A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa

 

A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa - 174 pages

Masaji Ishikawa has led a sad and interesting life. Born in Japan to a Korean father and a Japanese mother, his family was transplanted in North Korea at the founding of the new country. Ishikawa endured an unbelievable and tortuous life in North Korea and eventually escaped to China and returned to his home country of Japan. However, when he returns "home", he finds that he isn't quite familiar with what home truly is.

This memoir was simply heartbreaking. Hearing of Masaji's horrific experiences in North Korea was a wake-up call for myself. It made me grateful to simply have clean clothes and food to eat. He interjects some humor throughout, as dark as it may be, which brings a bit of lightheartedness to the very dense and sad material. It is also shown that "Masaji Ishikawa" may not even be this man's real name, in order to protect his identity from the North Korean government. This was a fantastic, short read that I highly recommend. 5/5 stars.