Comments (19)

Without You, There Is No Us

My Time With the Sons of North Korea's Elite
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Oct 28, 2022SCL_WeiLing rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This book provides a fascinating insight into life as a young, privileged class in the North Korean regime that was only made possible by Kim going undercover as a Christian missionary and English teacher for six months in the all-male…
Jan 15, 2021ryner rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Born in Seoul, South Korea, but having grown up in the United States, journalist Suki Kim signs on to become a teacher at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in North Korea, a brand new school founded by Christian missionaries…
Jul 01, 2020GreySea rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I wasn't overly impressed with this book. It is a good, light, quick read. I would recommend it to people who've never read anything about North Korea as an easy-to-read introduction. There's not too much depth here and her writing isn't…
Feb 27, 2020mo_moe rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
god bless them..
Sep 06, 2017lilypad_1 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I selected this book because I had just read an article on this group of teachers and the PUST in a recent "Time" magazine. It does give you a picture of a small percentage of the N. Korea population(the elite) but for a better idea of the…
Aug 16, 2017MplsTA rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Everything I have read about NK is from people who have escaped the country. This book is written by someone who is experiencing NK as a teacher and will only be there for a limited time. It's difficult to imagine someone would go there…
Apr 26, 2017snowybear30 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gives the readers an overview of what life in North Korea is. Brave writer! ❤️
Apr 02, 2017ritarufus rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I found this extemely interesting to understand life in North Korea. It takes place at a university for elite males. Amazing how sheltered from the outside they are and the propoganda that is fed to them. The things they believe about the…
Sep 21, 2016yewentan rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Just finished the book written by Suki Kim. A very interesting book, I must say. Kim, as a south Korea-born american journalist who passed as a Christian missionary teaching English in North Korea, had unique perspectives on North Korean…
Sep 01, 2016berniebrunet rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
An interesting read in spite of the sometimes tedious prose. But it's unfortunate that we westerners only see this one type of narrative when a writer references North Korea. Yes it's a shame that there is more corruption in N.K. than…
sungeun2k1
Aug 20, 2016sungeun2k1 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
"When I visited either of the two Koreas I always imagined that I was traveling back to my roots and would discover new truths about my past. Now it occurred to me that the past I was seeking had for many years been buried under and…
Jan 15, 2016PimaLib_MaryG rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
North Korea has intrigued me ever since I visited South Korea in the '80s. This book opens a door into the secretive world that is North Korea today and to the world of secret evangelizers that are trying to plant seeds for future…
Apr 19, 2015smichal rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Very interesting. I have read a couple of other autobiographies by DPRK defectors, so this one just adds another dimension: the life of students. I liked the teacher's observations, even if she didn't really have a chance to see anything…
Apr 12, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I'm gonna disagree with the positive comments that are here. American-based, South Korean-born Suki Kim spent time teaching in North Korea, one of the world's most oppressive, frightening, and close off countries. Since few Westerners…
Homa7
Mar 06, 2015Homa7 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
“On Jun 25, 1950 for Korean generation who lost someone, life is forever divided between before that day and after.” Suki Kim offers a unique and rare reported memoires based on her written journals and events that recorded through her…
Feb 24, 2015
very interesting and extremely well written
Jan 26, 2015athena14 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
As much as I deplore North Korea's totalitarian society, I yearned for the (apparent?) innocence of the students.
Dec 25, 2014
We should work through the UN to bring some relief to the North Korean people. Let CIA /
Nov 04, 2014miaone rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A gripping account of Ms Kim's six months in North Korea in 2011. I read it all at one sitting, and am now reading it a second time, it's that good.