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The Aquariums of Pyongyang Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag Cholhwan Kang Pierre Rigoulot 9780465011049 Books

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The Aquariums of Pyongyang Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag Cholhwan Kang Pierre Rigoulot 9780465011049 Books

Hwan's purpose in writing this book is to expose to the world the horrors of North Korea's gulags. Hwan spent ten years, from age nine to nineteen, as a political prisoner in the concentration camp Yodok, deep in the North Korean mountains. At Yodok Hwan and other prisoners like him were nearly starved, worked to death, and indoctrinated in the cult of the great leader, Kim Il-Sung. What did Hwan do to deserve all of this? He happened to be the grandson of a man who might have spoken out against North Korea's corrupt regime.

Hwan's account of his life in the camp is undeniably horrifying. He draws connections between North Korea's camps and those of the Nazi and Stanlinist regimes. His memoir certainly offers insight into how such a corrupt dictatorship manages to sustain itself. In North Korea transgressors are not the only ones punished; their relatives are punished too.

North Korea clearly thrives on secrecy, and shining a light on the dreadful human rights abuses perpetuated there is undeniably an important part of trying to end them. That said, this memoir is less literary and more political in outlook. It is sometimes less concerned with nuance, and more concerned with making a political point. Still, for those unfamiliar with how North Korea operates, this is important reading.


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The Aquariums of Pyongyang Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag Cholhwan Kang Pierre Rigoulot 9780465011049 Books Reviews

This story comes off as being quite authentic. The author tells the majority of the story from the first person point of view. There are obvious things which he didn't witness such as his family's history prior to their move from Japan to North Korea, but these are only for background information. Everything about this book reveals how desensitized Kang became due to his upbringing, at least while he was in the camp. He explains how he was able to adapt and overcome. He pointed out how undevoted to the cause the security agents in the camp were, the soldiers, and other various officials in the North Korea government. Regardless, all people lived in fear of either their superiors, their friends who were often snitches, and their minders. Kang also displays the complete and total breakdown of the North's distribution and rationing system, the birth of an illicit market economy and the rampant corruption in the Stalinist-type system. When Kang speaks as a witness of camp 15, and says there are certainly much worse camps, it is terrifying to know that people at this very moment are still enduring what he and his family endured. Kang must feel some ambivalence towards his decision to flee the country after being released, as his family and particularly his sister have allegedly been sent back. It is very possible that his sister was condemned to the section of the prison for the un-redeemables, in other words, those who are sentenced to work to death on secret government programs. The worst part about the entire system is that guilt by association (which really was the reason his family was put away in the first place), is the norm. His entire family was put away for their grandfather's alleged political crimes. Nobody knows what happened to him. Hopefully Kang's story will have an effect for the good, and Kim Jong-un will be able to make much needed market reforms. Even if NK reaches the point of China, things will have improved one hundred fold.
Very well-written account (as memoirs go) of a man's life in North Korea---and life as a prisoner in a concentration camp, from the age of 9 yrs-old to 19 yrs-old. I've read a few other books about North Korea ("This is Paradise!" and "Nothing to Envy"), and this was probably my favorite (although the others---especially "Nothing to Envy", are good too). It's not just a true-life survival, but also contains valuable insights and perceptions. I think everyone, from time to time, should read such accounts, in order to be reminded of the horrors of unconstrained, limitless government. It could happen anywhere where the citizens let down their guard and put too much trust and power in the Ruling Class.
This is a very important autobiography. The author was in a North Korean prison camp for ten years with members of his family. He explains clearly how this camp was run, why people were there, and how the government chose who would go there and how they were treated. His family had been in Japan, came back to North Korea and were very well-to-do until a problem came up that got them all sent to prison camps. He eventually was set free and escaped to China (he described that part of his journey in some detail) and to South Korea. The author gives a perspective on the different stages of the North Korean dictatorship, which he suffered under during the 1970s-1980s. He notes some of the things that changed over the years.

The book is very clearly written, with the help of a co-author, and hard to put down.
Beautifully written account of the horrors of a North Korean concentration camp. Not only do you learn of the personal trials of this young man, but the book contains a summary of how North Korea became North Korea. This is the type of account that needs to come out to expose such a reclusive country and their insane human rights violations.

This account is from a man who did not start out in the North Korean concentration camps, but rather was sent there when he was a young boy. If you're interested in his account, I would also recommend reading "Escape from Camp 14", which is an account from a man born in a North Korean camp.
A vivid depiction of the lives of ordinary North Korean citizens; always hungry, always being monitored by snitches, living in fear of being sent to the camps over minor infractions of a relative. Also a thrilling account of an attempt to escape
Hwan's purpose in writing this book is to expose to the world the horrors of North Korea's gulags. Hwan spent ten years, from age nine to nineteen, as a political prisoner in the concentration camp Yodok, deep in the North Korean mountains. At Yodok Hwan and other prisoners like him were nearly starved, worked to death, and indoctrinated in the cult of the great leader, Kim Il-Sung. What did Hwan do to deserve all of this? He happened to be the grandson of a man who might have spoken out against North Korea's corrupt regime.

Hwan's account of his life in the camp is undeniably horrifying. He draws connections between North Korea's camps and those of the Nazi and Stanlinist regimes. His memoir certainly offers insight into how such a corrupt dictatorship manages to sustain itself. In North Korea transgressors are not the only ones punished; their relatives are punished too.

North Korea clearly thrives on secrecy, and shining a light on the dreadful human rights abuses perpetuated there is undeniably an important part of trying to end them. That said, this memoir is less literary and more political in outlook. It is sometimes less concerned with nuance, and more concerned with making a political point. Still, for those unfamiliar with how North Korea operates, this is important reading.