Author: jayna44

In North Korea, all eyes are constantly searching for anyone who may think differently. The people of North Korea are taught from an early age to always be on the look out for anyone who shows signs of being against the regime. If you say one wrong word or joke, or even make one wrong facial expression without realizing it, you are immediately vulnerable to being caught, turned in, and sent to a prison camp. The independent thinkers in North Korea are the most harmed especially because everyone around them, even their neighbors and close friends are looking for them.

People who are like Dr. Kim with an important career, can stand up for themselves, talk back to their bosses, and somewhat express their needs and wants are still threatened and harmed by the regime, even if it may not seem like it. In North Korea, everyone is watched and everyone is spying on each other so in the end no one is really safe, everyone is threatened. Dr. Kim is also an independent thinker, she believes in equality like when she wanted to help the inmate who was sick, but her boss told her not to because of his status however she still went to his home and tried her best to assist him. So although she may not be living poorly, she is still harmed and threatened like everyone else.

In the book “Nothing to Envy”, the story of two young teenagers falling in love in North Korea is told. In North Korea, love and romance is not something that is ever spoken of or openly discussed. It is totally rare that you would see a couple kissing or even holding hands in public in North Korea. Many North Korean defectors even say that when they were in South Korea, it was very shocking to see couples kiss in public. PDA is not allowed and is heavily looked down upon. These two teenagers who had a blossoming romantic connection would meet up at night, when everything is dark and all the lights are out just to take walks together and talk to each other. They took three years to even hold each others hands. It’s crazy to me that in North Korea, love or being in love is something to almost be ashamed of, something to be hidden.

As I read more of the book “Nothing to Envy”, there is always a new fact about how the people of North Korea have to live that totally shocks me. I have learned that there is assigned grocery shopping days and to buy groceries (which was mainly rice, corn, flour, etc) they would use their “ration book”, a small amount of money or coupons they receive from their workplace based on how well you did your duties at work. The food shortage got so bad that even the children didn’t have school lunch.

“Many of the fruit pickers were children. As school lunches got smaller and finally disappeared, children started cutting school to look for food.” (Nothing to Envy, Pg. 73)

Another crazy fact that I have learned from reading this book is that there were only two sets of clothing that they received each year, one for summer and one for winter, and of course they would get new clothes on the birthday of their leader to further reinforce the image that their leader is the source of the good things that they get. It is just so insane to hear about how these people are living and how they are not provided with the freedom to live with certain luxuries even as small as getting to shop for your own clothes or go grocery shopping when you want to.

After reading the article “Hardly Known, Not Yet Forgotten”, I have learned more about what really happened to the South Korean prisoners of war. In the book “Nothing to Envy”, there is a brief part in which the author shares the experience of a prisoner  of war, but reading this article goes further and allows the reader to understand even more about the unbelievable events that occurred.

In the article, multiple POW’s who have survived and relatives of survivors share their personal stories and terrifying experiences. The article also adds on to the fact that North Korea still denies the existence of the POW’s who were supposed to be released and repatriated back to their hometowns, but North Korea held them back to use them for forced labor.

“POW’s were not only used as forced labor. While the war was still under way, they were often given North Korean uniforms and redeployed as soldiers to fight the other side, defectors said. Some were
lucky enough to be taken prisoner by the South once more, and a policy of voluntary repatriation by the South Korean and US forces after the Armistice meant that they could remain there.” (Hardly Known, Not Yet Forgotten).

I think that Barbara Demick, the author of “Nothing to Envy” was drawn to this particular article because it provides real life stories from POW’s and their families who have suffered in such an inhumane way. These real stories shared in the article is what gives the article such a high quality value. Many people are not aware of the terrible way these people had to live, and how their lives inevitably affected their families.

Everyone remembers their childhood. We hold on to the little moments, memories, and experiences (good or bad) that shape us into who we are today. In the novel “Nothing to Envy” written by Barbara Demick, we get to read and learn how the children living in North Korea grow up and how different their lives are compared to the life of an average American child. Some could say that the children of North Korea are “brainwashed” at an early age, learning to obey every rule, worship their leader, and even learn to snitch on one another.

“The children were never to forget that they owed everything to the national leadership. Like other North Korean children, they didn’t celebrate their own birthdays, but those of Kim Il-sung on April 15 and Kim Jong-il on February 16…When the time came, the children lined up in front of the portraits to express their gratitude. In unison, they would bend from the waist, bowing deeply, with feeling.” (Nothing to Envy, pg. 47)

It is said by defectors of North Korea that you could not trust anyone. Not even your own neighbor, sometimes not even your own family member. Everyone was taught to report anything that was against the rules. From a young age it is highly encouraged that it is okay to snitch on one another. There is even a group of young children called the “Socialist Youth League” and these young children and teenagers are taught to keep an eye on everyone and report any suspicious actions.

“One day after she’d changed clothes in a hurry, she ran out without her badge and was stopped by a teenager wearing an armband that identified him as part of the Maintenance of Social Order brigade. These were Socialist Youth League vigilantes who made spot checks to see if people were wearing their badges” (Nothing to Envy, Pg. 46)