This is a story of a man who have truly had a will of freedom more than anyone else in the world.
Shin was born in a slave labor camp located in North Korea known as Kaechon Internment Camp a.k.a. Camp 14. This camp acts as a prison for political prisoners usually will be caught along with family members i.e. wife, kids, parents, and siblings. The imprisonment in Camp 14 is a life sentence which means one has to work until they die in the prison and no chance of release.
He was born to an arranged marriage of two prisoners as a reward of doing good deed in the camp and were allowed to sleep together few times in a year. He seldom saw his father as he's place in another area of the camp to work and he had no affection to his mother. Shin saw everyone in the camp as a food competitor due to the insufficiency of food supplies included his mother.
At the age of 14, Shin betrayed his mother and brother who planned to escape the camp in order to get more reward from the guards. As a result caused the execution of his mother and brother. In return, Shin didn't get any reward but punishment as his father and he were suspected to be involved in the escape plan. He was tortured by the guards in order to extract more information about the escape plan. At the underground cell, he met a guy who was being named by Shin as uncle. It was uncle who let Shin knew about love and care. If it was not uncle, Shin would have been dead in the cell.
On the day he was released, he was brought to witness his mother and brother's execution but he ever felt guilty at that moment as he truly believed that they deserved to die because of their silly plan resulted him to being tortured. But it took years for him to feel the guilt and haunt him for life.
Part of Shin's middle finger were cut off by his supervisor as a punishment for accidentally breaking a sewing machine. While he was working in the textile factory, he befriend a middle age man named Park. Park often told Shin about how good was the world outside the electrical fence. Park also told him about China, South Korea and food that he had never experienced before. All he had for food in the camp was soupy gruel of cabbage, corn and salt, sometimes rats and insects he caught around the came.
The desire of freedom and food as much as he wanted at the outside world made Shin decided to attempt an escape together with Park. On January 2, 2005, Shin and Park finally made their attempt to escape when they were assigned a task near the fence. Park attempted to go through the fence first but failed, as a result was electrocuted by the high voltage fence. Shin managed to pass through the fence with the shield of Park's body but his legs were injured by the fence.
Shin was able to bribe North Korean border guards with food and cigarettes to enter China. After he spent some time as a laborer in different parts of China, Shin was accidentally discovered by a journalist who brought Shin to the South Korean embassy for asylum, and from there Shin finally able to travelled to South Korea. In South Korea, he underwent extensive questioning from authorities to determine if he was a Noth Korean assassin or spy. Afterwards, Shin's story was broadcast by the press and he published a Korean language memoir. He later moved to southern California in the United States and worked for Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), a non-profit organization that raises awareness of human rights issues in North Korea and provides aid to North Korean refugees. Shin then moved back to South Korea, where he campaigns for the eradication of the North Korean prison camps.
This is the first non-fiction book I have ever finished so far.. After I finished this book, it made me realized even more of the importance of life. We should be appreciate of every single thing we have in life.
P/S: Actu
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