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Jang Jin-sung is a poet and cadre in Kim Jong-il‘s regime before making his escape. It is a well written book that almost seems like a fictional one through most of it. Was quite eye opening to see how much North Korea uses psychological warfare on it's own people as well as the rest of the world. Everything is so carefully planned out. Really enjoyed this book!

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A real eye opener! It is mind boggling how much brainwashing and indoctrination that is going on in North Korea. True human right atrocities!

This ...if you tell a lie one hundred times, even the person who made up the lie will eventually come to believe it.

The wind chill is 12 in central oklahoma. Good day to read.

Another powerful story to come out of North Korea.

I found the book to be a rather quick read, but don't let that fool you into downplaying the intensity of the situations. Jang Jin-Sung takes careful consideration to explain aspects of North Korea through his ordeal, whether in conversation with another or to provide comparative imagery. It is hard to imagine this kind of life, which is why we have people living to tell their tales.

Finally gotten round to picking one up

Jang Jin-sung was a poet and spy in the upper ranks of Kim Jong-il‘s regime before making his harrowing escape to freedom. This book reads more like a sci-fi dystopian nightmare than the nonfiction that it is, but I do believe the author to be credible. I finished this one year ago today and still think about it regularly and certainly every time North Korea is in the news. #nonfiction #tbt ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I've read so many books about North Korea that the crazy and horror doesn't register the same way anymore. This is a great book though and a perspective I haven't heard from as much. I hope as North Korea moves into focus again, the world will remember that this is a nation of good people in terrible circumstances. Fear is a powerful weapon.

I found this to be a really interesting book overall. The "escape" part of the story was perhaps not the most interesting I've read, but as the author previously worked within the North Korean government, he was able to provide more information about the history and politics of the regime than what you get from most books on NK. Well worth the read

How do you make escape from North Korea dull? Jang Jin-Sung manages it. Maybe it was the structure (history and journey combined) or maybe something got lost in the translation, but I found myself skimming whole chapters. It's a shame, as there's an interesting story here somewhere, I'm sure.