The Aquariums of Pyongyang

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View books by Kang Chol-Hwan, Pierre Rigoulot.

Scary times in North Korea - Rated
This is probably one of the scariest books that I have ever read, for three reasons:

1. It all happened while I was quietly minding my own business at school, taking O'levels, playing rugby and generally having a good time.
2. The main aim in the camps seems to have been to keep people alive, in the most miserable conditions.
3. Even when the author escapes he still struggles to remove himself from the shackles of a warped ideaology.

Buy it, enjoy the sadness, the happiness and the incredible strength of the author's family.

Tense, Gripping and Psychologically Harsh Classic - Rated
With so little to read on this tense region of the world, the author hear tells of a highly emotional and revealing life within the Gulag and the Country itself.
A must for anyone with an interest in the region.

Mindblowing account of growing up in a North Korean gulag - Rated
Attracted to this book by a keen interest in North Korea and a cracking title, 'Aquariums...' did not fail to live up to my expectations. It tells the story of a boy who, at the age of 10, is sent with his family to a North Korean gulag - their 'crime' being that they had earlier emigrated from Japan in a fit of communist pride in their homeland - not a judgement you would expect to come from anyone else except the paranoid, bureaucratic, corrupt North Korean state. That's what the author tells us anyway, and his honest - often brutally so - account of life in the gulag is a fascinating read. Perhaps the author was 'lucky' only to be 10 years old when he was incarcerated: his main concern was the survival of his beautiful aquarium fish that he somehow managed to take with him to the camp. As a result, 'Aquariums' is a much less political account than if it had been told by someone older (by my reckoning, the author is in his early 30s now) and you therefore get more of a feel for the surrounding countryside and the conditions in the different parts of the camps. That the author managed to survive is astounding, and that this book so clearly and openly depicts North Korea's recent past is no less incredible. 'Aquariums' is a step towards dispelling some of the myths surrounding the world's most enigmatic state... read it and learn.

A fascinating insight into North Korean ideology and control - Rated
In "Aquariums of Pyongyang", Kang Chol-Hwan describes his experiences within Yodok gulag (concentration camp)in N. Korea.

Kang Chol-Hwan's account traces the Korean War to the 1990's, however most of the action takes place during the author's own life, particularly the 80's/90's. What makes the book all the more riveting (and the reader feel painfully impotent) is that fact that Yodok and many similar camps are still in unchanged operation today.

The book suffers slightly from the dual translation into french and then english, resulting in some obscure words and rhythm. This however isn't too much of a problem. The book seems to flow better after a few chapters.

Since the author was in Yodok for the majority of the book (with no contact with the outside world) those looking for a political history of N.Korea may be better served elsewhere. This book remains however a fascinating insight into N.Korea's ideology and methods of controlling it's citizens.

A rare and shocking insight into the lives of North Koreans - Rated
There is not a great deal of information available about North Korea so 'Aquariums of Pyongyang' by Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot provides an insight into life in the so-called hermit kingdom. A hard line Stalinist dictatorship, North Korean society is characterised by its lack of personal freedoms, corrupt bureaucracy, constant surveillance by security agents and 'snitches' and the ever-present threat of being sent to one of the country's many prison camps.

Due to an undisclosed 'transgression' against the state committed by his grandfather, Kang's family is sent to camp 15 in the Yodok region. Having lived a relatively privileged life in Pyongyang, the nine-year-old Kang is completely unprepared for what lies ahead.

Throughout Kang's ten year stay at the camp there is never enough food or clothing, adult and child inmates are beaten, brutalised and forced to watch public executions. All the while the inmates are told that they are there because Kim Il-Sung, North Korea's revered 'Great Leader', has been generous enough to grant them a chance at rehabilitation.

Kang notes that the struggle to survive the harsh conditions strips the camp's inmates of their humanity and dignity rendering them little better than animals. In spite of the dehumanising existence Kang suffers in the camp he hears stories of other worse places from where there is never any hope of either release or escape such as the dreaded Senghori camp.

Despite the hardships he endured, the beatings he received and the public executions he was forced to watch Kang can be considered to be one of the luckier ones. He managed to escape from North Korea and his account is one of the first to appear in the wider world.

International attention will be focused on South Korea this summer as it co-hosts the 2002 World Cup Finals with Japan and this will doubtless increase scrutiny of its secretive neighbour to the north. In light of the dearth of information available on North Korea, this book serves as testament to the trials and tribulations that many in that country face. The tales of concentration camps, fear and repression recall the darkest days of Hitler, Stalin and other such despots.

This book is definitely engrossing and at times makes for uncomfortable reading that evokes feelings of both sadness and anger. Having said that, Kang Chol-Hwan and co-author Pierre Rigoulot are telling a timely story that deserves our attention.