A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea

Must read! I read it in one sitting. Very eye opening and I hope for the best for everyone in similar situations.

A River of Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa details the horror one man had to go through in order to survive the clutches of the North Korean regime. It’s a brutal story with a mixed range of emotions as expected. While thinking that spending a lot of time researching and reading about World War II stories would prepare me for what I was about to discover here, that was anything but the truth. It’s obviously different in many ways but there are also many similarities. It was a good learning experience as well because there were definitely some things that I haven’t learned before in regards to North Korea and its regime so that in itself made the book and story worth reading. It’s just depressing and tragic that so many people actually had to go through this living nightmare. What initially started out as a normal story about a boy’s family living in Japan quickly turned for the worst once his violent father was duped into “migrating” back to North Korea, his motherland. Being half Japanese and Korean, Masaji was basically stuck in the middle. This part was particularly interesting to me because I never knew that so many Koreans actually lived in Japan during that era. They were often looked down upon in society and had to form their own special groups and community to look out for each other. It was partly because of this that led to Masaji’s father finally persuading his family to move back to his home country. That and also the many lies and propaganda spread throughout the community about how North Korea is thriving as a country and that everyone who migrates there will have a much better and prosperous life for their family. Nothing will be for wanted. Of course, this was a big lie and Masaji’s family along with thousands more paid dearly for it. Living in North Korea is brutal and you’ll hear first hand of just how so with Masaji’s retelling here. Everything from lack of food, work and lack of basic utilities for everyday survival that many take for granted makes life difficult day in and day out. It’s sad really. Imagine how as a family to be able to survive on food rations that barely amount to anything. Having to work all day and night just to earn a bit of food to put in your stomach. Or worst of all, having to live in constant fear and paranoia that everything you say and do is being monitored and watched by the state secret police. One wrong move or say something suspicious and you could be red flagged as being a traitor and put into a concentration camp. Although my opinion is that these are common knowledge to many of us due to the stories and news we read and hear about North Korea, its quite another thing to actually read about it first hand from an actual survivor which many of us probably hadn’t done before. It really puts things into perspective similar to how I felt when I first read about the retelling of WWII stories from actual survivors. Masaji’s story is short, well written and gets straight to the point: it horrible living in North Korea. While he was able to physically escape the nightmare that was North Korea, he’ll never be able to break free from the mental and psychological trauma of having to live there for 30 plus years. Honestly, I doubt I’d have the willpower to continue living as long as the author did under such harsh and terrible living conditions. That’s why I love recommending books and memoirs such as A River in Darkness simply because it can both be a depressing and uplifting story at the same time for the reader. Thank you Masaji Ishikawa for having the bravery of retelling your story to the world. Not only that but having the courage and willpower in doing everything you could to not only endure but actually survive that horrible ordeal you were put through. We know not everything came out as expected in the end and so we’re hoping you find inner peace one day if you haven’t done so already.

This is one of those books that has been hiding in my kindle for about a year now. A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa is a first-hand account of his life in North Korea and ultimately his escape. Masaji Ishikawa was born to a Japanese mother and a Korean father. Growing up in Japan, he often felt like he did not belong. However. at a young age, his father took him and the rest of his family to North Korea under the impression that they would have a better life. This is not the life they found in North Korea. They had to endure starvation, government oppression, and fierce propaganda. Masaji Ishikawa finally realizes he needs to escape to give his family their best chance at survival. His chances of succeeding are not high, but that does not stop him. It is impossible to fathom what the author had to endure. This first-hand account reveals the terror of what is happening in North Korea. This is not a book that one read for entertainment or for a happy ending. The entire story is depressing and bleak, but it exposes the suffering that the people of North Korea are experiencing. It is meant to be educational, to open people’s eyes. The book is told from a personal point of view. I felt almost as if the author were sitting across from me, explaining his story. He is very honest and forthcoming with all the details of his life. Not only did he suffer abuse at the hand of North Korea, but also at the hand of his father. He discusses how he tries to find his place also within his family, who feel like they don’t belong to any country. The loss, death, and torture they experience will make readers think about the opportunities that are presented in their life and how much they have to be thankful for. I really recommend that everyone read this memoir. It is short, but straight to the point. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. Very good story

Like many people in the Western world I have a twisted fascination with North Korea. America thinks of itself as the land of the free but we have black marks on our record like the Vietnam war and the Korean Peninsula outcome. So I thought it would be interesting to read a book of someone that escaped from that “hell on earth” as he puts it. The book can get a little graphic concerning some of the atrocities that occurred, but not terribly graphic on language or sexuality if someone’s worried about that. I gave the book 3 stars, because while the story was stranger than fiction, and twisted and sad, the writing style (or lack thereof) kept taking me out of the story. Yes, this is someone with a very low education and the book was translated from I believe two different languages into English, but I still wanted something a little more polished. This could be a bad mark against me, but I want to be honest in these reviews about how I view the book. This story doesn’t have a great sense of chronology or passage of time, which could be indicative of the struggles the author went through while in North Korea. It’s hard to keep track of how old people are, how much time is past or even much of the characterization. Minor events can take pages to occur and then 10 years could pass in a paragraph. It’s missing a lot of consistency. This is just one person‘s account but I really believe that this is a very accurate depiction of rural life in North Korea under the Kim family. Important to read but don’t expect the same level of storytelling as say the Trevor Noah autobiography.

I received a copy of A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea during Amazon's celebration of World Book Day in 2018. For the past couple of years Amazon has allowed users to download a select group of books for free on or about World Book Day. Those of us who read know that books can take you to faraway places, so I personally take delight this service provided by Amazon. But back to this autobiography, the author, Masaji Ishikawa, was born in Japan of his Japanese mother and extremely abusive Korean father. While he and his sisters did experience some trials in Japan because of their socioeconomic status, it was nothing compared to the poverty, discrimination, and violence the entire family faced when his father forced them to move from Japan to North Korea. The bulk of this relatively short book is Ishikawa re-telling his formative years that include the struggles his family faced as mixed-race outsiders in both Japan then North Korea. The reader then follows the author into adulthood, where we find no shortage of struggles for this survivor. As the book title indicates, the author does eventually escape North Korea, but you'll have to read the book to find out at what cost. This was a fairly quick read that got me out of a reading slump. Having said that, it was not an easy read. Some of the events in the book are extremely descriptive and disturbing. The book is very dark with little hope or joy. However, I do think it is well worth the read. It's important to read and learn about less than pleasant situations so we do not succumb to them. My hope and prayer, after completing this book, is that Mr. Ishikawa found peace. Recommendation: This, like many works of non-fiction, is a necessary book. I recommend it when you are ready to take on a sobering journey. Until next time ... Read on! Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or am gifted one, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

A poignant look inside post-war Japanese society from the perspective of a young half-Japanese, half-Korean kid. One of my good friends here in Japan of the same age had a similar upbringing: his father Korean, his mother Japanese. Younger Japanese today who have grown up in a largely post-racial society might have a hard time comprehending the emotional abuses of the era. Family issues also emerge with an alcoholic father who beat his mother and was emotionally distant from the children. The Korean association came down hard on the father and he straightened up a lot. Then he decided to take the family to the paradise of North Korea, where discrimination did not exist, jobs were plentiful, education and health-care were free, and the sky was the limit for what his children could achieve. When they arrived in North Korea, and could not return to Japan, they found to their horror that the exact opposite was the case in every instance. Jobs were scarce, education was only for the elite, there was hardly any health care, and definitely no future. The author describes the emotional changes in the family and what they did to get by, trying to avoid starvation. They were sent to a small village and given a hut to live in. Jobs were assigned by the state, and travel was severely restricted. His mother, being Japanese, was not allowed to work at all, despite her education and abilities. She spent her days foraging for weeds in the forest trying to get enough food for the family to survive. Winters were harsh, anti-returnee discrimination was open, and anti-Japanese discrimination was bitter. The story of the author's life watching family members starve to death and beaten down by society is difficult to read, but the details are fascinating: the jobs he managed to get, the people who helped, and the ones who abused, the fights he got into, the horrors of burying family members who died of starvation. There is a lot of drama in this story. The emotions bleed through the pages. His escape (alone) to China and then back to Japan were as dramatic as any spy novel. His overarching desire was to help his family members escape, and to keep his children from starving to death. He also wanted to fulfill his promise to his dying mother to tell their story and bring her ashes back to Japan. Sadly, his only success has been to tell the story and live in torment for the family he left behind.

What this man went through and survived is just heart wrenching. The misery that he, his family and countless others went through because if a system that truly failed its people is horrible to say the least. His sister and her step kids as well as his children and grandchildren situation will make you cry. I hope one-day that he can be reunited with his family. No-one should ever experience the pain, hunger, mistreatment and denial of basic human dignity. The isolation is so sad.