The Hard Road Out Spiral-Bound | 2023-01-31
Jihyun Park Seh-lynn Chai Sarah Baldwin (Translated by)
★★★★☆+ from 101 to 500 ratings
The Hard Road Out
In the tradition of The Girl with Seven Names and In Order to Live comes the harrowing story of a woman who escaped famine and terror in North Korea, not once but twice.
North Korea is an open-air prison from which there is no escape. Only a handful of men and women have succeeded.
Jihyun Park is one of these rare survivors. Twice she left the land of the 'socialist miracle' to flee famine and dictatorship.
By the age of 29 she had already witnessed a lifetime of suffering. Family members had died of starvation; her brother was beaten nearly to death by soldiers. Even smiling and laughing was discouraged.
The first time she ran, she was forced abandon her father on his deathbed--crossing the border under a hail of bullets. In China she was sold to a farmer, with whom she had a son, before being denounced and forcibly returned to North Korea.
Six months later prison guards abandoned her, injured, outside a camp. She recovered and returned China to seek her son, now six, before attempting to navigate the long, hard road through the Gobi Desert and into Mongolia.
Sober and free from pathos, this deeply personal story reveals a Korea far removed from the talk of nuclear weapons and economic sanctions. Jihyun gives us a detailed account of the lives of Family 256 which remains positive and hopeful despite all the hardships she's endured. Recalling life's tiny pleasures amidst terrible suffering, she manages to instill her tale with incredible grace and humanity.
This beautiful book offers a stark lesson in determination, and in the importance of asylum.
"What Park has done is extraordinarily brave, and rare. She is a survivor who fights to live a life of dignity. This is her story. It should be shared widely." -Christine Chung, Senior Advisor to the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
"A startling and brutal reminder of the horrific plight of North Koreans in China, particularly those who are forcibly repatriated. Jihyun narrates the heart-breaking account with such tender desperation that is nothing short of the enduring power of a mother's unconditional love for her children. This memoir is a must-read and a critical wake-up call to bring justice to the plight of North Korean refugees." -Sylvia Kim, Human Rights lawyer
"A compelling and well-written account of life inside (and outside of) North Korea. Moving without being sentimental, comprehensive but never dry." -Daniel Tudor, author of North Korea Confidential
"A story of suffering, detention, fear and humiliation. Eventually, in vividly descriptive books like this one, the voice of the victims will be heard and there will be accountability." -The Hon Michael Kirby, former Chair of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Violations in North Korea
"Gripping. Strikes a good balance in offering colorful cultural details to a western reader who is unlikely to know much about this closed-off part of the world." -Alice Fookes and Anna Souter, UN Women UK
"A steely determination shines through Jihyun's kindly face." -Daily Mail
"Jihyun Park is the first defector to seek political office outside the Korean peninsula." -The Sun
"Few people can lay claim to a life as remarkable as that of Jihyun Park." -Manchester Evening News
"Courage and sacrifice befall few. Jihyun is one of those few. This fascinating and shocking book allows us to stand with Jihyun and others like her." - Lord David Alton, Chairman of the British-DPRK All-Party Parliamentary Group
Jihyun Park was born in Chongjin, North Korea, in 1968. She experienced acute poverty, famine, illness, and intimidation. She first escaped at the age of 29. After her second escape from North Korea, with the help of the UN, she was granted asylum seeker status in 2008 and moved to Bury, Greater Manchester, where she lives with her husband Kwang and three children. She has been outreach and project officer at the European Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea and is a human rights activist.
Seh-Lynn Chai is South Korean. She divides her time between London, where she lives with her family, and Seoul, where her parents reside. She has a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in French Literature from L'Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV) and an MBA from Columbia Business School. After a career in finance at JP Morgan, she is now an active campaigner for peace on the Korean Peninsula and for human rights and has served on the Korean government's Peaceful Unification Advisory Council.