아름답 다 , ah - lum - dahp - dah : Our Neighbors to the North 
 Before I came to Korea , pretty much all I knew about North Korea was 
 a ) it is a scary , scary place 
 b ) it ' s pretty much the world ' s last " Commie " nation 
 c ) Kim Jong Ill can sure look terrifying , even in those goofy jumpsuits he ' s so fond of 
 Since I ' ve been in Korea , however , I ' ve obviously learned quite a bit more about Korean history , and more specifically , North Korean history . It really is a fascinating place , and these three books have really peaked my interest in particular : 
 1 ) Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick was based off of the testimonials of North Korean refugees who defected to South Korea . Some of the most striking descriptions of everyday life within the Hermit Kingdom I ' ve ever read . I also was particularly struck by how many of the interviewees expressed a desire to go BACK to North Korea , after not adapting horribly well to life within the ROK . 
 2 ) The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Kang Chol - Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot , focuses on the latter ' s experiences living for almost 10 years within a North Korean gulag , or prison camp . I found it extremely interesting that Kang was actually born in Japan -- his family decided to immigrate to North Korea after being convinced by his communistic grandmother to return to the motherland . Kang ' s family came to North Korea with lots of Japanese things / money , and he suspects he and his family are thrown in the gulag more out of jealousy / spite than anything else 
 3 ) Escaping North Korea by Mike Kim . This guy was on The Daily Show a long while ago , prompting me to download his book on my Kindle . A Korean - American , Kim helps smuggle North Korean refugees out of the country . I found his style really refreshingly simple , and he had a lot of interesting things to say about North Korean people who are religiously persecuted within the country . 
 These days , it seems like I have been thinking / talking / seeing a lot about North Korea , including this fascinating video taken by an American man on a tour in Pyongyang : 
 I ' ve recently started volunteering with this group , which raises money to smuggle refugees out of North Korea , and also works to raises awareness of the human rights crisis going on in North Korea right now : 
 There are so many unbelievably messed up things that happen in North Korea . This describes just the tip of the iceberg . 
 I find one of the most frustrating things about the North Korean situation is that there is seemingly so little to be done , except raise money , put more pressure on international orgs like the ICC and the UN , and encourage awareness and education about such a mysterious place as North Korea . Last weekend , I handed out flyers with statistics on North Korea in Insadong , a busy , touristy area of Seoul , while this hip - hop artist preformed this slightly goofy , but clearly very heartfelt song : 
 Do you have any suggestions / ideas of things people can do to raise awareness / DO SOMETHING about the North Korean situation ? Internet , what do you think ? 
 Posted by Madeline Lee at 8 : 46 PM