Publications

Girl with Black Makeup: Escapee from North Korea

Born in North Korea in 1991, the path of Sharon Jang’s life was set in motion decades earlier, in 1953, with the close of the Korean War. Her grandfather, a South Korean soldier captured by North Korean forces, suffered through imprisonment, beatings, and torture. Upon his release, he was condemned to labor in a coal mine. This legacy of hardship passed down through generations; her mother, also forced to work in the mines, married a man with a similar fate.

Sharon, as their child, was inevitably assigned to the same grueling life after completing high school. Descended from a South Korean POW, Sharon’s narrative is one of survival and resilience in a place where free will was stripped away, underscoring the harsh realities of her upbringing in North Korea.

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Greenlight to Freedom: A North Korean Daughter's Search for Her Mother and Herself

Like much of the North Korean population, Songmi Han was living in desperate poverty. As a young child, she and her family lived a life of dire hardship, and many meals consisted of little more than grass. Domestic abuse, long hours of grueling physical labor, emotional abuse, and primal hunger were her constant companions. School was out of the question and she, along with her mother, had to steal food to survive. Greenlight to Freedom: A North Korean Daughter’s Search for Her Mother and Herself, written by Songmi Han and Casey Lartigue Jr, is the perilous and gripping account of Songmi’s childhood and her escape from North Korea.

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My Father's North Korea Story: Walk to Freedom

My Father’s North Korea Story: Walk to Freedom is a non-fiction memoir written by the father of a North Korean defector that highlights the tumultuous journey faced by millions of individuals still struggling to escape the harrowing conditions under the Kim regime.

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Strongest Soldier of North Korea

“Which army is the strongest in the world? You might say that the U.S. Army is number one, but I say no! The North Korean Army is the strongest. At least, that is what I thought based on the limited perspective I had during my military service in North Korea. I believed I was one of the strongest soldiers in the world. I respected Supreme Leader Kim because he could control not only Earth but all of the universe. Every day I would hear, ‘The best country is North Korea, the strongest army is that of North Korea, and the Dear Leader Kim is the most powerful leader in the world.’ I was brainwashed.”

–Excerpt from “Strongest Soldier of North Korea” by Yeongnam “Ken” Eom

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Escape from North Korea, New Beginnings in South Korea

On July 8, 1999, the South Korean government opened the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees, often referred to as “Hanawon.” In the past two decades, more than 34,000 North Korean refugees have made it to South Korea, with almost every refugee passing through Hanawon.

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Voices from North Korea 북한에서 온 목소리: True Stories of Escape and Resilience

Voices from North Korea explores the extraordinary journeys of North Korean escapees, moving beyond geopolitical headlines to focus on the people behind them. Drawing on extensive research, primary sources, and years of academic and community engagement, the book examines the dangerous escape routes through China and Southeast Asia, the experiences of North Korean authors, artists, and digital creators, and the challenges refugees face as they rebuild their lives in new societies. It also looks at New Malden in London, home to Europe’s largest North Korean community, as a unique example of resilience, adaptation, and community building.

More than an account of escape, Voices from North Korea is a testament to courage, resilience, and the enduring pursuit of freedom. Through the voices and experiences of North Korean escapees, the book invites readers to look beyond the regime and recognize the individuals whose lives are too often hidden behind political narratives.

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