From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

The Tears of My Soul

Kim Hyun Hee

Start date: January 16, 2018

Finish date: February 20, 2018

Discussion: NORTH KOREA: Tears of My Soul

Why we're reading this: Our choice for North Korea is The Tears of My Soul. Discussion runs from Feb. 15-20. When Korean Air Line…more
[close] Our choice for North Korea is The Tears of My Soul. Discussion runs from Feb. 15-20. When Korean Air Lines flight 858 exploded in 1987, killing 115 passengers, international law-enforcement officials immediately started searching for the hardened North Korean terrorists who could have committed such a crime. What they found was Kim Hyun Hee, an idealistic young woman who had been transformed by her country into an obedient killing machine.

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Showing 2 of 2 topics — 16 comments total

NORTH KOREA: Tears of My Soul

As You Read - What are you thinking about The Tears of My Soul?
By Cait · 15 posts · 5 views

last updated Mar 02, 2018 10:20AM

Books on South Korea
By Becki · 1 post · 4 views

last updated Feb 16, 2018 10:07AM

What Members Thought

Mar 02, 2018 Becki Iverson rated it it was amazing

So we read this book for my global book club last month. It wasn't my pick and it was kind of hard to find so it took me forever to get to - but I'm so glad I read this! I found it a quick and completely fascinating read. I especially liked it because it tells a more holistic truth about North Korea. So often in the West all we here are diatribes and oversimplifications of the issue, forgetting that there are actual real people living there. Their day to day lives are unimaginable, and Kim Hee's ...more

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Jan 28, 2018 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: asia, memoirs, around-the-world

This was a riveting account written by the woman who carried out one of the most well-known acts of terrorism sponsored by the North Korean government — the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 in 1987. Kim Hyun Hee describes her childhood being brainwashed to support the regime and to hate the United States and capitalism (to the extent that she was terrified to see American cans wash up on the shore during time spent in Cuba as a child), her intense training to become a North Korean spy, her trial This was a riveting account written by the woman who carried out one of the most well-known acts of terrorism sponsored by the North Korean government — the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 in 1987. Kim Hyun Hee describes her childhood being brainwashed to support the regime and to hate the United States and capitalism (to the extent that she was terrified to see American cans wash up on the shore during time spent in Cuba as a child), her intense training to become a North Korean spy, her trial mission being sent on a trip to various countries in Europe, and her eventual “mission” and capture followed by her confession and conversion. The book is unfortunately quite hard to find in the US, but it is worth seeking out. All revenues are donated to the families of those who died in the bombing.

There are so many interesting details about North Korea contained here. Just as you think you have a sense of daily life there, some fact is thrown in (for example, children picking maggots out of dung for points for rations) that seems completely incomprehensible. This is a society where the government actually medically monitors women’s virginity until marriage, where women are expected to perform equally in intense physical training yet even high ranking women (along with the majority of North Koreans) aren’t allowed to drive cars, where men are discouraged from drinking beer in case they say something offensive to the regime that causes their family to be sent to a labor camp, where people are indoctrinated to feel shame about attachment to their own family members. I found it especially fascinating to watch the progress of the author’s de-radicalization. Her ideology was so entrenched that she remained loyal even after having traveled widely around the world to capitalist countries. It was only upon return to her homeland that she began to see things from the other perspective.

This book is a great choice if you are interested in a nuanced depiction of radicalization and redemption or in true spy stories. It is also one of the few available books in English about North Korea written by a citizen of that country and gives a rare glimpse of this world so few foreigners have access to. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2018 Cait rated it it was amazing

Shelves: asian-author, books-by-woci, books-by-poci, non-fiction, reading-around-the-world, korea-north, immigration-ban, memoir

Feb 07, 2018 Sylvia Bull rated it really liked it

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