A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape from North Korea
Masaji Ishakawa (trns. Risa Kobayashi and Martin Brown)
2000
Amazon Crossing
pp. 159
The book descibes the life of Ishikawa. Born in Japan to a North Korean father and a Japanese mother, Ishikawa was not yet an adult when he migrated to North Korea along with his family in hope of a better life. What was promised as paradise on earth turned out to be the exact opposite. He describes the events of his life based on his memories of growing up (growing old) in North Korea. Several times during the read, I was tempted to believe that this is a work of fiction. While it isn’t the first time I have read of the conditions of people in North Korea, it is hard to accept the conditions in which people live there. It is impossible to accept that generations of leadership have continued to lead the country into an exploitative way of life, isolating its citizens from the rest of the world. I was left wondering if children who are born and brought up in North Korea know that there is a world that exists elsewhere. Ishikawa could probably think of escaping because he knew that something else exists. While his childhood in Japan was less than ideal, his life in North Korea became unbearable from his knowledge of life in Japan. If he did not know, he would have probably not thought of escaping. North Korea is probably not the only country which has effectively disarmed people of the power of imagination, a free mind, a mind that can think, create and grow. The book mentions that there are others who attempt and sometimes succeed in escaping from the country. Obviously the number is far fewer than one that leads to a possibility of collective resistance. I am amazed at the apathy that humans are capable of. How the lives of ‘others’ can cease to matter for personal gain, for protection of their own countries from the threat of nuclear destruction.
Masaji Ishakawa (trns. Risa Kobayashi and Martin Brown)
2000
Amazon Crossing
pp. 159
The book descibes the life of Ishikawa. Born in Japan to a North Korean father and a Japanese mother, Ishikawa was not yet an adult when he migrated to North Korea along with his family in hope of a better life. What was promised as paradise on earth turned out to be the exact opposite. He describes the events of his life based on his memories of growing up (growing old) in North Korea. Several times during the read, I was tempted to believe that this is a work of fiction. While it isn’t the first time I have read of the conditions of people in North Korea, it is hard to accept the conditions in which people live there. It is impossible to accept that generations of leadership have continued to lead the country into an exploitative way of life, isolating its citizens from the rest of the world. I was left wondering if children who are born and brought up in North Korea know that there is a world that exists elsewhere. Ishikawa could probably think of escaping because he knew that something else exists. While his childhood in Japan was less than ideal, his life in North Korea became unbearable from his knowledge of life in Japan. If he did not know, he would have probably not thought of escaping. North Korea is probably not the only country which has effectively disarmed people of the power of imagination, a free mind, a mind that can think, create and grow. The book mentions that there are others who attempt and sometimes succeed in escaping from the country. Obviously the number is far fewer than one that leads to a possibility of collective resistance. I am amazed at the apathy that humans are capable of. How the lives of ‘others’ can cease to matter for personal gain, for protection of their own countries from the threat of nuclear destruction.
In the book, the description is that of a family that was the lowest in the hierarchical society of North Korea. However, I am sure there is another side of North Korea and I would look for a book that describes the life of a person from a different social class in the country. Ishikawa and the lives of people around them describe how difficult life can be when exploitation stems from sadistic indifference. I am tempted to read about the people who have turned exploitative themselves, who are higher up in the ladder and, at least in their country, privileged.
The book is depressing even in its happiest descriptions. It is a short book, but emotionally charged. I was deeply disappointed that the end also did not provide a glimmer of hope.