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A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
by
The harrowing true story of one man’s life in—and subsequent escape from—North Korea, one of the world’s most brutal totalitarian regimes.
Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa was just thirteen years old, and unwittin ...more
Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa was just thirteen years old, and unwittin ...more
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Kindle Edition, 174 pages
Published
January 1st 2018
by AmazonCrossing
(first published 2000)
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Start your review of A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
Serfdom is freedom. Repression is liberation. A police state is a democratic republic. And we were “the masters of our own destiny.” And if we begged to differ, we were dead.
This is one powerful little memoir. It's a true story that sounds like dystopian fiction - for most of us, it is difficult to imagine families being lured to a new "paradise", only to be met with famine, concentration camps and violence. It's hard to accept that this is still part of our world.
I, like many, am fascinated ...more
The short version: This is easily the best firsthand narrative about life in North Korea that I've found, and it's a gripping, well-written story in its own right. If you haven't read anything like this, it will be VERY educational. But be aware that it doesn't have the happy ending the title implies, and prepare yourself accordingly.
The long version: Some years ago, I realized that my view of North Korea was overly cartoonish. I didn't want to think of it as "the most hilarious awful dictators ...more
The long version: Some years ago, I realized that my view of North Korea was overly cartoonish. I didn't want to think of it as "the most hilarious awful dictators ...more
A simply told, but harrowing take of one mans anguish and desperation, living in North Korea. We find how how he came to live there and the toll it took on his family, then and in the future. It is beyond a horrible existence for those who have no status, live on the fringes of the country, forced to work in whatever job is given. Work for food, but even that little bit of substinance is not provided. Starting, living in hovels, at the mercy of whoever is in authority, anyone with a status that
...more
Masaji Ishikawa's harrowing memoir, A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea, is astounding! I recently read Suki Kim's Without You: There is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea's Elite. I really liked Suki Kim's work and thought there were great insights on the mindset of North Koreans. A River of Darkness has remarkable insights on North Korea as well, but it is completely different. Ishikawa focuses on the mindset of average North Koreans along with the extreme priva
...more
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I liked A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea a lot. It is a personally told story. The author is speaking from his heart of what he has experienced—first ostracism in Japan due to his dual Japanese and Korean background, then the horror of the thirty-six years of his life spent in North Korea from 1960-1996 under the rule of Kim Il Sung and then Kim Jong Il, why he had to flee, how he did it and finally what happened when he returned to Japan. During his youth in Japan, where h
...more
It's been a while since I read anything in one sitting, but this was utterly heartbreaking and compelling.
Masaji Ishikawa and his family moved to North Korea during the great migration of Japanese/Korean immigrants to the communist state in the 1960s. Promises of a paradise and jobs for all duped many a family at the time, but the reality was far from what was expected.
This is by far one of the best first hand accounts I've read of life in North Korea, and in some respects it completely overwh ...more
Masaji Ishikawa and his family moved to North Korea during the great migration of Japanese/Korean immigrants to the communist state in the 1960s. Promises of a paradise and jobs for all duped many a family at the time, but the reality was far from what was expected.
This is by far one of the best first hand accounts I've read of life in North Korea, and in some respects it completely overwh ...more
A devastating account of one man's life in North Korea. This also has the added element of examining North Korean life from the perspective of someone who is half-Japanese, half-Korean. A good companion piece of Pachinko and In Order to Live.
...more
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Genre:
Nonfiction
Synopsis:
Masaji Ishikawa, a 13-year-old boy who is half Japanese and half Korean move from Japan to North Korea with his family. Once in Korea, they will have to adapt to a completely new life and a new world.
“There’s a saying, “Sadness and gladness follow each other.” As I see it, people who experience equal amounts of sadness and happiness in their lives must be incredibly blessed.”
My Thoughts:
This memoir is very hard to read for several reasons. It shows how l ...more
Genre:
Nonfiction
Synopsis:
Masaji Ishikawa, a 13-year-old boy who is half Japanese and half Korean move from Japan to North Korea with his family. Once in Korea, they will have to adapt to a completely new life and a new world.
“There’s a saying, “Sadness and gladness follow each other.” As I see it, people who experience equal amounts of sadness and happiness in their lives must be incredibly blessed.”
My Thoughts:
This memoir is very hard to read for several reasons. It shows how l ...more
Feb 03, 2019
Jessaka
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
north-korea
This was a disturbing true story about conditions in North Korea, so much so that I find that I don’t wish to go back and listen to parts of it again in order to make a better review.
If only the world was not so full of suffering. If only people were not beaten, killed, starved or worked to death, what a better place this would be. But what happened in North Korea, and could still be happening for all I know happens in many countries, and it makes me wish that the U.N. could step in and correct ...more
If only the world was not so full of suffering. If only people were not beaten, killed, starved or worked to death, what a better place this would be. But what happened in North Korea, and could still be happening for all I know happens in many countries, and it makes me wish that the U.N. could step in and correct ...more
May 06, 2018
~The Bookish Redhead~
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
inspirational,
non-fiction
"Her desperation, her fear, her exhaustion-all of it seeped through her thin clothes and straight into my heart."
This is not the first non fiction book that I have read, regarding real people's lives in North Korea. It probably won't be my last, either. Much of the information in this particular account wasn't new to me, but this did not stop the utter disbelief washing over me, as I was reading.
This very personal memoir is just gut-wrenchingly tragic, and it is told with such honestly, that the ...more
This is not the first non fiction book that I have read, regarding real people's lives in North Korea. It probably won't be my last, either. Much of the information in this particular account wasn't new to me, but this did not stop the utter disbelief washing over me, as I was reading.
This very personal memoir is just gut-wrenchingly tragic, and it is told with such honestly, that the ...more
While the life that Mr. Ishikawa live was horrifying by anyone standards, I found that at time the book was difficult to read. At moments it seemed as though a cohesive thought was not entirely transformed from reality to word. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that this book was written from translation, so I can’t really fault it.
I’m not a history buff, I will never claim to be. I know enough that I was able to graduate from school but never really gave much thought to what was being ...more
I’m not a history buff, I will never claim to be. I know enough that I was able to graduate from school but never really gave much thought to what was being ...more
A breathtaking real, unfiltered view of life in North Korea as a Japanese-Korean. Not all tales end happily, but Masaji Ishikawa's story exemplifies the resilience of the human spirit and importance of optimism even in the darkest of times.
Winston Smith was a pussy. After reading this book his misery doesn't seem like a big deal to me. After all he only had to take care of himself, didn't have kids or relatives to take care of in the imaginary world of 1984. Love interest? Oh please. Masaji Ishikawa did have a family and was a caring son, father and brother. And he really tried to make lives better no matter what in that hell of a country and the hell of a system. Betrayed and left on his own for more than a couple of times he nev
...more
Feb 22, 2018
Holly
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2018-read,
non-fiction
This isn't the first non-fiction book I've read about real people's lives in North Korea (the first was Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea), so some of the information wasn't new to me this time around. However, this still was gut wrenching and captivating and horrifying. I can't imagine how so many people can endure so much needless suffering. I highly recommend reading either book - I think there's not enough people who realize how bad it really is in North Korea and why other coun
...more
The horror of life in North Korea
Beyond comprehension. The atrocities are being silenced but must be made known. No one should endure what these people do.
Beyond comprehension. The atrocities are being silenced but must be made known. No one should endure what these people do.
A memoir that will tear your heart right out. Very eye-opening account of a man's life and escape from North Korea. A short read but very, very sad.
I feel like I've been on a non-fiction kick lately and I've loved every minute of it.
What first got my attention was the cover. I don't really know how else to explain it other than say it intrigued me so much that I didn't even think twice before I clicked it.
Second, the title makes you think it will be a happy-ish book. Or that it will have a happy ending after all of the doom, sadness, and torture thrown upon you. Don't get your hopes up high people because this is one spoiler you will get fr ...more
What first got my attention was the cover. I don't really know how else to explain it other than say it intrigued me so much that I didn't even think twice before I clicked it.
Second, the title makes you think it will be a happy-ish book. Or that it will have a happy ending after all of the doom, sadness, and torture thrown upon you. Don't get your hopes up high people because this is one spoiler you will get fr ...more
Jan 02, 2018
Chandra Claypool (wherethereadergrows)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
My first love in books is horror followed closely by psychological thrillers. When I read nonfiction/memoirs, I typically stay somewhat within the same genre - true crime, etc. As a half South Korean woman, I also typically avoid reading anything regarding North Korea. I always assumed that these types of books would be the only ones that would get me "triggered"... and by that I mean PISSED OFF! However, when Ashley at Amazon Publishing gave me this book, I couldn't NOT read it.. and I'm SO hap
...more
This is the true story of Masaji Ishikawa's life and escape from North Korea. He moved to North Korea when he was 13 years old, and spent 36 years living in horrific conditions with his family and children before fleeing with his life. It's so heartbreaking, appalling, and full of sadness and despair. However, If you like nonfiction or memoirs... I highly recommend. Bonus = It's a book in translation and I was able to learn about a place I knew nothing much about.
May 12, 2020
Nenia ⚔️ Queen of Villainy ⚔️ Campbell
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to Nenia ⚔️ Queen of Villainy ⚔️ by:
Emily May
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I picked this up last year from the Kindle store as a freebie for World Book Day because the reviews for it looked great. It took me a while to read it though, because the subject matter looked heavy. North Korea gets a lot of bad press in the U.S.-- admittedly, for good reason-- but often in a way that portrays the nation as a cartoon straw man and in a way that diminishes the psychology and the history that facilitates tyrannical rule, ...more
I honestly think this book is the modern day Night. It's just as harrowing a story and is something that needs to be talked about and pushed into the public eye more. I'm sat here worried about Brexit but at the end of the day, I'm going to have my family, food and a place to live - millions of people living in North Korea have none of these things. I know you can't always compare your situation to situations such as this but it puts things into perspective and makes you realise just how easy yo
...more
Memoir of Masaji Ishikawa wherein he relates the details of his life from being born in Japan in 1947 to moving with his family to North Korea, where they were promised “paradise on earth,” to his escape to Japan in 1996. Unsurprisingly, the so-called paradise never materialized, and his family’s standard of living gradually diminished until it reached starvation-level.
Ishikawa tells his story in a very straight-forward conversational manner. This memoir delivered educational information about l ...more
Ishikawa tells his story in a very straight-forward conversational manner. This memoir delivered educational information about l ...more
This is a short book, but what a harrowing, thought-provoking story it tells! It is not an easy read, this man's account of life in North Korea, his escape back to Japan and the terrible losses he and his family suffered in the process. I kept feeling stunned when the author mentioned the dates - so recent! - and that people dying of starvation seems a fairly common occurrence in North Korea. he paints a bleak picture, made bearable by the fact that he felt close bonds with his family. An eye-op
...more
A RIVER OF DARKNESS by Masaji Ishikawa (translated by Risa Kobayashi and Martin Brown) Thank you so much to Amazon Publishing for sending me a free copy - all opinions are my own.
“Someone once said, ‘If a crying baby could tear down the universe, it would.’ Thats how I felt that day. I wanted to demolish the whole universe, but the sad truth was, it had already come crashing down around my head.”
My Review:
This story is so personal—you feel as if your friend is telling you a story. It’s not over ...more
“Someone once said, ‘If a crying baby could tear down the universe, it would.’ Thats how I felt that day. I wanted to demolish the whole universe, but the sad truth was, it had already come crashing down around my head.”
My Review:
This story is so personal—you feel as if your friend is telling you a story. It’s not over ...more
One Word Review: Harrowing
"So there we were—the beneficiaries of smug humanitarianism—prisoners in paradise on earth."
After reading this book, my first inclination is: What right do I have to judge Masaji Ishikawa's life story? Not much as far as I can see, my opinion is irrelevant.
"I soon learned that thought was not free in North Korea. A free thought could get you killed if it slipped out."
This is a raw, honest story of extreme suffering told in a unique voice—I'm not sure if it was the tran ...more
"So there we were—the beneficiaries of smug humanitarianism—prisoners in paradise on earth."
After reading this book, my first inclination is: What right do I have to judge Masaji Ishikawa's life story? Not much as far as I can see, my opinion is irrelevant.
"I soon learned that thought was not free in North Korea. A free thought could get you killed if it slipped out."
This is a raw, honest story of extreme suffering told in a unique voice—I'm not sure if it was the tran ...more
May 06, 2020
Ieva Andriuskeviciene
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-books
A story about half Japanese man who moved to live in North Korea with his family when he was a child. It supposed to be a promised communistic wonderland. His heroic escape back to Japan after 35 years and facing the reality is shocking.
Sad. Very sad book. I was expecting an optimistic story how he ran away and everyone is happy.
Unfortunately it is nothing like that.
He is a hero with survivors guilt.
Sad. Very sad book. I was expecting an optimistic story how he ran away and everyone is happy.
Unfortunately it is nothing like that.
He is a hero with survivors guilt.
I've long been interested in North Korea - writing my undergraduate dissertation on female North Korean refugees and their treatment in China - so I always try to check out any new memoirs or non-fiction books on the country. I've previously read Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, This is Paradise!, Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home and parts of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty
...more
This is one of those books that has been hiding in my kindle for about a year now. A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa is a first-hand account of his life in North Korea and ultimately his escape. Masaji Ishikawa was born to a Japanese mother and a Korean father. Growing up in Japan, he often felt like he did not belong. However. at a young age, his father took him and the rest of his family to North Korea under the impression that they would have a better life. This is not the life they foun
...more
Tragic. That one word sums up this entire memoir.
I've read both Fiction and Non-Fiction books about North Korea which has provided me a pretty good background about what life is like there. What I didn't know until reading this memoir is nearly 80,000 Japanese moved to North Korea after WWII. They were told North Korea was a land of paradise. The author was born in Japan and moved to North Korea in 1960 when he was 13 years old. He lived there for 36 years. It is truly astounding that so many mo ...more
I've read both Fiction and Non-Fiction books about North Korea which has provided me a pretty good background about what life is like there. What I didn't know until reading this memoir is nearly 80,000 Japanese moved to North Korea after WWII. They were told North Korea was a land of paradise. The author was born in Japan and moved to North Korea in 1960 when he was 13 years old. He lived there for 36 years. It is truly astounding that so many mo ...more
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| Non Fiction Book ...: A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea (Sep 8-Oct 7, 2019) | 31 | 61 | Oct 04, 2019 06:18PM | |
| Around the World ...: Discussion for A River in Darkness | 3 | 25 | Aug 15, 2019 06:12PM | |
| Kansas City-Girly...: March | 1 | 7 | Mar 26, 2019 09:30AM | |
| Reading the World: A River in Darkness - Spoilers | 24 | 17 | Feb 25, 2019 05:54PM | |
| Play Book Tag: A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea - Masai Ishikawa - 4 stars | 3 | 26 | Jun 27, 2018 12:26PM | |
| Play Book Tag: A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa | 8 | 70 | May 17, 2018 02:11PM |
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“And I came to recognize that, no matter how difficult the reality, you mustn’t let yourself be beaten. You must have a strong will. You have to summon what you know is right from your innermost depths and follow it.”
—
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“You don't choose to be born. You just are. And your birth is your destiny, some say. I say the hell with that. And I should know. I was born not just once but five times. And five times I learned the same lesson. Sometimes in life, you have to grab your so-called destiny by the throat and wring its neck.”
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