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paulhill53's review
5.0
Wow - recommended by someone I work with - fascinating story, and such great timing to read it during the Olympics. Great insight into the Hermit Kingdom.
ann_kay's review
4.0
A very interesting book for sure. I struggled a little bit with not really liking the narrator, but the book itself was enjoyable and an easy read. I do wish the author had gone more in depth than just narrating their experience - I feel like it was light on digging into the *why* of the culture in ways that would have really improved the book.
Probably not a book I'd reread, but I also still have the hardcopy five years later just in case if you know what I mean?
Probably not a book I'd reread, but I also still have the hardcopy five years later just in case if you know what I mean?
winkz's review against another edition
4.0
An atheist writer poses as a christian and as a teacher to join a fundamentalist christian mission that is running and teaching an all-boys private university in North Korea. What could possibly go wrong? A really fascinating and rare look inside what's considered the upper class of North Korea. If you're looking for a harrowing tale of survival or perseverance , you'll have to look elsewhere. The book is mostly a "just the facts ma'am" account, but no less disturbing and ominous.
sdamyhill's review
4.0
This is a very interesting book, written by a journalist teaching English inside North Korea. This is not an easy book to read, it's disheartening and sad, and to be honest, a little frightening considering our current political climate. I would recommend this book, but not as a light beach read.
juliemowat's review
4.0
Very fascinating read! A glimpse into North Korea. I loved Suki Kim's writing but I not sure I love her. I am very glad I read the book-just not sure that it was the best use of her time in Korea. I can't help but wonder-did the school close because of her book? Are any of the students in trouble? Will this stop future ways of helping North Koreans?
Highly recommend reading this!
Highly recommend reading this!
aa2q7's review
3.0
A little self-involved and certainly a memoir rather than investigative journalism BUT that doesn't take away from Kim's contribution to to the study of North Korea. Her experience is unique and engaging, and I would've read more about it.
readingwitherin's review against another edition
4.0
“Sometimes the longer you are inside a prison, the harder it is to fathom what is possible beyond its walls.”
Suki Kim is a Journalist who has become an English teacher missionary in order to be in North Korea. During her time there she grows attached to the young men she teaches and hopes to be able to change their worldview slightly, while also trying to keep them safe from getting in trouble, without getting herself in trouble either.
She recounts her time there, what she saw, and taught the young men. She shows how easy it was at times to feel like it was all normal, while at the same time missing home. This is not an easy read, but one that I felt was important to read as what is happening right now between the US and Korea. While this is several years old now as she was in North Korea when Kim Jong-il was alive.
I'm now also interested to know how much has changed since then.
Overall I liked getting to learn a little more about North Korea and what freedoms the students and teachers had while at this university.
Suki Kim is a Journalist who has become an English teacher missionary in order to be in North Korea. During her time there she grows attached to the young men she teaches and hopes to be able to change their worldview slightly, while also trying to keep them safe from getting in trouble, without getting herself in trouble either.
She recounts her time there, what she saw, and taught the young men. She shows how easy it was at times to feel like it was all normal, while at the same time missing home. This is not an easy read, but one that I felt was important to read as what is happening right now between the US and Korea. While this is several years old now as she was in North Korea when Kim Jong-il was alive.
I'm now also interested to know how much has changed since then.
Overall I liked getting to learn a little more about North Korea and what freedoms the students and teachers had while at this university.
julan1027's review
5.0
Suki Kim spent 5 months teaching English to the sons of North Korea's most elite families. This is a memoir of her time there and experience with the students. Although her movements within the country are limited, she learns a good deal from what she can observe and the bits of information which her students occasionally reveal.
Kim is a very likable woman and the perfect guide to this strange land. She does an excellent job evoking the stark and desolate environment. Through vividly expressing her sense of temporary isolation, she helps to bring home the terror of life in North Korea. The reader feels her sense of hope and her sense of hopelessness and desperation. At times her writing is beautiful, but it always powerful.
This is not an uplifting book, in many ways it's a very frightening book, but it's an important book to help us understand a bit more about the DPRK. An excellent book.
I received this book as a first-reads goodreads giveaway.
Kim is a very likable woman and the perfect guide to this strange land. She does an excellent job evoking the stark and desolate environment. Through vividly expressing her sense of temporary isolation, she helps to bring home the terror of life in North Korea. The reader feels her sense of hope and her sense of hopelessness and desperation. At times her writing is beautiful, but it always powerful.
This is not an uplifting book, in many ways it's a very frightening book, but it's an important book to help us understand a bit more about the DPRK. An excellent book.
I received this book as a first-reads goodreads giveaway.