinary people are made persecutors, denouncers, thieves. They use the fear flowing from the top to win some advantage, or to survive."

At the age of 17 Hyeonseo escaped North Korea but her battle did not end there. It was not until she finally managed the defect to South Korea almost ten years later than she was able to experience anything remotely like freedom, and even then she was not willing to relax until she had also assisted her mother and brother to freedom. Theirs was a completely foreign world to mine and I cannot begin to imagine experiencing all they endured. Time and again Hyeonseo Lee and her family put their lives at risk, were at the mercy of con men, brokers, corrupt police and other officials expecting to be bribed whether to turn a blind eye or to ease their paths to freedom.

I am often bewildered about why the people of places like North Korea remain loyal to tyrannical governments and Hyonseo explained it this way "North Koreans who have never left don't think critically because they have no point of comparison - with previous governments, different policies, or with other societies in the outside world."

I can only admire this young lady who has not only written this book but who also testified at the first United Nations Commission of Enquiry on human rights in North Korea, and was invited to do a TED talk. A very informative and worthy read.

[Apratim Mukherjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I read a North Korean defector's story.I had read about the oppressive regime but the book is an eye opener of all sorts.Though written like a thriller novel,the book tells a lot of suffering that the North Koreans go through in their perilous journey during their defection.The treatment of these defectors in China is a matter of concern for the international community.
The book deserves 4 stars ...1 deduction for too much propaganda material in the beginning and sensationalising the second and third part.But it was a goodread.

[نیما اکبرخانی · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب بدی نیست. از کره شمالی و ماجراهای فرار از دست دیکتاتور عجیب و غریبش کارهای بهتری هم هست. مثلا روح گریان من یا فرار از اردوگاه شماره ۱۴.
اما همچنان به نظرم راوی ها، توی این ژانر به علت منافعی که دارن همه‌ی حقایق رو بیان نمی کنن یا عمدا ضعف ها و جرائم و نادرستی های کره‌ی شمالی رو پررن، می‌کنن. ساده تر بخوام بگم مثل این می‌مونه که کسی که از ایران رفته و پناهنده‌ی سیاسی شده و الآن با کار رسانه ای بر ضد جمهوری اسلامی ایران روزی خودش رو در میآره بیاد یه کتاب راجع به زندگی در ایران بنویسه، خوب راستش به نظر من اون راوی صادق نخواهد بود. هنوز هم برام نمی‌گنجه کره‌ی شمالی انقدر جای بسته و بدی باشه، علی الخصوص بسته بودنش. کشوری که مطمئن هستیم هکرهای بنامی داره با جمعیت کم یعنی دسترسی به اینترنت هم داخلش پیدا می‌شه و داره از بین نیروهای مملکتش استعداد یابی می‌کنه والا این هکرها کجا آموزش ببین و تمرین بکنن ؟ خود راوی این کتاب هم می‌گه این قضیه رو که تماس اینترنتی با موبایل داشتن و ... بعد چطور ممکنه مردمش فکر کنن فلان ستاره همزمان با تولد رهبر کبیر کره شمالی به وجود اومده !
یا از این دست حرف هایی که به عنوان باور های شمالی ها و عقب موندگی های فکر اون ها گفته می‌شه و این که کره جنوبی چقدر خوبه و ....
توی همین کتاب نهایتا مادر و برادر این خانوم که با مشقات فراوانی به کره جنوبی رسیدن و شهروندی کره جنوبی رو هم به دست آورده بودن، نهایتا نمی مونن و برمی‌گردن به نیمه ی شمالی شبه جزیره‌ی کره و راوی هم قضیه رو در یک پاراگراف جمع میکنه ! در صورتی که ۴۰۰ صفحه توضیح داده که شمال چه جای خوفناک و خطرناکیه چرا این آدم ها به این نتیجه می‌رسن که جنوب همچین جای دل انگیزی هم نیست و بر می‌گردن ؟
من اصلا و ابدا طرفدار کمونیست ها و خاندان ظالم حاکم بر کره ی شمالی نیستم فقط خواستم احساسم رو بنویسم که انگار چیزهایی که امپراطوری رسانه ای غربی ها می گن خیلی هم درست نیست!
اینایی که نوشتم البته از جذابیت سرگذشت این خانوم با هفت تا اسم مختلف کم نمی‌کنه و انصافا شما با خاطرات جذابی طرف هستید.