NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAn 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.
#2098 in Books Lee Hyeonseo 2016-05-19 2016-05-10Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.50 x .90 x 5.10l; .61 #File Name: 0007554850320 pagesThe Girl with Seven Names
Review
205 of 213 people found the following review helpful. Very interesting story. It keeps moving and is an easy read.By Graham M. FlowerI've read several accounts of escaping from North korea. This is a good one because it covers several subjects that are not covered in other books. For example hyeonseo grew up right on the border next to the Yalu river. There is extensive discussion of cross border smuggling in the book as her mother and other relatives were participants in this trade. Being so close to the border they could also get Chinese cell phone service and calls could be made to North Korea using Chinese cells. The other thing that is quite different about her story is that she spend more than a decade in China and was continually hiding from being discovered as an illegal therr. In one period she mentioned to others that she was from North Korea and its clear somebody reported her. She withstood an interrogation by the Chinese police and was able to convince them she was Chinese due to her ability to speak Mandarin and her mastery of Chinese Characters; which she attributes to her father pushing her to study while she was in school. She has dangerous interactions with gangs; which she survives; was assaulted badly by an unknown assailant with a 1 liter beer bottle; an incident that did put her in the hospital and other adventures. One learns a bit about China and North Korea in this book. She has relatives which span several classes of North Korean society and one can get a feeling for what those strata are like. She also talks about the great amount of indoctrination she received during her education; of course this is common among the accounts of DPRK defectors. Different that most of the defectors books she does describe the challenges facing defectors in South Korea. Their education is worthless and hence most of them severely struggle to obtain a college degree; which is important in South Korea. she also describes the process by which they vet defectors as well as the interrogation techniques of the Chinese police. Once she has made it to South Korea she brings her mother and brother out of North Korea. This activity has several difficult twists which meant that the plan had to change in major ways on the fly and the challenges of getting through China to another country to defect to a South Korean embassy are shown. They chose Laos; a backwater whose insufferable bureaucracy and corrupt civil service made things hard. A very helpful Australian saves the day. The story is interesting and one learns a fair bit about North Korea and China.79 of 84 people found the following review helpful. This Is One Smart; Tough; and Lucky PersonBy R. SmithI had always been curious about North Korea; having heard about it in the news; and I thought this book would be interesting. It does have vivid descriptions of life in North Korea. It also turns out to be suspenseful and emotionally engaging. Once I started reading this book; I did not want to stop until I was done.The book is divided into parts; describing the author's life in North Korea; then her life in China (an entire decade); escape to South Korea; and finally; the ordeal of getting her mother and brother out of North Korea. I won't bother to summarize everything other than to say that her life was in significant danger in every place except for South Korea. In China; she makes a life and barely avoids deportation; being captured by human traffickers; and an arranged marriage to a complete zero.The biggest surprise for me was maybe how hard it is for North Koreans to adjust to life outside of their country. Of course; it is very different; and despite knowing that they will likely be tortured and killed if they go back; some want to return anyway. The author's own brother almost goes back in a moment of weakness; but she manages to talk him out of it.Thinking back on this story; it seems almost unbelievable that a person could have lived this life. It took huge amounts of courage; intelligence; and luck; all of which the author has.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Powerful; sad; inspiring enlighteningBy R Scheese"The Girl with Seven Names" is a memoir of the author and human rights advocate Hyeonseo Lee's defection from North Korea and transition to a free Korean living in Seoul today. Her story provides insights into social indoctrination in North Korea as well as the challenges of being illegal in her quest for freedom. Exposing challenges of human trafficking; prejudice and cultural bias; her story is one of courage and triumph. But the power in the story is the sadness of separation from family and country which the author struggles and contends with throughout her ordeal. A very compelling tale. Check it out.
