The Accusation

Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea

By: Bandi

Narrated by: David Shih

The Accusation is a deeply moving and eye-opening work of fiction that paints a powerful portrait of life under the North Korean regime. Set during the period of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il's leadership, the seven stories that make up The Accusation give voice to people living under this most bizarre and horrifying of dictatorships.

The characters of these compelling stories come from a wide variety of backgrounds, from a young mother living among the elite in Pyongyang whose son misbehaves during a political rally, to a former Communist war hero who is deeply disillusioned with the intrusion of the Party into everything he holds dear, to a husband and father who is denied a travel permit and sneaks onto a train in order to visit his critically ill mother.

Written with deep emotion and writing talent, The Accusation is a vivid depiction of life in a closed-off one-party state, and also a hopeful testament to the humanity and rich internal life that persists even in such inhumane conditions.

©2014 Bandi & Happy Unification Road; translation copyright 2017 by Deborah Smith (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

" The Accusation continues to make international history as the first literary work smuggled out of repressive North Korea...As Bandi's characters both fear and sling accusations, the title takes on piercing gravitas for readers." ( Booklist)

life changing

be thankful for what you have. people have it so much worse. you can feel their desperation

Incredibly powerful

This is one of those eye-opening books that everyone should read. Through Bandi’s story the oppressiveness of the North Korean regime is laid out in plain language, and the people who suffer under it are shown to be startling human; these could be us, our friends, our family, they just happened to be unfortunate enough to born under such a regime. I was incredibly moved by this book and I’m going to recommend it to my family and friends.

Outstanding work about life in North Korea

This brilliant and moving book is a collection of stories about people experiencing aspects of life in North Korea. It’s an amazing book, one that will make your heart break thinking about how North Koreans have to live under the repressive regimes of their Dear Leaders. These are ordinary people who were unfortunate enough to get stuck north of the 38th parallel at the end of WWII, not realizing that they would never live a single day without scrutiny, suspicion, and a complete lack of free will. For instance, one family gets into serious trouble for drawing the wrong set of curtains. It’s a wonder people can survive the conditions described in this book, and it’s a miracle that the talented author of this book, who still lives there, was able to get this work written and out to the world. Fascinating and tragic.

insight into North Korea worthy of a listen

insight into North Korea worthy of a listen. a work of fiction written by a dissident still in North Korea.

Be Aware this is seven separate stories.

I enjoyed this book very much. However, I had difficulty following it until I realized that it is not a novel, but a collection of short stories. Each story will conclude with a date, indicating the date that story was completed. I am not a scholar, I work in health care. Yet I am fascinated with trying to learn what goes on in closed societies. It is a passion of mine. I believe North Korea is the most closed society on earth. It’s a conundrum to me because they have magazines and rail systems, yet because of ongoing shortages, people do not get enough calories and are forced to eat barely edible wild plants.