A River in darkness

The book “A River in darkness” is a terrifying tale of life in North Korea and its author was born in Japan in 1947 to a Korean father and a Japanese mother. His Korean father always extolled Kim Ill Sung as the superior most general ever produced by Korea. His father followed the command of the Supreme Leader given in 1958 to all Koreans to return home from abroad proclaiming, “North Korea is a paradise on earth!” Accordingly senior Ishikawa brought his family back to North Korea in 1960 and settled down in village of Dong Chong-ri as part of a mass repatriation campaign. The general rule was that everyone had to join the Worker’s Party and pledge allegiance to Kim. The author was taught in school that “thought was not free,” and anyone questioning the wisdom of the leader was badly berated by his comrades. The author reports that he “played along” but knew he was now part of a “pseudo-religious cult.” Being employed on a farm as a member of the Youth League, he found out that failure in life was the result of not respecting the commands of the Supreme Leader. The slogan that everyone not respecting the party was bound to fail, was the common creed. The author was treated badly as being a half-Japanese he was lowliest of the low in North Korean social structure. He was an excellent student but his academic achievements were looked down upon. He was condemned to the very bottom of the society owing to his racial origins. The author described the farming process as “staggeringly crude and idiotic.” Food was forcibly usurped from them and old people died working with no social security. Poor workers were confined to concentration camps or were executed making the author to lament that: “So many lives wasted.” Ishikawa got married in 1972 and soon after that his mother died. His family went through tremendous hardships that multiplied after Kim Jong Ill became leader. After existing in near hell for 36 years the author risked his life and crossed the Yalu River into China and gained freedom. TW