I'm left with a strange feeling after reading this. According to his own story he has broken his agreement with the Japanese government by publishing this. This leads to one of three conclusions: 1) The author had permission to publish, but it was not disclosed in the book, 2) He published surreptitiously, or 3) This is a work of fiction. Which is it?

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8 years ago
8 answers

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Shannon In the Copyright area of my Kindle book, it says that he changed some names, withheld some details, and used a pen name...all to protect his family and friends back in North Korea. "Otherwise, all the events described in this book happened as he remembers them, or was told about them by others"

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Marianne K Yes, I agree with Bettina. In the book it was requested he “wait” before implicating Japan. He escaped in 1996 and the book was published in Japan in 2000. I’ve read many memoirs written by escapees from NORK and I have no doubt that this is truthful.

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Joan

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

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Duane I haven't read the book... But these comments have me completely confused.
Japan and Korea have *never* been on good terms and during WW II, the Japanese *enslaved* the Koreans - they shipped their women off to serve as prostitutes for the Imperial Japanese Army. IIRC when relations thawed somewhat, the Japanese *immediately* agreed to reparations with SK... and Korean movies *still* treat the Japanese as imperialist aggressors... Etc., etc. ...
So, not only why, but *how* could a Japanese emigrate to Korea after WW II, without getting brutalized? You'd have to be *nuts*, by my understanding of *that* situation... ??

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Bettina I thought I read in the book that Japan just needed him to wait; at least that was implied. He escaped in 2010? I think... so the statute of limitations or whatever has run out and he is free to publish.

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Richard D. Barr I felt the very same way after reading this book. Very interesting, but I truly wonder about its authenticity. It will be interesting to hear if anyone follows up on this with more factual information.

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Reeves Not sure if anyone is still interested. This book isn't published in Japan, which means it's only translated in English and other languages. Hope the info helps.

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