The Aquariums of Pyongyang

By: Chol-hwan Kang, Pierre Rigoulot

Narrated by: Stephen Park

"Destined to become a classic" (Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking), this harrowing memoir of life inside North Korea was the first account to emerge from the notoriously secretive country - and it remains one of the most terrifying.

Amid escalating nuclear tensions, Kim Jong-un and North Korea's other leaders have kept a tight grasp on their one-party state, quashing any nascent opposition movements and sending all suspected dissidents to its brutal concentration camps for "re-education."

Kang Chol-Hwan is the first survivor of one of these camps to escape and tell his story to the world, documenting the extreme conditions in these gulags and providing a personal insight into life in North Korea. Sent to the notorious labor camp Yodok when he was 9 years old, Kang observed frequent public executions and endured forced labor and near-starvation rations for 10 years. In 1992, he escaped to South Korea, where he found God and now advocates for human rights in North Korea.

Part horror story, part historical document, part memoir, part political tract, this book brings together unassailable firsthand experience, setting one young man's personal suffering in the wider context of modern history, giving eyewitness proof to the abuses perpetrated by the North Korean regime.

©2005 Chol-hwan Kang, Pierre Rigoulot (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A chilling testimony....Freezes the heart and seizes the soul." (Kirkus Reviews)

"A triumph against silence." (Financial Times)

"The Aquariums of Pyongyang is one of the most terrifying memoirs I have ever read. As the first account to emerge from North Korea, it is destined to become a classic." (Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking)

Great book.

The story is well told and give a insider experience of a horrible place. Highly recommended

Must read

Chilling. Extremely well told. A reality of communism every freedom loving individual should know. Communism only survives at the expense of freedom.

Highly recommended

Imagine spending 10 years of your childhood in a gulag.. I recommend this book to anyone in interested in the human condition and wanting to learn more about North Korea. There is somewhat of a good ending for the author as well.

Stories from North Korea must be heard.

Read this.
I had read this book years ago, having been stationed in the US military in Seoul, fascinated then to learn more about the isolated north.
Americans and South Koreans are Free to express and tell our histories, but we need to realize what Kang Chol-hwan tells us, that It is important to try and express to the refugee how difficult it is for the free to understand how challenging it is for those from the north to transition after a life of indoctrination and isolation.
Park's reading is compassionate and clear. His English is impeccable with enough accent to add depth to Kang's story.

North Korea is a true Hunger Games world

scary stuff, especially since its all real and occuring right now. someone needs to enlighten these leaders and educate them to the current world.... or just, u know, get rid of them.

Heart Wrenching

An excellent example of the dangers of communism, the way it extracts all hope from its unwilling adherents, and why indeed it is important to oppose it in any way possible. Exciting, tear jerking, truly a masterfully composed piece.

A Masterpiece

I am having a hard time remembering reading another book that was as meaningful to me as this one. it is really easy to dismiss N Korea as a bad place without giving it a second thought, but this dives deeply into what day to day life is like in N Korea and the Gulags, no spoilers, but the ending is wonderful, and ultimate triumph of good v evil.

Eye opening and informative

I can only imagine what was in the unedited version.
I know this was a piece of literature that was actually banned in some countries. This story was given to my mom as a foreign exchange student when she visited Australia. If it hadn’t have been recommended to me, I would’ve remained ignorant. It is a reminder of the horrors that exist in our world and a cry to change.

An appalling account of sheer terror told by a survivor

Authentic description of the rule of terror under the North Korean dictatorship
A vivid account of how anyone can be thrown from the frying pan into the fire indefinitely —all based on the whim of the Party, without any explanation
This book is not for everyone. The beatings, systematic starvation, and brain washing of young children is hard to bear. You cannot complete this story without retaining an indelible picture of the destitution, constant state of fear, and consummate hopelessness under which the vast majority of these people live.

Cannot describe my feelings

I can’t describe to a would be listener how much this book has impacted me. The atrocities these people endured day after day, month after month, and year after year are unimaginable. It leaves a pit in my stomach, feeling unable to do something, anything, to help the North Korean people. I can’t believe our government will not rally the international community to bring about a regime change and subsequent freedom for these people. Very sad indeed. Our government appears to be as afraid of Kim Jong il as much as his country is. This is a very eye opening book.