Nothing to Envy

I recently finished the book Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea and wanted to recommend it and make a few comments about it.  The book tells the tale of life in North Korea in these past few years under the rule of Kim Jong II and his father before him.

This is one of the saddest books that I've ever read.

1. The people are starving and watching loved ones, friends and neighbors starve.  One character in the book is a teacher and she tells of watching her young students starve over time.  And, she couldn't share her limited food with them because she needed it.
2. People became accustomed to stepping over dead bodies on the street.
3. The leadership was revered as heros and the people just didn't seem to know different.
4. When someone defects, their loved ones left behind are typically taken away because they must have bad blood.  Therefore, those who escape might be condemning their loved ones to prison or death.

I just read a post that included a number of pictures from inside North Korea which is very rare since the country is so closed. These pictures look like what I pictured in my head as I read the book.

In June I had the opportunity to visit South Korea and saw its vibrant, large economy in action. The contrast is enormous.