Escape from Camp 14, Blaine Harden (3.5)
It was a shock for all of us to read this book. While most
are aware of North Korea’s oppressive government, few realized that – according
to the only person born into and escaped from a prison camp – they also have
political prison camps akin to concentration camps of Nazi Germany. The
journalist Blaine Harden tells the story here of Shin Dong-Hyuk, a young man
who was born in the prison camp #14 and escapes to China and eventually South
Korea. Oddly he did not escape because of the oppression – he didn’t think it
would be different outside of the barbed wire as that’s the only existence he
knew. He eventually was inspired to leave when he met a new prisoner who had
been outside of North Korea and described places where people had 3 full meals
a day. He dreamt of leaving to stop his daily starvation. Unfortunately having
never been loved or received basic kindness, Shin also does not know how to
reciprocate. Thusly, the reader is aghast and feels sympathy for his condition,
but he is not a sympathetic character. We all agreed this was a horrific tale
about a person, whom due to his circumstances came across as some thing that
was almost incomprehensible.
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