This is an incredible book! I rarely cry for books, "Nothing to Envy" makes me cry many times. I can't stop reading either.
I never tried to understand North Korea -- a country with joint borders but so backwards. For quite some people, North Korea is ignored. Neighbour Chinese are proud of their market and economy, meanwhile making jokes of North Korea partner who stick to the socialism rule rigidly. It is hard for people to imagine that North Korea people live in such a condition in 1990s, when I was a troubled teenager.
Some of the stories sound familiar, yes, it happened in China and USSR before, and I can't believe it is still happening. I can't believe there is still a life without electricity, or a smart phone (enter Gaza).
I am addicted to East Germany and West Germany stories as well as WWII tragedies. I thought that's not the worst version, but close enough. Because you've got people escaping even with blimps. Barbara told me, no. German people are lucky, they put the Berlin Mauer down. How could a country like this still exist??? HOW? When I was reading, a Caterpillar dragging half of Lenin's bronze sculpture across the sky -- a scene from Goodbye Lenin keeps hitting my mind, will North Korean people be able to see that? Previously I can't relate too much from that scene, only get a little bit annoyed because a writer from HongKong depicts that scene by mistake, and calls the movie "Goodbye Lemon". Typo, typo is always irritating.
From the book, I am reassured that people could be touched by the most subtle happenings in their lives, even those who are brainwashed. Sometimes it is the details that are there fixing us unexpectedly.
People change because of small things. People change their minds completely not because of grande event, but trivia. A meal of a dog, a wandering swallow singing a song, an electronic pot for cooking rice, etc. Small things are triggers for them to make their decisions to leave North Korea, even the true believers of the regime. Small things touch the deepest feeling in their hearts, and give the strongest echoes, like the quick decision in the split of a second for a holocaust survivor.
My attitude towards DPRK and South Korea changed. USSR, China, Germany, Korea, four countries, 3 nations, full of stories, tragic enough to tear you apart, but strong enough to pull you together.