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The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag Paperback – Illustrated, August 24, 2005

by Chol-hwan Kang (Author), Pierre Rigoulot (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,191 ratings
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"Destined to become a classic" (Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking), this harrowing memoir of life inside North Korea was the first account to emerge from the notoriously secretive country -- and it remains one of the most terrifying.

Amid escalating nuclear tensions, Kim Jong-un and North Korea's other leaders have kept a tight grasp on their one-party state, quashing any nascent opposition movements and sending all suspected dissidents to its brutal concentration camps for "re-education."

Kang Chol-Hwan is the first survivor of one of these camps to escape and tell his story to the world, documenting the extreme conditions in these gulags and providing a personal insight into life in North Korea. Sent to the notorious labor camp Yodok when he was nine years old, Kang observed frequent public executions and endured forced labor and near-starvation rations for ten years. In 1992, he escaped to South Korea, where he found God and now advocates for human rights in North Korea.

Part horror story, part historical document, part memoir, part political tract, this book brings together unassailable firsthand experience, setting one young man's personal suffering in the wider context of modern history, giving eyewitness proof to the abuses perpetrated by the North Korean regime.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    238 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Basic Books
  4. Publication date
    August 24, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0465011047
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0465011049
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Aquariums of Pyongyang is one of the most terrifying memoirs I have ever read. As the first account to emerge from North Korea, it is destined to become a classic."―Iris Chang, authorof The Rape of Nanking

"A triumph against silence."―Financial Times

"A chilling testimony.... Freezes the heart and seizes the soul."―Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Kang Chol-Hwan is founder and president of the North Korea Strategy Center.

Pierre Rigoulot is a journalist, historian, and human rights activist living in Paris, France. He is the author of numerous books on the history of political repression and contributed the North Korean chapter to the bestselling The Black Book of Communism.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; 7/25/05 edition (August 24, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 238 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465011047
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465011049
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,191 ratings

About the author

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Chʻŏr-hwan Kang

Chʻŏr-hwan Kang

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4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
3,191 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

HL
5.0 out of 5 stars This is an amazing book, very thorough and interesting from beginning to ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2016
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This is an amazing book, very thorough and interesting from beginning to end. I had just recently finished reading "The Orphan Master's Son" which is an amazing amazing novel about life in North Korea which also has a character in the concentration camps, so although that book was rooted in some fact, it was a novel and I really wanted to read a factual account of someone who had been in the concentration camps in North Korea. This book is eye opening and should be read by every one! Maybe I am biased because I am fascinated by North Korea, but I would highly recommend reading The Orphan Master's Son which is one of the best novels I have ever read and is very much a fantasy, but covers a lot of different aspects of life in different places in North Korea; and then reading The Aquariums of Pyongyang to read about one man's actual experience. I think these books in the reverse order may make the Orphan Master's Son seem a little too far-fetched. I'm rambling now.. read this book! Read both books! Read any other books about the DPRK that you can get your hands on to spread awareness of the human rights atrocities being committed on a daily basis.
4 people found this helpful
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J B
4.0 out of 5 stars A courageous, heartbreaking, eye opening, biography
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2015
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I work in the travel industry and have seen and worked with people from all over the world. One day it occured to me that I had never once met someone born in North Korea, this piqued my interest so I decided to do some research. I am in no way an expert on politics or foreign affairs or civil rights. I'm just a regular shmo who was curious about life in North Korea. Reading this book opened my eyes to a country I knew virtually nothing about. I ignorantly thought North Korea and it's leaders were just a bunch of punch lines to insensitive jokes. This book really gives the reader a glimpse into the everyday people of a nation utterly isolated from the rest of the world and denied everyday experiences many of us take for granted.

The book centers on one man born in North Korea to an affluent family with ties to Japan. He is a rare breed in the country as most North Koreans know only poverty and struggle. The book follows his early years, his families decline in favor and his ultimate imprisonment in one of North Korea's many horrifying prison camps. The majority of his young life and early adulthood is spent in one of these forced labor camps reserved for family members of citizens imprisoned in much stricter and terrifying conditions. His only crime was being related to someone the North Korean government deemed guilty of crimes against their great leader and country.

This book is unique in many ways. I've read several biographies now on life in North Korea written by prior citizens of DPRK who ultimately defected to non communist countries. This particular biography is one of the most interesting to me for several reasons. It's a story of a boy who experienced both extremes of North Korean living. He was born into a rich family that was well taken care of and had many privledges the majority of the country did not. He had a television, ample food, a large house and nice clothing. Where most other families were lucky to have enough to eat each day. This early life gave him a unique perspective gave the reader a fleeting glimpse into what the elite lived like in this communist regime. At the age of 10 he and his family were sent to a forced labor camp thus hurling him into a life which was the polar opposite of everything he knew. His description of his time in the camp is heart breaking, graphic and surreal. At such a young age to be treated worse than anything I could imagine in conditions no living thing should ever experience he managed to survive at any cost.

The book chronicles his life in the camp, his ultimate release, his life back in regular society during the infamous famine and his ultimate decision and journey to defect to the South. He also touches upon the difficulties of life in a westernized society and his experience transitioning to a country that viewed him not as an equal of Korean heritage but as a lesser version. Overall a bittersweet escape.

Mr. Kang has seen both extremes, the privledge and the horror of his birth country's communist regime. He experienced how fragile life, favor, and status can be in such a government. His tale is one of deep saddness, bravery and an infallible will to survive. While reading this book it's difficult to remember and keep in perspective that these events are true, that such a country exists that it isn't some made up cautionary fairy tale but rather a real life hunger games. These people lived this horror, they still live it today and we and the rest of the world barely even know about it.

I finished this book and instantly wanted to learn more and see what other people experienced and most of the books I've read are very similar. All the defectors are incredibly brave people who fought for their lives and their families and decided to escape and create new lives in a world they knew nothing about. In my opinion everyone should read this book, everyone should be made aware of the living conditions and the grotesque human rights violations that is their reality. Kim Jong Il, his father and his son, none of them are just silly little men ripe for parody. They are real monsters and they are causing suffering on a level I never could have imagined before reading this book. No country is perfect but it does put into perspective our lives and the way in which we live.

I've read many reviews on this book and several other biographies written by DPRK defectors and some concerns from readers are that details may have been exaggerated or embellished from these people's lives to make a more compelling biography. Perhaps they have, but even if only 25% of the horrors this book and other's like it describe are true than that's more than anything I can imagine. All of these people have experienced hardships we as westerners will most likely never know and they are brave enough to tell their stories in great detail. This book is an eye opener, it makes you appreciate the life we have, the freedoms we take for granted daily and the opportunities we are given everyday that others may only dream of. I recommend reading this book, to take the time to learn a bit about a country that so desperately wants to remain a secret. It inspired me to be thankful for my life, my luck and my world and inspired me to become more involved in organizations that can help others maintain and achieve all the civil rights every human being deserves.
19 people found this helpful
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David Alston
5.0 out of 5 stars Very, Very Vital Reading
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2006
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My reading of human-rights literature is a little slender, but THE AQUARIUMS OF PYONGYANG ranks as one of the best I've thus far discovered.

The symbolism of the title is one of the only real literary devices on display here (and it is both apt and effectively used); otherwise this very straightforward account of a family and a childhood turned inside out by the absolute moral corruption of the North Korean regime is a dry, devastating and informative read. Kang's writing successfully balances between the matter-of-fact and a conversational informality that manages do almost accomplish the impossible: to have not experienced the politics and controls of North Korea, I don't think any of us could truly see the world through his eyes, but he does manage to get close enough to make this a scary piece of literature, and an enraging one for anyone who cares about the state of human rights, which would hopefully be all of us.

Throughout, I was reminded specifically of the late Dr. Haing Ngor's A CAMBODIAN ODYSSEY. Dr. Ngor survived the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge years in Cambodia, only to subsequently gain fame in the west through the film "The Killing Fields;" a powerful film greatly overshadowed by the grim detail of his own autobiographical account. THE AQUARIUMS OF PYONGYANG is very similar - both in the undeniability of Ngor and Kang's repective insistence upon levels of human dignity that most of us take for granted, and in the parallels between the two nations. The current state of affairs in North Korea inspires very little hope; this updated edition of this book provides a link to the website of the NGO organized by Kang, and this resource is valuable - this must-read book is only the beginning, in many ways.

I will state that I am a cynic and a skeptic about just about everything that I read and hear; and I came away from this book firmly convinced that it's author is one of today's more heroic figures, and that this book is absolutely essential.

-David Alston
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Top reviews from other countries

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Cheryne H.
5.0 out of 5 stars unimaginable cruelty
Reviewed in Canada on March 14, 2024
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The cruelty man expels on man is far too common around the world. Coming from a free country I will never understand why people like to kill and torcher each other. The world is so beautiful and if we can only live in peace there is so much to gain and so much happiness available.
This book was very interesting. I wasn’t surprised by the treatment of the people in North Korea or in the camps only the kind of torcher and punishment. Leaders like Kim Jung Il should be obliterated from the face of the earth.
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william gersten
5.0 out of 5 stars excelente
Reviewed in Mexico on January 26, 2020
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excelente
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Rupendra
5.0 out of 5 stars Book is about miserable lives of North Korean Citizens
Reviewed in India on July 26, 2020
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It's really worth to read which will give the historical view of North Korean citizens and their lives. How their great leaders have/had made the life of its own people miserable. There is no freedom and democracy which should be immediately attended and actioned by UNHRC and the popular world leaders.
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nickthesnapper
5.0 out of 5 stars A decent insight!.
Reviewed in Australia on October 14, 2017
Verified Purchase
With all the recent events regarding NK and president Trump I felt a need to look behind the presidential utterances and typical media spin.
This book is not a recent release but it renders a deep insight into the typical life of the NK population. An eye opener it was indeed!!, and a gripping story in so many ways. It has provided a background so I can make a better judgement of the recent twists and turns in the USA / NK media stories. My best wishes to the author and his desire to improve the lives of the North Korean population.
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Ovidio Gentiloni
5.0 out of 5 stars Un libro importante su un paese, ma soprattutto su un regime, sul quale il mondo tace colpevolmente!
Reviewed in Italy on November 24, 2014
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Come da titolo della recensione, si tratta di un libro molto importante e interessante.
E' uno squarcio di luce in quello che è il paese più chiuso e folle del mondo.
In mano a una dinastia di pazzi stalinisti, l'intero paese è ridotto alla fame e a un livello di terrore e paranoia disumanizzante.
Oggigiorno si parla tanto di raffigurazioni cinematografiche di società e mondi distopici: ebbene, sulla terra c'è qualcosa che va oltre ogni immaginazione.
Non si può non pensare a 1984 di Orwell, solo che questa è la verità.
E l'autore, va detto, non si trova nemmeno in uno dei campi peggiori, quelli per detenuti politici considerati irrecuperabili. Per avere un'idea di cosa succeda in quegli altri campi, consiglio Escape From Camp 14, di Blaine Harden.
Con quello, davvero!!!, si tocca il fondo.
Chi pensasse che l'Unione Sovietica e il Nazismo, la Cina della rivoluzione culturale o la Cambogia dei Khmer Rossi avessero raggiunto livelli inarrivabili, non potrà che ricredersi.
E, ciononostante, il comunismo viene ancora giustificato e idolatrato.............
3 people found this helpful
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