"A river in darkness", this book is about Masaji Ishikawa, who fled North Korea, his lifetime experience of North Korea, the worse conditions that a human has to go through beyond imagination. "NORTH KOREA" is a country located in the Korean Peninsula, an independent socialist country often considered a hermit and an isolated country. There are many media reports about its human rights violation, speculation about the life of North Koreans.
Firstly, Masaji, a half Korean and half Japanese, born in Japan and then his family moves to North Korea, promised to be a fruitful land.
The family's expectations are short-lived when they find the living conditions in North Korea far worst than their life in Japan, and to their agony, they have to go through brutal inferior treatment as a returnee. Despite all the hardships, Masaki studies hard and dreams of going to college to study physics but is cut short when he is not allowed. As a returnee, he can follow only certain professions. After that, there are further ups and downs in his life. But things go worst with the plague. There is a shortage of food. People were starving to the extent that they were cases of men eating their family members. Looking at the unbearable condition of his family members, Masaji decides to escape North Korea and save his family from the catastrophe.
This book is a must-read as it will give you an idea about the horrifying living conditions in North Korea and make you count your blessings.
