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Escape From Camp 14

One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West
htliang
Jun 16, 2017htliang rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is a truly unsettling book. Later changes to Shin's story as revealed on the author's website add to the confusion as to what is real & what is fabricated. How much of this story is accurate is known only to Shin. He does, however, bear the scars of severe torture which backs up most of his story. According to this book, Shin Dong-hyuk was born inside a high-security North Korean prison (Camp 14). He was raised without love, hope, friendship, or knowledge of the outside world. Most of his thoughts revolved around finding enough food to survive. After short encounters with two prisoners who had known life outside the camp, twenty-three-year-old Shin considered escaping. No one had survived an escape attempt before Shin. This is the story of Shin's early life, his escape, and his later struggle to fit into materialistic and achievement-oriented South Korean society. "I am evolving from being an animal...Sometimes I try to cry and laugh like other people, just to see if it feels like anything..."