A Thousand Miles to Freedom

My Escape from North Korea

By: Sebastien Falletti, Eunsun Kim

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Eunsun Kim was born in North Korea, one of the most secretive and oppressive countries in the modern world. As a child, Eunsun loved her country...despite her school field trips to public executions, daily self-criticism sessions, and the increasing gnaw of hunger as the countrywide famine escalated. By the time she was 11 years old, Eunsun's father and grandparents had died of starvation, and Eunsun too was in danger of starving. Finally her mother decided to escape North Korea with Eunsun and her sister, not knowing that they were embarking on a journey that would take them nine long years to complete. Told with grace and courage, her memoir is a riveting exposé of North Korea's totalitarian regime and, ultimately, a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

©2012 Éditions Michel Lafon (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A sobering account of survival of the fittest in North Korea by a young woman on the run for nearly a decade." ( Kirkus)

great story you should listen to it or read it!

very easy to listen to and follow.
kept me coming back to hear more.
more auther's should write like this!

Insightful and educational

Let me first say that I am honored to have listened to this story. I am ashamed more people are not taught of the struggles and human rights violations are are occurring to this very day in North Korea.
If anything at the end of this book you will walk away with a greater appreciation for all the opportunities you have been given and many other people have to fight for.

I believe the whole story and more.

I arrived in Seoul in August 1994, the month after Kim Il Sung's death. It is eerie to think that the child, Eunsun Kim was less than 100 miles away all but starving to death. I would guess that she may have soft-peddled some of their suffering. I can't imagine that three women traveling/wandering alone wouldn't have suffered a great deal more sexual harassment if not assault in such a paternalistic culture.

The destruction of communities by turning everyone into an informer is truly tragic and evil. And the paranoia about refugees certainly did spill over into the south.

Living in the Republic of South Korea, I saw the frantic pace of life and competition and the valuing of boy children over girls. I met many wonderful and kind-hearted people. At the same time I experienced judgmental attitudes from others who assumed that because I was a single American woman living far from my home that I was surely a loose and immoral person

It was one of the most interesting and challenging experiences of my life and still informs much of my understanding about cultural and societal differences, particularly American individualism.

I have a huge respect for the author, her mother and sister. I hope that she writes more as she matures and perhaps updates this book with her growing insights. She is a hell of a lot tougher and stronger than I.

What a Journey & What Fortitude

It sure makes you appreciate how easy our lives are and how difficult other people have it in this world. Her and her sister and mother bore so much tragedy and pain to get to freedom. It was a remarkable and inspiring story of their fight for freedom.

North Korea is even worse than I thought

I had not read any books about North Korea or its people, so this was a great place to start. It was interesting from beginning to end, starting with the typical life of a North Korean family not in the military or considered elite, from the hardships they were forced to endure even after they were able to cross into China, to final realization of their goal after nine years by escaping to South Korea.

It is a story of grit and determination. It is a story of endurance. It is a story of a woman and her two children living through a nightmare and surviving to achieve their goals. I have nothing but respect and admiration for them and an increased awareness of the craziness of the Kim regime.

Enlightened & Inspired

Her experience to leave North Korea is reminiscent of some who seek to enter the US.

Riveting!

What an incredible story! The author was clearly young but that lended itself to an interesting perspective. I feel like I learned a lot about Korean way of life. Wish I could meet this author (and her mother!) in real life :) And I definitely have a greater appreciation for my passport!

Interesting story. Poor writing

Fascinating tale of hardship and survival. The story of one North Korean family: their life under a communist regime, their escape from it and building a new life.
Unfortunately it's poorly written and not edited. Many lines are repeated verbatim and the narrative falls flat

Average

"Suddenly", " all of a sudden " and variations if "surprise" are used too often. Not the best book I've read about a North Korean escaping the Kim tyranny. Average at best. A narrator with a Korean accent would have made it more authentic.

Great story; ok reading

The reading inflection was, at times, a bit flat. The story itself was gut-wrenching and astounding. The path of this family was very different from that described in Jang Jin-Sung's Dear Leader, but no less harrowing.